This is a time of transition for the economy, companies across the country.  And when recovery starts to hit in a meaningful way, then many workers will face a new sort of transition as they face new opportunities for advancement.    Michael Watkins, Chairman of Genesis Advisers and author of a new book titled Your Next Move.The Leader's Guide to Successfully Navigating Major Career Transitions.  And as Watkins wrote in an online article for Harvard Business, he believes that a lot of workplaces are set up to face a lot of change:

According to a recent study just 10% of high-potential leaders lost their jobs during the recession (with many quickly securing new opportunities). But fewer than usual received promotions or moved to new companies. So at the first sign that the job market is heating up, many will be dusting off their resumes and seeking greener pastures.

Companies that did a clumsy job of managing cost-cutting and restructuring during the downturn are particularly at risk of losing their best talent as conditions improve. Given plummeting revenues and the need to get costs under control, many firms rightly went into crisis mode. But the way they went about making the reductions varied greatly. For some, it was a process akin to taking a meat cleaver to the organization, with rapid, often indiscriminate cuts, and the attitude that virtually anything could be demanded of the survivors (longer hours, reduced salaries) because things were so dire.

These same survivors, especially the most talented of them, understandably feel absolutely no loyalty to their current employers; they will jump ship the instant they feel it's safe to do so. In fact it's a wonderful time for strong companies to consolidate their positions and accelerate out of the downturn by cherry-picking the very best talent out of competitors who have (probably irreparably) damaged their corporate cultures. Some attention to effective on-boarding is also warranted as it will help you to retain the talent you hire.

Watkins discussed his new book with Sarah Green of Harvard Publishing: