One in four UK employees are thinking about leaving their job more than in other major European economies, according to research by ISR.

The research reveals that too many employees in UK companies think that their organisation is doing a poor job at keeping its most talented employees.

It found that French and British employees are the least likely to think that their firm is doing a good job at retaining talented people. The research reveals that nearly half of both UK (46%) and French (47%) employees think that their employer is not doing a good job of retaining its most talented employees.

German employees are the least likely to say that their company is not doing a good job at retaining its employees.

The research also showed that 33% of British employees say that their company isn’t doing a good job at developing people to their full potential and 26% say that they don’t have an opportunity for personal development and growth in their company.

It also found that the operating income in the group of companies with high levels of employee engagement improved on average by 19.2% over 12 months, while in companies with low levels of engagement it declined by 32.7%.

Nick Tatchell, senior project director, ISR says: “Our research suggests that a workplace culture in which people can maximise their potential is still largely absent. Without it, there is high risk that people will either put minimum levels of effort into their job, or look for opportunities elsewhere. Both of these can have a serious impact on an organisation’s financial performance.”