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A report on the UK jobs market in 2014 predicts increased talent migration and suggests businesses are not doing enough to retain their best employees.

A combination of improving prospects for job candidates and a lack of talent management strategies among organisations will pose problems for firms looking to retain their best employees.

Reed Salary and Market 2014 report reveals 61 per cent of HR professionals are worried about losing talent during the coming year. Despite this, 62 per cent admit to having no talent management strategy in place 

In addition, over 44 per cent of HR professionals are expected to look for a new job. 

More than half (54 per cent) of HR employees said they had not received a pay rise in the past 12 months.

The market for prospective candidates is improving, the report suggests, as job opportunities are up 28 per cent year-on-year.

Tom Lovell, group managing director at REED, said the majority of HR employees are satisfied in their current jobs but businesses could not afford to overlook the fact that competition for the best-quality candidates would increase as the economy improves.

"Despite a need to attract and retain talent within their organisation, many businesses aren’t investing in their workforce through pay or their benefits, such as training, and this will impact on the overall satisfaction rating for their workforce," he commented. 

He said organisations would need to invest in brand reputation and talent management to ensure they recruit and retain the best individuals.

The Reed publication follows a report from Deloitte stating that talent would be the focus of HR in 2014, as employers would have to do more to retain and engage their workforces.

Skills would be in short supply, Deloitte predicted, and organisations would have to create global networks in order to win the race for talent.

Talent mobility would force organisations to open up access to internal positions, employee assessment tools and encourage leadership values that focus on internal development.

New research from The Conference Board and UK partner Chartered Management Institute (CMI) suggests chief executive officers (CEOs) are adopting a focus on workers in 2014 in order to maximise growth.

Employee engagement and better management are at the heart of a drive to reshape workplace culture in order to improve competitiveness and raise productivity.

The survey, CEO Challenge, was carried out to gauge opinion among CEOs, presidents and chairmen from 1,000 companies around the world. It found that Human Capital, which encompasses developing, retaining and engaging talented employees, is currently the biggest challenge facing CEOs.

An unexpected finding from the survey is that business leaders plan to focus on their existing workforce rather than launching recruitment drives. Nine out of the top ten Human Capital strategies are focussed on existing employees, striving to maintain engagement and retain critical talent – a disappointing result for those hoping to change jobs.

Management performance is also highly important, with "improving leadership development programmes" now up to fifth on the agenda – last year, it was tenth.

Ethical working is also a high priority. Integrity was ranked highest on the list of leadership attributes that are critical to future success, suggesting bosses are looking to improve the ethical dimension of work that was so severely compromised by high-profile scandals of recent years. 

Leading change, managing complexity, an entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to retain and develop talent were the other qualities valued most highly by those surveyed.

CMI’s director of strategy Petra Wilton said CEOs are faced with the challenge of building world-class workforces. "It’s good to see European leaders in particular recognising that leadership development is critical to getting this right. Leadership attributes like integrity, leading change and managing complexity are fundamental to cracking the challenges facing managers and leaders in the year ahead, and will be absolutely key to future success."

Ms Wilton went on to say the findings support the 'Valuing Your Talent' initiative, which is being developed by CMI in partnership with the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Investors in People and the Royal Society for the Arts.

HR will need to keep up with the effect of social media developments, which stand to have a profound effect on the structure of organisations.

A report by Accenture, Trends Reshaping the Future of HR, says social media will give workers a greater degree of independence, allowing them to define their own learning, career paths and their own performance feedback. It will be easier for workers to share knowledge and ideas, HR Magazine reports.

A new generation bringing different values and behaviours into the workplace has the potential to disrupt organisations' structures, hierarchies and titles.

Linked In HR director Connie Gibney agrees that the workplace will be increasingly shaped by these emerging trends and says HR must adapt to them.

"You only need to look at the amount of young people coming into the workplace who use LinkedIn. Last year, we registered 30 million students and recent graduates on the site – the fastest-growing demographic," Gibney said. "Young people entering the workforce expect companies to have a presence on social media, whether that's in the recruitment process, ways of delivering learning or internal messaging."

The Accenture report said HR should play an essential role in creating effective incentives and organisational structures relating to knowledge sharing.

Gibney says HR should not restrict social media use because it may be perceived as a negative gesture towards employees.

Instead, HR should take the initiative, wresting control of social media from IT and marketing, as it will ultimately start to influence organisations' bottom lines.

Recently, a study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development suggested that companies should allow their employees more freedom to use online portals.

It said that organisations tend to restrict the use of social media platforms to prevent sensitive information being compromised and guard against cyber crime.

Many employees, however, believe social media helps them to respond to customer queries and helps to give them a voice, enabling them to contribute to the running of a company. 

A deficit of trust among workforces could harm the UK's economic recovery, according to a new report.

The study, Are organisations losing the trust of their workers?, highlights the importance of trust in motivating employees. The CIPD report found that employees who do not trust their senior managers are less likely to be productive and engaged.

Only around a third of employees (37 per cent) trust senior management, according to the results of the survey.

The report explores the factors behind weak employee trust, the consequences of a decline in trust and the ways in which it may be restored.

It finds that trust among employees may have been damaged by the recession and its aftermath. Recent improvements in levels of trust may be a consequence of the economic recovery.

Leadership, culture and behaviour are all major factors in establishing and maintaining trust. It is stronger when management is seen to treat people fairly and when leaders act in accordance with corporate values. Trust is reciprocal: when leaders show trust in their employees, employees tend to trust managers.

In low trust environments, employees are less likely to take risks and share knowledge, which can have the effect of stifling innovation. Additionally, if people feel unable to hold the behaviour of leaders to account, it may have a detrimental effect on an organisation's performance and reputation.

The study identifies ways of improving trust when it has been lost or damaged. These include improving communication and giving employees a stronger voice. Systems and behaviour should be seen to reinforce corporate values.

Mark Beatson, chief economist at the CIPD, said: "Trust is an economic issue. If employees do not trust their leaders, this damages business performance. Employees spend more time covering their backs and trying to second guess what management are up to. They are much less likely to be engaged in their work; indeed, they are more likely to be looking for another job and are unlikely to recommend their employer to anyone else."

A short-term improvement in trust levels may be occurring due to economic recovery but this needs to be consolidated using the means identified above.