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CCH® HR MANAGEMENT - 9/8/08

One-in-four workers do not feel loyal to their current employer, survey finds

Employees may be feeling more loyal to their own career goals instead of their employers, as nearly a quarter of employees (25 percent) do not feel loyal to their current employer and 20 percent said they are likely to leave their current position to change jobs in a year or less. This is according to CareerBuilder.com's latest survey of more than 2,900 HR professionals and hiring managers and more than 7,000 employees nationwide conducted from May 22 to June 13, 2008.

"When workers feel disloyal to their employer, they are more likely to be less productive and proactive in their role, and ultimately, are probably keeping their eyes open for a new position elsewhere," said Jason Ferrara, vice president of Corporate Marketing for CareerBuilder.com. "While already weathering the storm of a downshifted economy, employers may need to factor in additional recruitment costs into their budgets especially in high- demand areas such as IT, Engineering and Healthcare."

According to the survey, 29 percent of employers have an average cost per hire of $1,000 or more; 17 percent estimate their cost-per-hire at $2,500 or more. Specialized areas that are experiencing a shortage of qualified talent are reporting even higher recruitment expenses. Nearly one-in-five employers in IT (18 percent) said it costs them in excess of $5,000 to fill an open position. Once employers factor in the costs of hiring new employees, it can take a significant amount of time to make up those expenses. Forty-two percent of employers estimated that it takes them more than six months to recoup expenses associated with recruiting and training someone once they're on board with the company; 15 percent said it takes more than one year.

Workers cited a variety of reasons for why they felt disloyal to their current employer: Don't feel my employer values me (61 percent); My efforts are not recognized or appreciated (52 percent); Employer doesn't pay enough (51 percent); Not enough career advancement opportunities (44 percent); Don't like the work culture (33 percent); Benefits are not good enough (32 percent); Don't like my boss (23 percent); Employer doesn't provide enough ongoing training or education (21 percent); and Work is not challenging enough (19 percent).

Comparing industries, 30 percent of manufacturing employees and 29 percent of IT employees do not feel loyal to their current employer, the two highest among all industries surveyed. Leisure and hospitality and healthcare had the lowest percentages of employees say they did not feel loyal to their current employer, at 20 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

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