Almost 8 in 10 employees who leave their jobs do so because of dissatisfaction with their employer rather than the lure of pastures news, thereby costing the economy millions.
Recruitment outsourcing expert Amanda Marques has warned that the figure of 78% is likely to increase, due to what she calls a ‘feedback vacuum’, where employers fail to find out why employees move on.
Mrs Marques, managing director of recruitment outsourcers PPS, said: “Our analysis of data using our specialist exit and retention software, shows that within the companies we have worked with, 78% of the leavers felt the push factors from their employers were far greater than the pull factors of the company they were going too.
“It means the disruption to organisations in the vast majority of cases as well as the huge cost incurred is totally avoidable, and as the economy hopefully recovers talented people who feel they are not being given the correct channels for their skills will certainly jump ship in greater numbers,” she said.
Mrs Marques whose company has recruited for some of Britain’s best-known brands, including Halfords and David Lloyd, said productivity was suffering because of the lack of feedback.
“The feedback vacuum where employees leave without companies finding out why is costing companies millions by greatly affecting productivity,” she said. “The CIPD recruitment, retention and turnover survey in 2009 showed average UK employee turnover at 15.7 per cent and now the average cost of recruitment is estimated at £6,000 including management and admin time, advertising, recruitment fees and the cost of covering vacant posts as well as other costs, ” she said.
She added that exit and retention interviews were the best way of combating the problem and urged bosses not to overlook the importance of them. “It really is important that employers ask for reasons why people are leaving to stop this feedback vacuum. “Both exit and retention interviews should be a prerequisite for employers wishing to keep a stable crew to help navigate the choppy waters in these unstable times.”
Mrs Marques claimed that third parties interviewers are the best solution to find out the real issues behind problems at work.
“To get meaningful feedback you need someone who is not part of the organisation,” she said. “It makes discussing issues far more comfortable for employees. Retention interviews are especially important as it often highlights potential issues early enough for them to be remedied.”
Mrs Marques added: “Considering employees are the lifeblood and the biggest expense in the huge majority of organisations, finding out what they are thinking and keeping them happy has never been so important. Even in tougher economic times demoralised workers will look to get out. Employers who keep their staff onside are always the most successful and it is often the simple steps like this, listening to workers, that can propel companies forward.”
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