In fact, you are more likely to lose almost anyone in the company than a top executive. Front-line workers, who deal directly with customers, are the next most likely to go, followed by women and ethnic minority employees. Bottom of the list of likely leavers are top executives and line managers, according to research to be published shortly by the Conference Board, the New York-based business research organisation, and Accenture, the management consultancy.
Many chief executives worry about how to recruit and hold on to talented staff.
Yet Conference Board research showed few companies appeared to know how to hold on to their most valuable people, or even who they were. While companies were paying more attention to attracting staff, they were not doing enough to retain them. The survey showed that, apart from concerns about attracting staff, chief executives were worried by the effect of the internet and by mergers and acquisitions, which were disrupting relations with customers. Our second largest customer was bought out twice. While chief executives around the world often had the same worries, there were significant variations.