With the improving economy and job market, concern about engaging employees and retaining critical talent is top of mind for many employers.

According to Mercer’s 2012 Attraction and Retention Survey, more than 40% of participating organizations are expanding their overall workforce in 2012 compared to just 27% in 2010. Moreover, fewer organizations today than two years ago are making selected reductions to their workforce (16% versus 25%, respectively), Yet despite this positive news, almost twice as many organizations today are reporting reduced levels of employee engagement compared to two years ago (24% versus 13%, respectively).

“Employee loyalty has been eroding the past few years due to companies’ responses to the economic downturn,” said Loree Griffith, Principal with Mercer’s Rewards consulting business in the US. “Actions like layoffs, pay freezes and limited training opportunities have created an evolving employment deal for employees due to uncertainty about what is expected and how employees will be rewarded. Meanwhile, firms are still aggressively managing people costs while finding ways to re-energize and re-motivate engaged employees.”

Mercer’s 2012 Attraction and Retention Survey examines the challenges, strategies and tactics organizations are using to promote employee attraction, retention and engagement. It includes responses from more than 470 employers across all industries throughout the US and Canada.

There are circa 540,000 words in the English language which is around Five times more than in Shakespeare’s time.

I recently had occasion to take my car in for service, a task that normally takes only a few hours and one for which I patiently wait for while the work is completed, but on this occasion it was going to take a couple of days so arranged a loaner vehicle with the garage to cover this time.