When it comes to top workforce talent, 2017 is shaping up to be a seller’s market.

National trends show that unemployment is low and continuing to fall while worker salaries are on the rise.

Your savviest employees are well aware of this. They know that now is a great time to begin assessing their own value in this improving labor market.

In fact, national data show that voluntary turnover has increased during each of the last five years. While voluntary turnover has not yet returned to 2008 pre-recession levels, as labor markets continue to tighten, it will become more and more tempting for top talent to begin looking at what opportunities might be available.

If thoughts like this don’t keep you up at night, they should.

While the cost of turnover varies greatly depending on the employee you are trying to replace, research shows that finding, hiring and training a new worker ranges from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Considering all this, employers need to be working hard this year to keep their top talent on the payroll.

The best strategy to achieve this goal is open, honest communication. While most employees won’t openly tell their bosses they are looking for new jobs, they are often eager to explain their long-term career goals and where they see their lives heading.

These conversations give businesses opportunities to attempt to help their best employees reach their goals. If employers aren’t actively working with top staff members on this, workers will naturally begin envisioning futures that involve working in their dream jobs somewhere else.

While having these discussions, some employers may also want to study their compensation and benefits packages to see how competitive they are in today’s job market. If, like many businesses, you put the brakes on salary increases during the recession, it is wise to make sure you are still paying the market rate to your top talent.

Compared to pay, it’s much more complicated to assess the competitiveness of your employee benefits. There are just so many different packages and options available today. It can also be difficult to respond to individual employee concerns about benefits since these are often negotiated at a group rate and given to the entire employee pool. Not to mention that many employers’ benefits budgets are feeling the pinch of rising health care costs.

But while traditional benefits can be difficult to address, businesses can think creatively this year about bringing in perks to keep their top employees engaged.

For example, you could ask a highly valued employee whether there is a piece of equipment that would help with his or her job. Perhaps an employee wants to switch from a desktop computer to a laptop – a change that could be built into your next scheduled technology upgrade.

In addition, some employees would love the free perk of being able to work from home on a regular basis or on certain preapproved occasions.

Another great perk is the ability to attend career-development events such as conferences. Having something to look forward to at your current job, such as an exciting conference, can be a powerful deterrent from the temptation to seek opportunities elsewhere.

If you want more tips on keeping your best workers engaged, check out our moresource-inc.com website.

Visit us online or give me a call if there is more we can do to make sure your company can attract and retain top talent.

Contact Moresource at 573-443-1234.