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.