Miller, whose company has 3,000 staff in the UK, claims current employment trends point to a rise in employees putting job security first as they begin their careers in a fragile economy and this change in office attitudes needs to be addressed by employers. Failure to do so could result in disaffected employees and a lack of productivity.
Miller said: Having employees join your company with every intention of staying put for their entire working life is a wonderful opportunity for businesses.
However, it also throws up potential problems. A lot of businesses have a short or medium-term approach to job development.
Few employers, when hiring a new graduate for their business, think about encouraging them to spend their working life with the firm. If they do, and adapt their recruitment and development policy accordingly, they can reap the rewards.
She added that because improving staff retention brings down recruitment costs – embracing static workers can have a big impact on a business’s bottom line. Figures from the Association of Graduate Recruiters, for example, show if a business recruits 1,000 employees each year, increasing retention from 50% to 70% would save it £160,000 – 15% of its total recruitment spend.
She added: This is a trend which has the potential to create big savings in recruitment costs for businesses.
The trend in static workers was evidenced recently in the Global Workforce Study, which found eight in 10 workers wanted to stay put for career advancement and half wanted a ‘job for life’.
A new breed of workers, who want a job for life, pose fresh challenges for employers
UK businesses need to adapt to cope with a new breed of 'static' worker as the economic downturn creates a new generation of 'company lifers', according to Donna Miller, HR director, Enterprise Rent-A-Car.