Unprepared for Growth? It’s not too late…

While the downturn had some people believing "security fears" had done away with competition for talent, the skills market hadn't actually improved. "It's just that the mobility of the workforce had died down," Sork says.

Now, as mobility increases, employers that have worked to retain talent will be in a position where "anyone they bring on board is actually growth-related". Further, the employees that have been retained "are actually going to be fairly highly engaged and want to perform at a high level".

Employers that need to replace existing talent will suffer a lag time, Sork says, as every person that leaves adds "an extension to the timeline for them to be business-ready".

He suggests that HR managers who have not prepared for growth should go into damage control now, taking four important steps.

1. Look for the warning signs

Discretionary effort - or a lack of it - is the first warning sign to look out for, says Sork. By examining people's behaviour patterns, employers can seek to discern whether workers are "demonstrating a willingness to apply themselves to the best of their ability and for the good of the company" or just achieving "minimum performance standards" until "something better comes up".

Meanwhile, Sork suspects the biggest warning sign - resignations - is yet to be fully realised. "The interview process for existing employees will take a little while and then I think real mobility will start kicking in [during] February and March." Only then will some businesses realise they are entering a "danger zone", he says.

2. Prepare for what's ahead by acknowledging what's past

One of "the biggest issues" for organisations post-GFC is the way they focused on survival at the expense of engagement during the downturn, says Sork. In order to address this, employers should acknowledge their mistakes to employees and explain why their actions were necessary "from their perspective, at the time", he says.

It is about acknowledging, not justifying, their actions, he says, "resetting the commitment to people and therefore, hopefully, resetting the commitment of people to the business".

3. Compensate workers according their value

Even those organisations who were "doing the right thing" by their employees all along may have had to stop handing out bonuses or doing salary reviews during the downturn. "Knowing now that the business is potentially going to enter into a phase of growth and will capitalise on better performance, they do need to make sure there is at least a review of how they are going to acknowledge the commitment their people have given during tougher times," he says. Whether that's financial or otherwise, there is a need to demonstrate appreciation for employees' commitment during difficult times.

Sork says managers should ask themselves: "Do I want to hang on to this person? What do they see as their perceived value? Am I compensating them according to their perceived value? Do I think I'm getting value out of them?"

"If all of those answers are 'yes, I am,' then you're likely to have a secure employee," he explains. "If the employee thinks they're being undervalued at the moment then there's a risk they're going to seek out environments other than yours."

4. Prepare managers to be good primary carers

A manager's ability to create a welcoming environment can be the difference between avoiding the "revolving door" and attracting and retaining talent, says Sork. While all employees need to accept their role in welcoming a new member, the manager is the key.

"In our experience, the majority of managers are not good at attaching and onboarding, and so we're likely to enter into a phase where there is a reasonable level of placement and fallout," Sork says.

Sork suggests building awareness and readiness by helping managers to understand what attachment is, and the impact they will have during the critical attachment period (the first 120 days).

Their performance will affect the discretionary effort and performance of all new employees - and the overall risk of attrition - so it must be measured and managed well, he says.