It is possible that many companies think early turnover is just “the cost of doing business.” My recent work with the U.S. Census Bureau makes clear that there are fewer new workers coming our way, so I think it is time that we get a lot smarter about who we hire and how we retain them. Here are four ideas that I promise will work because if you don’t address it now, turnover may just cost you your business.
Employee referrals are 4Xs more likely to be hired, save companies over $7,500 per hire, perform their jobs better than their peer employees…and most importantly for our purposes, stay longer. The fact is that gaining employee referrals matters especially in industries where good candidates can be rare.
Relying too heavily on survey vendor data can lead to misleading conclusions on your employee engagement numbers and benchmark comparisons. Instead, focus on tracking performance against your own historical metrics. It’s also essential to highlight the financial impact of turnover in clear terms—dollars, not just percentages—driving leadership toward real, actionable solutions.
The world’s leading nations have a new common enemy which is that we are all running out of workers. The metric is “birthrate”, and the U.S. is at an historic low of 1.6 in 2023. Then there is Russia. I was watching The Late Show with Steven Colbert which showed a clip from Russian TV that couldn’t possibly have been true. I Googled it and was shocked to see that it was.
We long-time Floridians know the pre-hurricane drill, and as much as we have physical prep things to do, the emotional worries consume more of our energy. What I saw at Home Depot last night, beyond the long lines of customers buying sheets of plywood to board up their businesses and homes, were the happy faces, top-of-their-games politeness and genuine desire to be helpful to others. Somehow, we all found joy by being in the presence of others who felt their same trepidations.
Losing one technician for a month results in lost revenue greater than $60,000. So a client implemented a program where technicians earn double referral payouts after five new hire referrals because the net is significantly less than the $60,000 lost revenue per opening. By linking referral payouts to the actual cost of turnover, executives recognize that investing in employee referrals is a cost-effective way to reduce vacancies and minimize revenue loss.
Employee engagement strategies often fail due to over-reliance on surveys which many employees distrust. The key to success is recognizing that engagement goes beyond a simple survey score and ensuring executives and managers view engagement and retention as critical metrics that influence overall operational performance, especially through strong leader-employee relationships.
Monday, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sent a memo to employees outlining several cultural and operational changes including mandating a full return to the office at the start of 2025. For many future years we will read reports and say, “The pandemic caused that” and at top of the list is the work-from-home (WFH) phenomena that today has led to an increased level of tension between employees who have embraced it and employers, like Amazon, who are over it.
Making the connection between culture and people is every company’s objective, as every company wants a good one. According to Harvard Business Review, 89% of companies want a culture of productivity and collaboration. So if our culture is 89% similar to so many others, how do we distinguish ourselves when hiring, engaging, and retaining the very best talent?
Human Resources work is now, more than ever, the most important work. We are in the bullseye of turnover, engagement, retention, and recruiting challenges with no end in sight. A recent study reveals that the top assignment from CEOs to HR is improving retention. I know you accept this challenge/opportunity/burden, but how are you going to make it happen?