Of course, the burst of the housing bubble is a huge factor and many states are still reeling from the effects. States that had previously benefitted from a large influx of new residents, particularly those located in the West and the Sun Belt, actually witnessed a decrease in net in-migration for the first time in years.

Obviously, the inability for people to sell their homes or gain financing to purchase a home is closely linked to America’s declining mobility as is the desire among organizations to manage costs by limiting the number of candidates they will relocate to fill openings. But the demographics of America’s most mobile segment also come into play.

More specifically, we know that younger Americans – those between the ages of 18 and 29 – are the most mobile population group. And it’s this very group that has been among the hardest hit by the recession. In December 2011, the unemployment rate for Americans age 35 to 44 was 6.8 percent, a striking contrast to the unemployment rate of 14.4 percent for those ages 20 to 24 and substantially lower than the 9.4 percent rate for those ages 25 to 34. In other words, companies are much less likely to hire those who are most willing and able to move while older workers either can’t or don’t want to relocate because they have stronger ties, such as children and spouses or partners with jobs, to their current residences.

The patterns that will emerge as economic conditions continue to improve remain unclear. Some surveys have indicated that Millennials are actually less open to relocation for work than previous generations, a by-product of their parents’ highly involved approach to raising kids. We may find that the longer-term trend is that fewer young Americans seek job opportunities in cities or regions that aren’t in close proximity to their families. Or, we may find that following years of difficulty landing a job young Americans are willing to go wherever they can find meaningful work.

Since the initial report was published, Mercer has been sharing a series of key findings from the global survey through its blog, M/Think. While all of the posts have been highly informative, one in particular caught the attention of Peer Group US – The Great Divide. Here, Mercer presents data to support a common workplace reality, namely, that one’s view of an organization as an employer is highly linked to that individual’s position within the organization.

More specifically, the infographic shows that while 82 percent of senior managers feel that they have “sufficient opportunity for growth and development” within their organizations, only 47 percent of non-management employees report feeling this way.

Similarities emerge when asked about the fairness of the promotion process at their organization. While 78 percent of senior managers believe that promotions are awarded to the most highly qualified employees, a mere 35 percent of non-managers agree with this perspective. And, while 84 percent of senior managers feel confident that they can achieve long-term career goals at their present organization, less than half (48 percent) of non-management employees feel this way.

This is not surprising given that those who are at the senior level within their organizations are most likely to have benefitted from the promotions process at their organizations and thus, reap the rewards that come with a senior role such as being more informed about their organization’s direction and their place within the organization than their lower-level counterparts.

Beyond this, the research points to the importance of ensuring that when an organization conducts an employer brand exercise – whether to review an existing brand model or to start from scratch by identifying the EVP – it’s absolutely necessary that the perspectives of all employees are accounted for by the research activities. While senior management is extremely helpful in shaping the project scope and identifying major topics for consideration, they alone cannot provide a complete picture of what it’s like to work at your organization and what barriers to retention and engagement may exist.

To guide their efforts, the Sage recruiting team developed a “Candidate Commitment” and then looked closely at how the processes in place across four areas – education, application, screening and interviewing – might be improved in order to deliver a better candidate experience.

What’s most striking about this piece is that it gets to the heart of what a true Employer Value Proposition (EVP) program can do for an organization. All too often, the focus of the EVP is solely on the brand development – the messages, the themes, the artwork, etc. While this is an essential component and one of the primary deliverables, any organization that intends to undertake a true EVP program should come to the table willing to learn how the organization needs to change in order to achieve better results with both recruiting and retention. Once you complete the research phase of an EVP program, it immediately becomes clear where the organization’s strengths lie and where there are areas of weakness that will continue to create recruiting and retention challenges unless they are addressed through organizational change.

Sage’s willingness to look beyond their messages to candidates and scrutinize the actual experience they offer serves as a great example for us all. Rather than accepting their status quo, they identified the barriers they had inadvertently put in place throughout the recruiting process and then made the necessary changes to improve the candidate experience and, in turn, perceptions about Sage as an employer.

But take a closer look at this year’s list, and you’ll quickly find that some interesting shifts have taken place. As a recent Wall Street Journal article about the survey pointed out, financial services firms have declined in popularity. More specifically, Bank of America Merrill Lynch plummeted from number 48 in 2010 to 77 in 2011. Undoubtedly, the financial crisis that began in 2007 led to highly unfavorable views in this country of the industry, but it also appears that Americans are troubled today by its “back to business as usual” attitude. In other words, enough is enough – to the point where the employer brand is suffering right alongside the consumer brand.

One might argue that Google and Facebook have also generated a fair share of negative publicity over the past year, much of it focused on their marketplace dominance along with policies and practices regarding user privacy. However, the respondent base included professionals with eight or fewer years of experience. These are individuals who have grown up online. Less privacy is just a fact of life for Millennials, and they aren’t as concerned as older Americans when it comes to privacy issues.

Of course, companies within the financial services sector may not be too concerned about the state of their employer brands in our current labor market, but they should heed the Universum survey results as an early warning. Employees often say that it does matter to them that others view their employer positively and would want to work there. If these firms fail to address their declining reputations, the result may be an impact on their bottom line as top graduates and professionals take their talents elsewhere in an improving economy.

