
Yesterday I posted about the value of helping employees tap into what lights them up. How's this for another argument in favor of that. Employee turnover is expensive! Here's an article that takes a look at the costs of employee turnover, both obvious and hidden.
According to a conservative estimate by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average cost to replace an employee is $13,996.
And employee turnover is rampant.
As the economy grows and more jobs are created, voluntary turnover also increases. In the 12 months ending January 2005, 24 percent of workers voluntarily quit their jobs, which was a 13 percent increase over the previous year, according to the Employment Policy Foundation. These figures cannot be explained by voluntary retirements because on average, retirement rates across all private industries were only 2.7 percent in 2005 and 2.6 percent in 2004. Therefore, approximately 89 percent of voluntary turnover can be attributed to people leaving their current employer to find another job somewhere else.
Add to that the fact that more and more baby boomers are going to be retiring and the work force will be shrinking, and employee retention becomes a serious issue. In light of that, doesn't it make sense to do everything possible to help ensure that the employees you do have stay put?
There's always going to be some degree of turnover, but the more employees are in love with what they're doing, the less likely they'll get that wanderlust and feel the need to look elsewhere. It's just common sense.

Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst TM