Talent Remains Tight, According to TriNet’s HR Trends Report

My team recently released a report called “The Power of an Employment Brand: HR Trends in 2008.” Although we worked on it earlier in the year, we had already recognized that the economic horizon was beginning to darken with storm clouds, and our research reflects that shift in the business landscape.  As Jack’s post below indicates, however, the turbulence in the economy hasn’t necessarily affected the kinds of high-end industries that TriNet tends to work with--such as technology and professional service firms. These companies still critically need to attract and retain top talent, because top talent always has the option to go work elsewhere.

From the report itself, which summarizes the responses from nearly 400 executives in small and medium-sized companies:

“Amid recent dire predictions of an economic recession, employers are increasingly concerned about attracting and retaining high-quality employees. This is because despite a 70 percent probability for a recession in 2008, top talent will remain in high demand and qualified candidates will continue to have many career opportunities available to them.

Survey results show that the top business concern in 2008 is recruiting and retaining talent (31 percent), followed by revenue (26 percent). At this time last year, increasing revenue was a higher priority for respondents than was attracting and retaining top talent. Given growing talent concerns in the U.S., this increase in anxiety about recruitment and retention is not surprising. Organizations realize that profitability will occur as a result of the attraction and retention of high-quality employees, even in a down market.

For the majority of respondents, the concerns they have about attracting and retaining talent focus on competing with larger, better-known companies for the same talent pool and on coping with younger workers with unreasonable demands. Employers should keep in mind that there are more generations interacting in the workforce than ever before—and they have more options available to them than ever before—which puts more pressure on companies to meet each generation’s unique demands.”

The report also recommends some methods for addressing these employer concerns, such as building a strong employer brand in order to differentiate one’s company in a tight talent marketplace. The full report can be downloaded here.