Nearly three-quarters of employers (73 per cent) are ‘highly concerned’ about retaining key staff following a period of cost-cutting measures.

Nearly three-quarters of employers (73 per cent) are ‘highly concerned’ about retaining key staff following a period of cost-cutting measures.

A similar number (71 per cent) feel that morale among their employees has suffered in the wake of cuts and redundancies, according to research among 161 senior decision makers from management consultancy Hay Group.

This concern appears to be justified, with separate research from the firm indicating that a majority of workers (59 per cent) are actively looking for another job, considering leaving or have accepted an offer elsewhere.

Phil Kenmore, a director at Hay Group, says that many companies have seen staff morale devastated by round upon round of job losses and penny-pinching.

Adds Kenmore, ‘Business leaders must be decisive and make cuts in one single exercise if they can. A drip feed of bad news is devastating for morale.’

Despite such concerns, a substantial majority of business leaders surveyed by Hays (88 per cent) feel that the recession was a good thing, as it forced them to question the way they did business. Only 3 per cent of respondents strongly disagreed with this statement.

On the other hand, more than a third (36 per cent) feel that their companies were not adequately prepared for the economic downturn.