Dive Brief:

• American employers looking to keep attrition costs down should be interested to know that half (50%) of U.S. participants in a recent global survey are constantly looking for the the next big thing career-wise.
• Battling this emerging so-called "continuous candidate" trend is critical, according to ManpowerGroup Solutions, which conducted the survey (and offers a white paper on the results), because growing employee churn will always negatively impact the bottom line in a variety of ways (recruiting, retraining, etc.).
• Overall, the prevalence of continuous candidates worldwide is 37%, based on workers polled who agreed with the statement, "I am always looking for the next job opportunity." Kate Donovan, senior vice president of ManpowerGroup Solutions and Global RPO President​, offered a few factors behind this trend, including new ways of getting work done emerging in the U.S. more than anywhere else. 

Dive Insight:

Donovan mentions the popularity and visibility of the "gig economy," which is redefining how people work. Tech firms are engaging more contract employment because they are the employers with the fastest changing skills requirements. Using contractors allows them not to rely on skills within the organization that could become obsolete. Finally, layoffs and job losses (Cisco being the latest example) that have occurred since the 2008 recession put a serious dent in the idea of job security.

"Looking at millennials and Gen Y, our research shows that it is the older millennials – with more work experience – who are most likely to be habitually looking for jobs," Donovan said. "In organizations where employers are not meeting their candidates' expectations or aspirations for advancement, that is where individuals will be more likely to always be looking out for their next opportunity."

Some suggestions for employers looking to retain existing talent and better screen for prospective employees include boosting hiring managers' ability to clearly explain the opportunities for career advancement to candidates, foster "learnability" in the form of constant learning to keep continuous candidates engaged, and beef up mentoring programs.​