I subscribe electronically to The Gallup Management Journal and their article “Turning Around Employee Turnover” really caught my eye. It’s a rather lengthy article but if you are in charge of hiring you must read it in full.
People who work in end of life career fields tend to have a high turnover. We assume it is from low pay, but there are many other reasons. The Gallup article references workers who quit jobs which paid $25,000-$35,000 annually; right in line with many end of life job salaries.
If you don’t read the entire article at least read these excerpts.
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•Most of the reasons employees cited for their turnover are things that managers can influence.
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• The top 5 predictors of turnover:
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1.The immediate manager.
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2.Poor fit to the job.
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3.Coworkers not committed to quality.
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4.Pay and benefits.
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5.Connection to the organization or to senior management.
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• According to Gallup’s research, 9 of the 12 workplace elements consistently predict turnover across business units, regardless of an organization’s size.
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1.Having clear expectations.
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2.Having the materials and equipment to do the job right.
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3.Having the opportunity to do what you do best every day.
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4.The belief that someone at work cares.
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5.The belief that someone encourages your development.
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6.A sense that your opinions count.
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7.The mission or purpose of the company making you feel your job is important.
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8.A belief that your coworkers are committed to quality, and
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9.Having opportunities to learn and grow at work.
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• The other three elements, recognition, progress discussions (performance evaluations), and the presence of a best friend at work, add significant value and turnover is much less likely.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the voluntary turnover rate is 23.4%. If replacing an employee costs a business one-half to five time that employee’s annual salary then if 25% of your workforce leaves, and their average pay is $35,000, your 100 person company may pay between $438,000 and $4 million a year to replace the 25 employee who left.
WOW!
