Conquering our Mt. Doom

Who's seen Lord of the Rings?

Probably almost everyone, but just in case here is a quick synopsis.

To save the fictitious "Middle Earth," the main character Frodo must toss a powerful ring into Mt. Doom.

It takes him 3 loooong movies to overcome seemingly a billion obstacles and finally do so. (But along the way there are awesome effects.)

What's funny is that we don't see much after he completes his task, his challenge is essentially over.

Bear with me, but our Mt. Doom was the nasty recession. We fought and fought for a long time to do anything to survive, trying to maintain sales to keep the lights on and hang on to as many employees as possible.

For the most part, it seems that we've accomplished our task. Leading economic indicators say we're on the way to a recovery. Unemployment has at least stabilized and is trending down. We've conquered our Mt. Doom!

So where are our priorities now? Unfortunately, we have a new challenge.

The results from a recent survey linked here, show that employers and their employees see very differently on a key issue. Most employers are confident that their team members are happy and have no plans to consider new opportunities, while a majority of employees responded that they will consider new jobs if the economy continues to improve.

http://tinyurl.com/y4l7sku

It's tough because it involves a shift in priorities, but employers are going to have to improve their strategy for retaining their top employees.

The survey offers more information to help improve a company's strategy. There is an additional link to a quiz so employers can recognize what steps they need to take to supplement their plan to keep their best people. (I can't ignore great information online, even if it is from a competitor!)

So unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of Frodo, who lives happily ever after. But by planning ahead, and using the resources available, we can be ahead of others in the quest to keep our top performers doing work for us.