If employee retention is at the top of your list of priorities, act now to address workplace issues. With the growing shortage of qualified workers, competition for top talent continues to rise. Employee attitudes about work are changing, and the leaders that purposefully design a workplace to enable high achievement will reap the financial and cultural rewards.

A recent article in Workforce Management titled “Studies: More Workers Look to Switch Jobs” reports that employee defection is increasing according to studies by MetLife and Salary. According to Salary.com, 65 percent of employee respondents plan to look for a new job in the next three months. Studies: More Workers Look to Switch Jobs workforce.com .

The two studies offer two perspectives about retaining talent. “Insurer MetLife’s annual Employee Benefits Trend Study finds that employees’ top consideration when deciding to join or remain with an employer is:

  1. The quality of co-worker and/or customer relationships
  2. The opportunity for work/life balance
  3. Working for an organization whose purpose/mission I agree with”.

The compensation research firm Salary.com, however, reported that inadequate compensation is the top reason dissatisfied employees cite for leaving. No opportunity for advancement is second, followed by no recognition for work, according to the company’s 2005-2006 Employee Satisfaction and Retention Survey.”

Use extreme caution when deciding to change compensation because salary is rarely why people leave. Offering more money to entice someone to stay doesn’t work. In fact, it can create more issues than it resolves if other team members learn about the “payoff” of looking for another job. In the end, it can devalue your loyal employees.

I don’t find the differences in the surveys surprising when you consider the characteristics of the survey respondents. The survey.com responses will most certainly be biased toward compensation, when you consider that’s why they arrived at the site in the first place. So, no surprises there.

There are literally hundreds of low or no cost strategies that can help you create a workplace that nurtures and retains top talent. It really comes down to building a work environment that people feel good about.

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