Recruitment vs. Retention

The costs of replacing departing staff can be massive. Companies should be focusing their attention on how to keep their existing staff.

It is an exhaustive process to hire new staff and not one that an organisation wants to do often. So don’t let the recruitment take over, change your focus from recruitment to retention.

Why should I focus on retention?
The cost to replace a single employee is between 25 per cent and 150 per cent of their annual salary[1]. Once you start multiplying those replacement costs out across the number of employees lost each you, the cost of attrition can be crippling.

What is the true cost of losing a member of staff?

• Recruiter's fee




• Advertising costs




• Exit interview costs




• Psych testing




• Interim staff costs [casuals, overtime, contractors]




• Training costs




• Protective clothing , uniform




• IT and systems set up costs
  

These costs are only the beginning, other costs include:

• Lost productivity for the exited person in the lead up to their final day




• Lost peer and manager time to retrain the replacement




• Lost manager time to sift through CVs and conduct interviews




• Lost HR time to sift through CVs, shortlist, interview, briefing and re-briefing and managing agencies, taking calls from candidates




• The de-motivation on your current employees from overwork or changed team dynamics




• Dissatisfied customers, reduced quality, slow service, poor reputation and




• The additional costs of reference checks, farewell parties, induction programs, welcome morning teas, lost team productivity during transition, it goes on and on[2].

Change the focus
We have all read about positive people bring positive outcomes and negative people bring negative outcomes. So don’t focus on recruitment, allocate some of the budget to staff retention. Recognise that staff do work hard, that they do go above and beyond for your business that they do give 100% or more, that they are committed to the vision and goals of the organisation. Recognise that the staff care about the business and let them know you care about them.

What would you consider in a retention plan? It is important to focus on each individual wherever you can, rather than make sweeping changes you hope will pick up most people.

Silvana from LifeStyle Refocus provided insight into what they can do for a company to aid retention of staff. Silvana commented that “we discuss with the management the outcomes they are looking for, find out what they know about their staff, then meet with the staff members that have been targeted. We can then assist them in their personal or business lives to ease the pressure. Personally for them we can organise a family member’s birthday celebrations, arrange for the lawn to be mowed, garden weeded, fridge stocked, book the family holiday, load the iPod, tidy their wardrobe, de-clutter the study. This allows the employee to be fully focused on work yet enjoy their down time with family and friends.

Using the above information as a basis, and steering the engagement planning around what the employee needs, will bring the engagement and retention result that benefits both the employee and business.

The philosophy at LifeStyle Refocus is “Don’t give your employees reasons to leave – give them every reason to stay”.

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and life style management organisation. If you wish to engage your staff contact LifeStyle Refocus directly [Silvana] 0417 595 744 or Michele on [0437 311 802] or www.lifestylerefocus.com.au

[1] My Business Magazine. Managing your business section; “Dearly Departed” by Caroline Herman and Lisa Halloran
[2] My Business Magazine. Managing your business section; “Dearly Departed” by Caroline Herman and Lisa Halloran