LONDON. (February 5, 2007) -- Research conducted by the Kenexa Research Institute (KRI), a division of Kenexa® (NASDAQ: KNXA), a leading provider of recruitment and retention solutions, in December 2006 revealed a downward pattern in employee engagement levels.  Much like the popular romantic comedy that illuminated marriage’s “Seven Year Itch,” KRI has uncovered a “two-year itch” that’s disruptive to the workforce. More than 840,000 responses collected from U.S. and U.K. multi-national companies show that new hires are most excited and engaged during their first few months on the job (72%), but that during the sixth through 18th month, their satisfaction levels decline.  By the end of year two, instead of focusing on their jobs, odds are that they’re focusing on finding a new one!

Jeffrey Saltzman, Kenexa’s New York Practice Leader, said, “These findings are of critical importance to employers.  A workforce that continually churns creates enormous expense and substantial employee morale issues, and significantly reduces a company’s competitive advantage.”  He continued, “Employees who are disengaging from the workplace represent a tremendous amount of lost value. Not only did the organisation expend tremendous resources to get that employee in the first place, resources which may now be squandered, an unengaged employee negatively impacts organisational effectiveness in such areas as customer interactions and relationships, productivity, innovation and growth. This pattern of disengagement represents an opportunity for companies to increase their performance if the disengagement pattern is addressed proactively and managed.”

Despite the dismal statistics (a full 57% of new hires are disengaging at the two-year mark), KRI’s research shows that the longer an employee stays with an employer, the higher the levels of satisfaction and engagement (76% at year 16 and 72% for those on the job 20 years or more.)

Saltzman observed, “Whether in the U.S. or U.K., the longer term employees, who are of course the survivors of the ‘two-year itch,’ once again become more engaged and committed. By taking the appropriate measures to get employees past the ‘two-year itch,’ employers can reap the benefits of their investments in recruiting, training and development and build a higher-performing workforce.”

The Kenexa Research Institute has studied the relationship between employee attitudes and business outcomes, including customer satisfaction, employee retention and management effectiveness. KRI’s research helps organisations to better understand: 1) how employee attitudes impact key performance indicators and 2) what components of the work environment are most critical for engaging employees and achieving sustained business growth.  This information helps Kenexa’s clients improve customer loyalty, increase efficiencies and ultimately increase their bottom line. 

About Kenexa
Kenexa Corporation (NASDAQ:KNXA) provides outsourcing, employee research and software to help organisations more effectively recruit and retain a productive workforce. Kenexa solutions include applicant tracking, employment process outsourcing, onboarding, skills and behavioural assessments, structured interviews, performance management, multi-rater feedback surveys, employee engagement surveys and HR Analytics. Headquartered in Wayne, Pa. (outside Philadelphia), Kenexa employs more than 1,200 people worldwide. More information about Kenexa and its global locations can be accessed at www.kenexa.com.

# # #

Note to Editors: Kenexa is a registered trademark of Kenexa Corporation. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

MEDIA CONTACTS: