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Employee turnover is top workforce challenge, SHRM survey finds

June 23, 2015

Retention/turnover, employee engagement and succession planning ranked as the top challenges faced by HR organizations today, according to the 2015 SHRM/Globoforce Employee Recognition Survey.

The survey found 40% of HR professionals cited employee retention/turnover as their top organizational challenge followed by employee engagement at 39%. Another 29% cited concern about finding replacement talent, and 24% of respondents named culture management as their top HR concern

“The latest SHRM/Globoforce survey provides insight into the key concerns among the HR leaders,” said Evren Esen, SHRM’s director of survey programs. “The one that rose to the top of the list was employee turnover/retention, which is certainly not a surprise given the strengthening job market. The good news is that our findings reveal that employee recognition programs promote engagement and an overall positive work experience.”

The survey also examined the benefits of employee recognition programs tied to company values, and the impact these programs can have on company culture. It found 90% of respondents practicing values-based recognition reported it positively affected engagement, and 68% said it positively affected retention.

“Now more than ever, companies are focusing on culture as a competitive differentiator,” said Eric Mosley, CEO of Globoforce. “They’re realizing that a best-in-class culture is dependent upon employees feeling engaged and nurtured, and that this type of human workplace starts and ends with recognition.”

The SHRM/Globoforce Employee Recognition Programs Survey was commissioned by Globoforce and conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management from Jan. 13 to Feb. 4, 2015. The final sample of the survey was composed of 823 HR professionals who are employed at organizations with a staff size of 500 or more employees.