The Herman Trend Alert offers up an excellent analysis of the most pressing topic of today – retention. I thought this statement was spot on:
The Hodes 2007 Workplace Study holds that two factors are critical to retaining valued employees. The first is choosing quality people, not settling for “warm bodies”. The second is choosing people who have long-term expectations of staying with the organization.
We encounter companies that have a hire fast, fire fast mentality. Personally, I think this approach is high risk, low reward and we never condone this approach at Select Metrix.
The second point is an important one also. If you are looking at a candidate who is not currently employed, it is of utmost importance to take the extra time to make sure your position is a fit. There are many salespeople who are in transition and are simply looking for a quick stop, money-grab position.
When employers make inferior quality hires, often they will inadvertently lose current employees who now no longer feel valued.
The study also cites what we have been saying all along—that employee turnover, regardless of industry, is expensive. Some reports even show the estimated cost of a single vacancy for some jobs has been calculated anywhere from $7000 to $12,000 per day. According to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the estimated 2007 annual voluntary turnover rate is about 24 percent.
For more about the Hodes 2007 Workplace Study, please visit http://www.hodes.com/publications/retentionstudy.asp. (my editing)
I worked for a high-tech company in a Regional Sales Manager position. My coworkers were better salespeople than me so I learned much and developed my skills immensely. Then our boss hired two absolute stiffs to join our group. They had little skill and were hired for the wrong reasons. The morale amongst our existing team plummeted soon after as we observed their flamboyant incompetence.