Companies Lacking Employee Engagement Will Face High Turnover

According to the latest Ouch Point survey from Opinion Research Corporation (ORC), employers may face an exodus of workers once the job market improves if they don’t ramp up their employee engagement efforts. As many as 80 percent of those respondents who are currently employed would consider leaving their current job if presented with other opportunities. Fully one quarter of respondents (25 percent) said they have plans to leave their present employer once the job market stabilizes. Employees in the 18-34 age bracket were found likeliest to change jobs (36 percent).

“Given the high percentage of respondents who would consider leaving their present positions to pursue other opportunities, many employers may find themselves faced with serious turnover issues when the job market opens up,” says Lisa Wojtkowiak, of ORC’s Employee Engagement practice. “To prevent this, employers will need to focus on increasing their employees’ level of engagement,” she continues.

“Even if they don’t intend to leave,” Wojtkowiak says, “disengaged employees can undermine the success of an organization by wreaking havoc in two significant ways. First, they are not strongly committed to achieving a company’s goals and objectives, and may not be motivated to act in accordance with its mission and values. Second, they tend to create a less than favorable impression of their company as a potential employer in the marketplace.”

ORC’s Ouch Point series examines the tolerance thresholds of Americans in common scenarios they face daily in both their professional and personal lives. For more information, visit www.orc-ouchpoint.com