As of this writing (February, 2011), the United States is beginning to emerge from the biggest recession since the Great Depression.   Many employers have had to freeze salaries, cut staff, and make other cost reductions over the past two years.  Those people whose jobs are spared end up stressed beyond their limits as they try to do more with less.

Several recent surveys point out how important it is to create loyalty to your company by treating your employees right.  An online survey conducted by Right Management (a part of Manpower, Inc.) showed that 60% of employees have intentions of finding a new job as the economy improves, and another 27% have at least updated their resumes or begun networking.  Could you stand to lose 87% of your staff over the next year? 

A separate study, conducted by Finnegan Mackenzie and ExecuNet found that more than 90% of executives would be willing to speak to a recruiter, and more than 50% are actively looking for a new job.  Additionally, the study found that most managers have no idea this is happening, and in fact have no reason to care, with only 6% of the CEOs they surveyed reporting that the loss of a top executive would have any impact on the CEO's pay or bonuses.