You’ll hear people talk about the high cost of turnover, but when you try to press for the actual costs they don’t really know. It seems like a mysterious thing that people talk about.
And it’s true–the costs are largely hidden. It doesn’t hit your profit and loss statement. It’s not something in the budget. There are some hard costs, like the cost to post a position on a job board, or for specialized positions, the cost of a headhunter. But, even if you recruit strictly through word of mouth and employee referrals, there are costs to losing an employee. Here are the things you’re paying for.
To keep reading, click here: How much employee turnover really costs you
The article is correct but I believe it leaves out a significant factor in favor of turnover. I have seen many times that a new staff member brings a different perspective, energy, and change to a position, such that the new person is quickly considered a rising star. Invariably, the former incumbent was highly rated and considered to be doing a fine job. In this scenario, the net cost of keeping the former employee would have been greater than the cost of hiring the new staff member. I would argue in general that turnover for the right reasons is beneficial to an organization.
I fully agree that there is good turnover. And, in fact, I’d argue that turnover needs to be at a certain level or it is very bad for your business.
Don’t ask me what that level is, but there definitely is one.
Most organizations, do a stacked ranking that tends to place 10% at the bottom. We can manage even if you leave is the message that goes out. An organization that can do well with 10% turnover, can afford a few more % points as well. 15%? However, the truth is also that when more jobs are chasing people, turnover increases. Turnover tends to be in single digits otherwise. The impact of HR policies on turnover is slightly overstated.
Managers make the most impact on turnover. In many organizations, HR does very little towards anything productive.
Ooops, did i just say that outloud?
And thank you for doing so!