Be Afraid: Employee Layoff Fears At the Lowest Level in Five Years

Glassdoor released its Q3 Employee Confidence Survey this past Friday and the results continue to show growing employee confidence. 15% of surveyed employees are less concerned about being laid off in the next six months, this % hasn’t been recorded since Q4 2008:

On top of that employees continue to feel optimistic that if laid off they could get a job in the next six months:

So what does this mean? If you haven’t already,  you should start looking at how to retain your top performers. Although the economy remains shaky,  there are definite signs of a slow recovery taking place and that means the people you’ve been overworking and underpaying are polishing their resumes.  

I suggest starting with a review of employee perks and consider enriching or adding additional perks, Per Glassdoor’s survey 76% of employees report that perks such as working remotely, casual dress and stock options have increased since second quarter. Please note that some of those perks don’t cost much: working remotely and changing the dress code costs nothing.

Some other options you can pursue that cost a little more time or money:

1. If you had a salary freeze in the past you should re-evaluate salaries for key positions within your organization. Make sure you are paying at or above the market and plan how to address any shortfalls.

2. Let people know they are valued and critical to the organization. If they are on the hi-potential list or on the succession plan, make sure they know that. Many people leave companies because they do not feel valued, communicating this is critical but doesn’t cost much except time.

3. Brush off the succession plans- who are your key players? What roles are critical to the organization’s success? Are people in those roles fairly compensated? Are any considered “at-risk” to leave the company? How will you handle it when one comes to you with an offer from another company? Counter offer? No counter offer?

What about your company? As the economy continues to recover does your company have plans in place to retain key people? To bring on new talent? Are you enriching your benefits or perks? Or is it business as usual? Tell me in the comments!