What’s your current reality? Are you laying off talent, trying to hire for specific positions or hoping to just hang on to your best people during all the uncertainty? Or are you doing all three at once?

We compared notes with our consultants and facilitators nationwide and found there are at least five issues that are raised over and over. Here’s one:

Engagement and retention are definitely back-burnered as important issues for now. My employees should quit whining and be glad they have jobs.

We heard this refrain from many managers during the U.S. recession of 2001 and 2002. They thought it or (worse yet) said it to their employees. What happened as a result? The minute the economic lights came back on, the best and brightest people (overworked and demoralized, with updated resume in hand) started looking. They logged onto job search sites by the thousands and answered recruitment calls from head-hunters with gusto. From 2003 through 2006, numerous surveys cites that 50 to 80% of employees were actively looking for new work. And they found it!

Your attitude and actions toward your valuable workers during this economic downturn will, to a large degree, predict your ability to keep them once the economy improves. We’ve seen it happen. So have you.

Dr. Beverly Kaye is a thought-leader and best-selling author in the area of employee engagement. Her company, Career Systems International, helps organizations worldwide maximize the strategic engagement, development and retention of key talent to increase profitability and deliver significant returns on investment.