Data Bank Focus: Getting Them to Stay

Even with quit rates rising only modestly since 2007 for most industries, any quit is costly. Replacement costs can run from one-half to five times an employee’s salary.

If you haven’t calculated the cost to replace all the employees your company loses in a year, take a look at the salaries of the people who left last year and estimate the low-end and high-end costs. Even using the factor of one-half of an employee’s salary, it’s a cost that can have a significant effect on a company’s profitability.

Most employers do worry about keeping talented and productive employees onboard—fully 65 percent of employers, according to Towers Watson & Co. Recent research from Mercer and Cornerstone OnDemand provides insight into what employees want and what can play a role in keeping them.

Workforce Management, February 2013, p. 18-19 Subscribe Now!