Finding Talent, Top Challenge for Employers

Petra Durnin is the director of research and analysis for the Southern California market at CBRE.nin

LOS ANGELES—This may be the year of uncertainty. According to the 2017 Occupier Survey from CBRE, 55% of respondents listed economic uncertainty as a major challenge in the year ahead. Employee satisfaction and talent retention also top the list of things on employers’ minds, with 55% of respondents saying that talent attraction was a top three driver of business and 67% admitted that employee satisfaction is a measure of workplace strategy success.

“There is always some measure of uncertainty but current apprehension hinges on sentiment,” Petra Durnin, director of research and analysis for Southern California at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “Political issues up for debate, such as healthcare, tax cuts, and infrastructure, have large implications for business and commercial real estate. The tentative future of these matters added to the uncertainty at the beginning of the year, but market fundamentals remain strong. However, LA will reach full employment in 2017, which will likely result in slower job growth over the next two years and move us closer to the end of this cycle.”