(May 28, 2004) - As secure as it might be, little satisfaction comes from maintaining your income by doing the work of a couple of people who used to be your friends at work. Busier and more productive, perhaps. Satisfied, secure and challenged to invest passion, unlikely.

Certainly, not all of the 40% who say they'll change jobs at first opportunity actually will. Talking big and acting big are very separate things. But, the combination of increased attrition from retirement (moving to 5% per year) and increased opportunity (moving to 10% per year for a while) creates an economy wide attrition baseline of 15% per year if the company is a pretty good place to work.

Add a little planned growth and the Recruiting workload starts to look like 20% of the workforce in the course of the year.

And, good people will be leaving. Remember, the good ones go first because they can. What makes them powerful contributors in the workplace (the ability to view risk differently than others) is what makes them more mobile.

Typical retention programs focus on compensation and benefits. Keeping the early leavers depends on showing them the path towards greater impact and contribution. Interestingly, what keeps the mobile crew from leaving involves showing them how to create more value. Unfortunately, typical packaged programs depend on HR being in its usual posture of not understanding the actual job or the potential for individual contribution.

Have a wonderful Holiday Weekend!

John Sumser