The Race for Talent: Retaining and Engaging Workers in the 21st Century

As the 21st Century unfolds, major changes are beginning to occur in today's workplace. A growing awareness of unavoidable demographics is creating a greater urgency for HR professionals everywhere to focus more attention and energy on retaining talented employees and keeping them actively engaged in their work. New strategies are emerging that go well beyond traditional solutions, holding much promise in the effort to keep and engage well-performing employees. Employee retention is king. And employee engagement is not far behind. CEOs of the nation's fastest growing companies overwhelmingly cite retention of key workers as the most critical factor to plan for in the next year ahead. Similarly, the number one priority on the HR agenda is still to attract and retain key talent. Or, said differently, among all the factors that could influence the effectiveness of organizations in the future, the foremost driver is talent.