Talent attraction has been top of the HR agenda in recent months and perhaps even years. As organisations look to expand into global markets, maximise business offerings and in some cases branch off in to new industries, getting the best talent on board was a vital strategic move. But could 2013 be the year where this shifts to talent retention?

At a recent JobPost event – Future of Talent, Technology & Social Recruiting – Nina Bosco, Head of Sourcing Intelligence at Alexander Mann Solutions, referenced an interesting survey from Glassdoor. The results revealed that for 2013, one in three employees will be looking for a new job and a staggering one in five were probably already looking or would be looking in the first three months.

The reasons for this are perhaps unclear. It could simply be that as employees begin to recognise the economy is on the road to recovery they feel now is a safe time to make a move. It could even be the overall effect of the turbulent few years where staff felt over worked and under paid.

No matter what the cause, the effect this could have on organisations makes it an issue worth addressing. As HR Professionals are increasingly justifying budgets, there’s a need to determine whether this continued focus on talent attraction is sustainable if the top talent are disappearing off the corporate ladder.

I guess this is very much a chicken and egg question. In one aspect it’s pointless ploughing money into attraction programmes if they leave before they have had chance to make a significant investment into the organisation. But on the other hand, what’s the value of a retention programme if you’re not attracting the talent to retain in the first instance? It really is a fine balancing act, but one that really needs to be done.

What do you think? Will this year be the year of the quitter?