I know it's a cliche we've heard for years, but a look into the future reminds us the importance of retaining great employees. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that "our economy will create 10 million more workers in 2010 our labor force can provide." That's a lot of green grass on the other side! Basically, if you have superior skills you should be able to keep a very good job. This will create a competitive marketplace for the best employees to work in our companies.
As technology and customer relationships become more complex, the need for a top quality employee is even more critical. From my personal experience I find that an "A" employee provides me 120-200% more value than an average "C" employee.
"How many assets do you have in your business that will be more valuable in 10 years? 20 years?
Often, we only think of "skilled" employees as doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, and other highly educated "professionals." From my travels around the country, I can see that an exceptional CAD operator or Customer Service person is just as important to a reprographics company as a scientist is to a pharmaceutical company. I believe our I.T. employees will be especially important to protect since their opportunities in other industries will be endless. (Just make sure you find the right one!)
Employee turnover will become far more hazardous to your company in the near future as the labor crunch intensifies. The best employees will have 10 million more shades of greener grass to admire.