As the top executive recruiting firms and career placement agencies are likely well aware of, employee retention rates are really much lower than they should be. Employee retention rates have been dropping in past years, with more than two and a half million workers leaving their (at the time) current positions in the June of 2015 alone, already marking a significant increase from the prior year. And this number has truly only continued to grow and grow in the years that have transpired since as well. At the current date, it is estimated that more than one fifth of all recently hired employees will end up leaving their current position before even just two months have elapsed. On average, such employees will leave their positions after a mere 45 days.
Therefore, it is clear to the top executive recruiting firms and HR executive search agencies alike that employee retention is a growing concern – and one that is costing a great deal of money to boot. In fact, up to $11 billion will be spent throughout the year on employee turnover alone – and that’s just here in the United States, let alone anywhere else in the world where employee retention rates have become something of a problem. And there are a number of reasons that top executive recruiting firms have been able to see behind this dip in long term employee retention.
For one thing, as many of the top executive recruiting firms will be all too aware of, as will everything from outplacement consulting companies to human resources recruiters, employees do not feel like they are being nearly well supported enough. For many of these employees – up to 80% of them all throughout the country, as a matter of fact – a lack of encouragement from their superiors is something they feel prevents them from doing their best work possible. And not having a place to turn when confused by a work assignment is also something that can bring down overall employee morale as well as, perhaps most importantly of all, overall employee performance. After all, the two do so often go hand in hand, to say the very least. At the end of the day, working in a supportive environment can be a true game changer for so many types of people out there, and for so many different employees.
Fortunately, there are a number of steps that can be taken here, steps that can, in the end, drastically improve overall employee retention rates. For one thing, simply providing a better on boarding process can end up making a world of difference. Better and more comprehensive on boarding procedures can help to ensure that employees will want to stick with the company in question for the long term, and not just simply until the next best thing comes around. In fact, such on boarding processes can actually improve long term employee retention by as much as a full 58%, which is no small amount by just about any standards, to say the very least. Top executive recruiting firms, however, will likely know that there is even more that can be done.
Aside from on boarding, top executive recruiting firms are also quite likely to suggest employee recognition programs. Employee recognition programs have been found to be quite hugely successful, improving overall rates of employee happiness in more than 85% of the companies and places of business that have put them into action. And when overall employee happiness improves, it is likely that overall productivity and work performance are going to improve as well – and often by quite the notable amount, though this will certainly vary from company to company and is far from a stagnant thing, something that is important to note.
Employee retention rates are a problem, there is just no doubting this fact. Fortunately, employee retention rates are likely to be able to be saved if just a few things are changed in the working world as we know it. Things like better on boarding and better support for employees can really go a long way in making an impact in the lives of many and in overall company outcomes.
