Reed predicts HR talent migration in 2014

Research published by recruitment company Reed has suggested businesses must do more to retain top talent, as 62% have no talent management strategy in place.

Reed surveyed 2,500 employees and employers across various industry sectors and broke down the findings by job sector. Specific findings for HR was derived from 150 professionals.

The results showed lower levels of risk for losing talent across all job sectors compared to HR. Only 43% of employees said they were worried about losing top workers, while 33% of employees stated plans to change jobs in 2014.

Reed group managing director Tom Lovell suggested stagnant pay and a lack of benefits, revealed by the study, were to blame.

More than half (54%) of HR professionals and 66% of employees said they had not received a pay rise in the past 12 months.

“Despite a need to attract and retain talent within their organisation, many businesses aren’t investing in their workforce through pay or their benefits, such as training, and this will impact on the overall satisfaction rating for their workforce,” Lovell said.

“Businesses need to invest in both their employee brand reputation and talent management to attract people with the right skills to their organisation and hold on to employees with the right talent.”

In spite of these findings, the survey did reveal high satisfaction levels among HR professionals – 79% reported being satisfied or very satisfied in their current role compared to 70% across all sectors.

But Lovell warned that employers had to do more to retain staff as the number of job opportunities had increased by 28% year-on-year.

“As the economy continues to strengthen and job opportunities rise, the competition for quality candidates will increase, and businesses can’t afford to lose out,” he said.

Across all job sectors, 37% of employees said they had not received a pay rise, bonus, training or entertainment benefits over the past year.