One on One with Finnegan Mackenzie's Dick Finnegan

A consulting firm is only as good as its people. And as the economy continues to improve, and job opportunities emerge inside and outside the profession, voluntary attrition will become a paramount concern. To help firm leaders deal with this challenge, Consulting's One-on-One sat down with Dick Finnegan, president of Finnegan Mackenzie, a leading adviser on staff retention issues to professional service firms. In this edition, we focus on the common misconceptions firm leaders have regarding voluntary attrition. In the next edition we'll focus on specific action steps firm leaders should take.

Consulting: At this point in the economic recovery, what misconceptions about staff retention are common in the minds of consulting firm leaders?

Finnegan: There's this broad brush thinking that during a recession no one leaves, but we know that's not true. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was only an 11 percent drop in the number of people who left their jobs voluntarily between 2007, when the market was on fire, and 2009, when the bottom fell out. So, it's important to realize that you're always at risk of losing your top talent—and there's almost as good a chance of losing good people in good years as in bad years. Good workers can find good jobs in any economy. Consulting: But given the improving economy, voluntary attrition is a bigger issue now than it was six months ago, right?