While hiring the right staff member is important, keeping that employee is vital. In today’s competitive job market and with a rising number of millennials – as much as 42% according to Jobvite – wanting to change jobs every one to three years, employee retention is one of the biggest challenges facing U.S employers, with almost 60% of companies surveyed viewing it as a significant problem. Top employees are easily scooped up by the competition, taking their knowledge, experience and expertise with them, and filling that gap can be difficult. Employee turnover can cost a company between 30% and 150% of the employee’s salary.
The first step to employee retention is ensuring a good match from the beginning. While a recent Robert Half survey found that 36% of the 1,400 executives surveyed cited poor skills matching as the top reason for a failed hire, core skills are not the only element of employee-organization matching. Human resources executive recruiters advise that cultural fit can also play a role and a poor match can result in a lost employee. The same survey found that 30% of executives believed that unclear performance objectives were the second most common reason for a failed hire.
Talent acquisition management should not stop once the employee has been hired. The key to employee retention is to manage the hire into the role. Employee on boarding refers to the integration of employees in a new job and the management and monitoring of those employees during at least the first year. Close to 60% of new hires who have been brought in with a structured on boarding program are likely to still be with that company three years later. Given that as much as 22% of new hires leave a job within the first 45 days as a result of temperament issues, cultural fit or poor performance, such programs can prove invaluable in improving retention. Employee recognition programs can also play a role in employee retention, with 88% of companies using such systems reporting increased worker happiness.
In the event of a company restructuring or downsizing, an outplacement consulting service can help you retain valuable skilled employees in new roles and manage the transition from one job spec to another without the risk of losing that employee and her expertise entirely. Human resources executive recruiters can help you develop, manage and run such a program to minimize costly employee losses.