Employee retention issues are on the organizational radar, but not a priority now in most companies, according to a new survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity.

According to the Institute, 47 percent of polled organizations say the current economic doldrums have had a “somewhat” or “significant” positive effect on employee retention. However, when asked what will happen when the economy rebounds, less than half (46 percent) of companies say they are concerned about retention to a “high” or “very high” extent; and just 20 percent of organizations report they have increased their retention efforts to keep employees when the economy improves, the Institute says. Of the “higher-performing” companies, 27 percent say retention efforts have increased, compared to 17 percent of lower performers, according to the Institute.

Regarding a budget for retention efforts, 23 percent of companies overall admit they don’t have one, while 43 percent say their budgets have remained about the same. Twenty percent of higher performers said they don’t have a retention budget, while 25 percent of lower performers admitted they do not have one.

When employees do leave, the Institute says its study suggested that many companies may be missing the “why” retention boat: 68 percent of companies overall conduct face-to-face exit interviews to learn what led employees to leave the organization, but only 17 percent take action to address those issues from a “high” to “very high” extent. Of those organizations which have a plan in place, 44 percent of respondents say they don’t regularly review their retention strategies and programs.