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HR executives look to employee benefits to retain top talent

Posted on June 29th, 2011 Read time: 1 minutes

While the down economy has favored businesses for the past few years, human resources executives expect to see a turnaround in the jobs market as the recovery begins to pick up and the advantage shifts to applicants.

A recent survey from outsourcing firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reveals 42 percent of HR administration executives were worried about rival companies "poaching" their top employees.

"Even in a downturn with widespread layoffs, companies still need talent.
In fact, this may be the most important time for employers to hold on tight to their
highest skilled workers," said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

With this in mind, many companies have begun to reinstate perks and benefits that had to be cut during the financial crisis as a way to entice their top talent to stay. Eighteen percent of respondents said they've been able to bring back all pre-recession perks, while 41 percent have brought back some and an additional 23.5 percent have started to introduce new employee benefits.

A separate study from MetLife highlights the dangers of neglecting high-performing employees. It found that respondents who said they were "very satisfied" with employee benefits program are three times as likely to be loyal to their employers than those who are dissatisfied with such initiatives. 

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