Turnover is a serious problem for many organizations. Losing employees means employers must search for, find, hire, onboard, and train a replacement – all tasks that cost money and time. In the meantime, productivity and possibly revenue may suffer. Turnover can also affect morale and engagement among remaining workers, which in turn can affect their own productivity. If nothing else, it may mean more work for them, which can increase the risk of burnout and worsen turnover rates.
But just how common is turnover, and what does it mean exactly for your organization? Here are 11 facts that may help you better understand this phenomenon.
1. The average employee stays with their employer for 4.4 years, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
2. Only half of Millennial workers expect to still be working at the same company a year from now. Note, however, this does not necessary indicate intent to leave.
3. That said, Millennials may be more likely than others to turnover. Gallup has found that 21% of Millennial workers have changed jobs within the past year, three times more than other groups.
4. Turnover seems to be increasing. Data from salary.com shows that overall turnover in the U.S. hit 19.3% in 2018 – an increase of 3.5 points since 2014.
5. The Harvard Business Review argues that up to 80% of turnover is due to bad hiring decisions.
6. “Most studies report that employees leave their current jobs for better-paying positions,” says Kent Plunkett, CEO of Salary.com.
7. The Work Institute says that the top three reasons employees leave are to seek career development, are unhappy or unmotivated in their roles, and health and family. Seeking better pay is the fifth most common reason, according to their research.
8. The Work Institutes further believes that as much as 77% of annual turnover could be prevented by employers.
9. On average, employers will spend about 6 to 9 months of the lost employee’s salary to find, hire, and train a replacement.
10. In total, turnover costs organizations anywhere from 16% to 213% of the employee’s salary, according to research from the Center for American Progress.
11. Higher level employees tend to have higher replacement costs. They indicate that an executive earning $150,000 annually could cost as much as $319,500 to replace.
CoAdvantage, one of the nation’s largest Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs), helps small to mid-sized companies with HR administration, benefits, payroll, and compliance. To learn more about our ability to create a strategic HR function in your business that drives business growth potential, contact us today.