TalentRace

The race for talent (I call it TalentRace) will become substantial in the next two years and is not going away for many yeas to come. According to the Bureau of National Labor Statistics the crunch will start to hit hard by 2010 (now only two years away)--as baby boomers start reaching retirement age and as the number of workers ages 25-34 begin to decrease.

The deficit in available workers should be in the vicinity of 10 million. That translates into a race for talent. Building a culture focused on retention becomes critical. Retaining the boomers as long as possible and attracting younger workers will be the key differentiator for employers of choice--those people will leave other companies for. According a Price Waterhouse Coopers expert in the field, employees, look for two basic conditions by asking these questions to themselves:
1. Does my supervisor value my work?
2. Am I and my colleagues treated with respect?

This a culture of retention starts with two simple words--value and respect.

Source: Retaining Your Best People, Harvard Business School Publishing Corp, 2006, ("Why Retention Should Become a Core Strategy Now" by Paul Michelman) pp.21-33.