There is a Gallagher Organization statistic that reports that more than 60 percent of current employees are planning to leave their positions as soon as another opportunity presents itself.

That is startling! In a healthy economy, there is always some churning of the workforce, but more than 60 percent of all employees report enough dissatisfaction with their current employer that they plan to leave at the first chance to do so. That is really remarkable.

The implication is that only the best will be hired away, so every effort must be made now to retain these employees—before the opportunity to leave presenting itself.

The Gallagher report also states that employers know that there is no place for their employees to go, given the weak economy, so they don't worry about defections to other employers. Abuse of one type or another seems to be rampant. Because of layoffs, those retained employees get the privilege of working their current job, plus some of the workload of those laid off. Everyone understands the axiom of "doing more with less." That has been the new normal for 15 plus years—employees understand the need for production increase. But interpersonal competence—dealing effectively with the human aspect of this equation—will allow employers to gain much more.