Furthermore, the lesson here is that all organizations must view their employment propositions within a much larger context than ever before. Perspectives regarding your industry as a whole have the ability to both help – and hurt – your efforts to attract and retain talent.

In terms of optimism surrounding job growth, while it’s certainly declined since the second quarter of this year it’s still higher than it was in the last quarter of 2010. More specifically, about 37 percent of survey respondents plan to hire during Q4 2011, compared with one year ago when 26 percent of respondents reported having plans to hire. Employers located in the Southeast were the most optimistic about hiring plans, followed by employers in the West – not surprising given that most job growth prior to the recession was occurring in these regions. Employers in the Midwest and the Northeast were the most pessimistic regarding job growth in the fourth quarter.

However, even given the decline in overall optimism, many employers noted that they had difficulty hiring workers during Q3 2011, with skilled professionals accounting for the greatest need. Other respondents noted difficulty hiring skilled manual workers and managers. According to SHRM, this reinforces trends identified by the association’s Leading Indicators on National Employment (LINE) report. This monthly report measures how difficult it is for HR to fill openings that “are of strategic importance to their companies” and finds that the index rose for both the manufacturing and services sectors throughout 2011 with the exception of April.

Unfortunately, employers should anticipate a continued shortage when it comes to skilled talent, particularly as the economy rebounds and those with in-demand skills have even more opportunities to explore. In instances such as this, it may not be enough to have a broad-based Employer Value Proposition (EVP). It may require the development of a Target Value Proposition (TVP), which speaks to a more narrowly defined segment of your workforce. This will ensure that you are communicating as effectively as possible with current and prospective candidates who have the critical skills your organization needs to achieve its business objectives.

Even more alarming are the trends surrounding time away from work. The survey reveals that 31 percent of companies report that in the last three years their employees have used less vacation and personal time off. The companies do exhibit concern over the situation and potential long-term impacts, and 66 percent even say that they have made changes in a number of areas to address their concerns. However, the changes they report are in the areas of talent management, organizational structure and job performance evaluation – a far cry from the actions that would show true commitment to the plight of today’s employees, namely, hire more staff to alleviate the burden. Especially when media headlines consistently point to the significant cash reserves that many corporations have today.

This represents a fairly big disconnect between the factors that are creating significant job stress for employees and how employers plan to address those challenges. We know from previous downturns that while employees will do what they can in response to economic challenges, this only lasts for a certain amount of time. Sooner or later, they hit a breaking point and are much more willing to consider new opportunities. So, don’t assume that you know how your employees feel about your organization as an employer and their willingness to consider a job change. Instead, conduct an internal survey of all employees and work directly with hiring managers to address potential issues among critical staff members.

Among the perks employers are using to up the ante:

• Free haircuts
• iPads
• Bring your dog to work
• Classes on entrepreneurship
• Increased stock options (up to 40%) by accepting a job on-the-spot

Beyond offering more enticing perks, recruiters are also expanding their efforts to attract talent. And, thanks to the extraordinary success of some notable Harvard drop-outs, companies today don’t always require a bachelor’s degree for computer science positions. So, instead of recruiting on college campuses, recruiters are attending coding competitions and parties in the hopes of snapping up talent.

The bottom line? If you are having difficulty recruiting computer scientists, programmers and engineers, review the perks that your organization offers to make sure they’re competitive and consider more innovative ways to connect with candidates.

Complementing comScore’s findings, Scarborough Research released data indicating that 71 percent of adults read a newspaper, either the printed or digital edition, on a weekly basis. Scarborough also notes that adults who have done post-graduate work or who hold advanced degrees are more likely to read a print newspaper or visit a print website, as well as 81 percent of women in a management or professional position earning $100K or more.

Further, given that most newspaper websites offer extremely targeted advertising programs, employers should be exploring opportunities to use these sites to target highly educated and experienced job seekers.

Given that the housing market has yet to improve significantly, the increase in relocation is more likely due to people who are finding better prospects elsewhere regardless of what they lose on their homes. This means that many companies may find it easier to relocate hard-to-find talent than it has been in the past especially as banks continue to renegotiate mortgage terms, making it possible for some people to finally sell their homes.

So, if you’re an employer that’s trying to fill a number of positions locally to no avail, it may be time to consider out-of-market recruiting. Start by analyzing available migration patterns to determine which regions are most viable based on historical trends and then assess the local housing market for each region in order to arrive at your final list of geographic targets.

More specifically, the rate of retirement among healthcare professionals between the ages of 55 to 64 was a paltry 1.55 in 2010. In comparison, the retirement rate for this segment between 2004 and 2007was 4 percent. As noted in the article, the trend is not expected to last, and most healthcare employers are bracing for a major exodus of experienced talent in the next few years.

The challenge will certainly be formidable. There’s no quick fix here, and healthcare systems will need to focus on programmatic efforts – think along the lines of role transitioning opportunities – designed to help keep their retirement-eligible employees in the workforce. For nurses, this might mean shorter shifts or possibly a less physically-demanding clinical assignment.

The research also underscores that employers across all industries will need to begin thinking, if they haven’t already, about ensuring that the expertise and skills currently held by employees nearing retirement are transferred to their younger employees. Otherwise, these employers will risk not just losing talent due to retirement but also having to deal with a major gap in their organization’s knowledge base.