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Employee turnover refers to the percentage of employees that leave an organisation within a certain time frame: (Number of leavers over a given period x 100)/Average total number employed over a given period. The average employee turnover a year for UK companies is 15%, but this percentage does not signify the reasons for staff leaving.
A certain amount of employee turnover is inevitable at any business, and the amount will depend on the industry. For example, a business that has a staff base of mainly university students will be accustomed to high staff turnover in the summer season when workers return home for the summer or graduate.
Employee retention is important for most businesses, but healthy turnover also enables growth and other opportunities.
Pros
1. Gaining fresh insights and innovations.
2. Providing other staff the opportunity to grow and develop.
3. Losing employees that are not adequate or invested.
4. Recruiting internally and promoting existing staff.
5. Improving general morale and engagement.
Turnover can occur due to resignation, dismissal or retirement. But recruiting for new talent to join your team can be a very exciting opportunity for a company. Losing staff that perform poorly, do not engage with the company or create a negative environment for your other workers can improve morale and the productivity for your staff.
Recruiting someone externally will introduce new concepts and ideas to your company. It will also provide your existing staff with the crucial opportunity to learn from someone with different experiences and knowledge.
Alternatively, employee turnover also enables a business to recruit internally and promote an existing employee into a newly available position. Career progression is one of the most popular company benefits that will retain quality staff and attract ambitious prospective employees to your organisation.
Promoting strong and well-deserving employees, also enables other staff to grow and explore new development opportunities within your organisation.
Cons
1. Losing engaged and hard-working staff.
2. Rehiring time and expenses.
3. Indicating existing staffs’ dissatisfaction and unhappiness.
4. Pressurising remaining staff.
5. Delaying other business plans and developments.
Although employee turnover is something every business will experience, unwanted turnover means a company is losing valuable staff that contribute to the success of a business.
Employee turnover offers many opportunities for companies, but it always inflicts challenges that can take a long time to overcome, if it all. High employee turnover at a company may be difficult for external candidates to identify, but if they are aware of this, it can be strong a deterrent when you’re trying to attract new staff.
Regardless of whose decision it was for a member of staff to leave an organisation, while the company hires an adequate replacement, additional costs and time will be consumed as a result. And once the role has been filled, a company then has to undergo the additional process of training them.
Often, when a company is forced to recruit to replace a staff member, the time spent advertising, reviewing applications and interviewing, causes distractions and delays to other business plans or investments.
Losing staff that have invested and contributed to a company’s success is difficult for a business to recover from financially. It can also be challenging from an emotional perspective, as when well-liked staff leave, others often contemplate following suit.
Also, being short-staffed can put pressure on the workloads of other employees who already may be feeling stressed. Especially if they’re adapting to work-life without a colleague they were close to or relied on.
The Balance
Business owners, decision-makers and managers know if employee turnover is unwanted and will be detrimental to their company. If unwanted employee turnover is a frequent occurrence or higher than the 15% a year average – then a company should consider the reasons why.
If employee turnover is being viewed as a positive and necessary measure for business development, then the focus should be to recruit the perfect candidate.
Ambitions Personnel can support your business through any employee turnover and ensure that you’re recruiting the best candidate to enhance your business. Our recruitment specialists can save you precious time and minimise stress and distractions in your pursuit for new staff.
Find out how and get in touch today.