Responding to retention issues
This article outlines research that reinforces the message that the risk of staff leaving is significantly greater in the first two years of employment. It puts the all-up cost of replacing an employee at 1.5 times their annual salary.
The survey focused on management strategies that reduced the incidence of employees leaving within those first two years. These include making work more challenging, being clear about potential career paths, and providing greater opportunities for development.
"...employers need to create an atmosphere where staff feel valued and secure - recognising them for good performance and listening to their ideas, then acting on them."
The article however did not address the importance of induction in generating a sense of engagement in new employees. In our view, job satisfaction is as much about
-understanding how an employee's contribution fits within the larger functioning of the organisation
-having a clear understanding of what business tools exist to support them in their roles, and, equally critically, actually being trained in how to use them
-being able to find information and expertise when they need it
-feeling genuinely part of their work team
These are quite realistic goals for an induction programme, many of which are passed over in favour of simply meeting Health and Safety requirements. This approach might result in a cheaper induction programme, but when true turnover costs are considered, the saving is often a false one. Add to this the more intangible cost of how high turnover affects the culture of the company, and the value of a well structured induction programme becomes obvious.
When approaching induction programme development, some of the drivers Synapsys focuses on include:
-a suite of generic information about the company the products or services, the sector/market, and the employee's place in it.
-blending media and training resources around the specific content being covered
-hands on supported training in relevant business tools
-compliance/sign-off processes that provide appropriate reporting data for legislative reporting requirements.
-clear process documentation for all induction activity; turnover occurs in the Human Resources area as well......
Posted by Phil Garing at November 9, 2006 07:56 AM
