Staff development is weapon of choice in recession

Employers are choosing to focus on retention rather than recruitment in response to current resourcing issues, finds the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) Recruitment, Retention and Turnover survey. This year's report revealed that 73% of organisations find a lack of necessary specialist skills remains the key resourcing challenge, whilst 56% of employers are tackling this by concentrating on retention strategies such as training and career development opportunities - with 75% of employers saying that 'additional training to allow internal staff to fill posts' was the most effective recruitment initiative.