"People Power: Business Owners List Attracting, Retaining
Talent as Top Concern"
Dan O'Shea
Grant Thornton, April 2001.
Available Online
This report, based on a survey of more than 400 small and midsize business
owners and senior executives, describes the issues and challenges of attracting
and retaining talented employees. Out of eight key factors that determine
a company's competitive advantage, surveyed owners ranked the ability to
attract and retain employees as the second most important issue, following
customer service. However, most owners and executives feel their companies
fall short on meeting this challenge. The study found a 42 percent difference
between how companies ranked the importance of attracting and retaining
talented employees and how they ranked their own performance in that area.
Employee loyalty is a vital element in keeping top-notch talent, the study
shows. Owners and managers who lead by example have an 85 percent impact
on a company's ability to foster employee loyalty. Rewards and recognition
programs are also focused on in the report as ways to retain employees.
In particular, effective compensation packages involving incentive programs,
shared ownership or a combination of both build a sense of employee investment
that is vital to retention efforts.
