How to Manage Employee Turnover

Utilize a Staffing Service

The constant struggle to deal with employee turnover is a fact of life that plagues most, if not all, companies today. It is a problem that most executives are aware of, but may not acknowledge as a potential loss of revenue. The financial loss will manifest itself in ways you may not have imagined.

Loss of Productivity

Once an employee decides to leave a position, he or she will often cease to be productive in their role. Fellow employees are usually affected as well, as they may see the departure of a co-worker as a signal of instability, causing them to lose their own focus.

The loss of productivity caused by a vacant position obviously takes a financial toll, as does the search for a replacement, recruitment and screening of potential candidates, possible payment of benefits and/or accrued vacation time, orientation and training of new employees, and other "hidden" costs.

Human resources departments are turned to for effective and immediate replacement, however, these departments are often under-staffed and over-worked, and working with a minimal budget. The added pressure of a department manager or executive who has to have an opening filled now is an additional burden.

Dealing with Turnover

What's the best way to avoid turnover? The sure way would be to always hire the right person for the job, and make sure that person remains content with the position. The bad news is that this ideal situation does not always occur. The good news is that you have other choices that will help you deal with turnover when it inevitably occurs. Developing a partnership with a staffing firm is an option that at first may appear too costly. In reality, it is an avenue that many companies overlook and should utilize to help keep costs down.

The obvious benefit of using an employment agency to handle your recruiting needs is the time it will save. Temporarily filling an open position can keep productivity going, while saving the cost of placing ads and using other costly recruiting methods. Staffing firms utilize numerous sources for recruiting candidates, including newspaper and Internet advertising and resume searches.

A quality staffing firm will pre-screen and pre-qualify candidates, allowing you to interview only the top three or four candidates, instead of interviewing numerous applicants who you've only been able to assess based on how they look on paper. This saves valuable time, and eliminates the need to wade through hundreds of responses to ads and Internet postings.

Most staffing firms offer a guarantee when placing a candidate that allows a client a designated period of time in which to get a free replacement if the candidate they chose does not work out. At Davidson Staffing, we take it a step further by offering a discounted replacement if an employee we've placed does not stay in the position for a full year.

Companies should take their time when selecting a staffing agency partner. The agency should visit the client site to see the work environment, and get a feel for what the company looks for when bringing on new employees. The agency and the client should share common work ethics and beliefs. The client should feel a partnership with the agency that goes beyond "finding a temp" to building a lasting relationship that will provide the opportunity to tackle many important human resource issues.

-Nikki Kelly
Regional Vice President

www.DavidsonStaffing.com

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