A recent survey on employee performance and retention conducted by Express Employment Professionals, one of the nation's largest privately-held staffing companies, found that employers are more disconnected than ever from their workforce.

Express surveyed nearly 18,000 current and former clients across North America and found that leaders are wrestling with three key areas of performance, including connecting with employees, conducting effective performance reviews and understanding shifting generational values. With 91 percent of employees willing to switch jobs and 55 percent of leaders not expecting it, according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder, the effects could be detrimental. Furthermore, Express' survey revealed that 77 percent of leaders say retention was not a problem or only a slight problem in 2011.

"We're seeing a major miscommunication happening between employees and employers," said Robert A. Funk, CEO of Express. "Employers are not recognizing that they have a retention problem, while employees are not only open to new job opportunities, but actively seeking them."

Less than half of Americans are satisfied with their jobs and when employers lose touch with their employees, they can see a rise in turnover, dissatisfied workers, decreased morale, lost productivity, and diminished profitability.

Motivational speaker Walter Bond recently spoke to Express about accountability and what it takes to be a strong leader, stating that it's up to both the employee and employer to keep lines of communication open.

"As a company leader you cannot micromanage," Bond said. "If you allow employees to own what they do, they'll take better care of it."

Express' survey also found that 79 percent of leaders report over half of their employees are looking to be rewarded and 68 percent say more than half of their employees are looking for more pay. However, only 17 percent of businesses have recently reinstated previous pay levels or raises.

"Strong leadership is imperative right now," Funk said. "Employers need to take advantage of the many resources available, including flexible staffing, hiring assistance and various training programs."