The national unemployment rate in September was down to 4.6 percent, which is good news if you're in the market for a job. However, if you're an employer, you need to pay attention to another statistic: on August 31, 2006, the job openings rate was up to 3 percent, its highest level since April 2001. In other words, U.S. companies have more jobs than people to fill them. Therefore, if your organization bases its employee retention strategy on the age-old, "everyone is replaceable" theory, it's time you find a new model.

That was my message to a group of graduate students at the University of Findlay this evening. You can download the slides here. You will need PowerPoint to view these slides. Bookmark this post on del.icio.us