Loyalty in the Workplace

I was talking to Brian Koma at Vovici last week.  He said he had talked to a few HR representatives and asked if they have noticed any improvements in the talent of applicants.  You would think the answer would be yes given the high unemployment rate.  However, he found the answer to be no, HR representatives are not seeing much difference in the talent level of applicants.  So then who is out there? 

I believe a lot of companies are cutting the dead weight, or people they probably should have let go a long time ago and are now using the economy as a reason to get rid of them.  I know there are some good employees out there, I have a few friends out of work right now, and I know they are bright, hard working individuals.  However, I think a lot of what is out there is not necessarily the cream of the crop. 

This makes me wonder a couple of things: 1) If these people should have been let go a long time ago, why weren't they?  2)  Why do companies continue to not care about employee loyalty when there continues to be a market for highly skilled and talented employees?

I will talk more about these two in my next blog.