It’s 2011… Let the Mass Exodus Begin!

Now that the new year is upon us and people are beginning to trust the economic uptick is solid, the employee migration has begun! Will your company lose its top employees or will you hire other organizations’ top employees?

A marked rise in the number of job postings (according to Indeed) and the related increase in hiring has signaled a slow and steady turnaround to the economic crisis. People who clung to their jobs for the past few years with employers who hung them out to dry are now ready to leave for greener pastures.

What does this mean for expansion stage management teams?  Hopefully, it means that more people will apply for positions within your company in 2011 who were not ready to leave their “comfortable” job for a startup in the past couple of years. It also means focusing on employee retention is especially important right now. Make sure your employees know they are valued and that they will be continually challenged.

According to TLNT, four factors may contribute to employee turnover. Check them out and determine how you can combat them within your company to help your startup employee retention. Also, determine how you can show potential candidates the greater benefits your company offers over their previous employers.

Four Factors That May Contribute to Employee Turnover in 2011 are:

Exhaustion– While many companies had to let employees go during the recession in direct relation to a significant downturn in activity, others took advantage of the economy to preemptively cut labor costs by reducing staff more dramatically than business required. In many cases, remaining employees were left with a greater workload than before, with fewer acknowledgments of the need for work-life balance.

Pay & Disillusionment– Many companies around the country froze pay rates and halted promotions for the past two years, citing reduced profits. While in many cases these actions kept companies afloat, few companies seemed to make it a priority to recognize and commend employees for their work in other ways.

Retirement– Many people who had planned to retire several years ago delayed their retirement due to their financial losses and also because they had to support family members and spouses they had not intended on supporting. Now that the economy is picking up, many of those people will prepare for retirement once again, leaving gaps in staff as well as in knowledge.

Return-to-Home Parents– Many stay-at-home moms and dads dusted off their resumes during the recession and returned to the workforce as their spouses and partners were laid off or were forced to accept reduced hours and/or salaries. Some of these newly re-engaged employees may happily remain in the workforce going forward, but they may need increased flexibility in terms of their hours. Others may decide to go back to stay-at-home parents.

Should you be concerned?

Companies that took advantage of their employees over the past few years should be concerned. The rest of us should be excited that more potential candidates will be entering the job market in 2011. Let the mass exodus begin!