Turnover Rates Cause Concern for Organizations

With the competition for top performing employees heating up, companies are looking for new ways to attract and retain their best employees. According to the Compensation Data annual survey of more than 5,300 employers, the total turnover rate was 17.6 percent this last year. The difference between the voluntary and total turnover rate was just 5.9 percent, which means most employees are leaving on their own accord.

While the voluntary and total turnover rates have changed little over the last two years, a recent report from Yahoo! HotJobs predicts those number will change in 2007. The study says nearly half of the 5,000 U.S. workers surveyed plan to search for a new job this year. Reasons for a switch included increased salary, potential for job growth and better benefits.

To offset potential turnover, organizations should review their compensation packages to determine which aspects could be most desirable in attracting and retaining employees, said Amy Kaminski, manager of marketing programs for Compdata Surveys. And, with pay increase budgets seeing little change over the last several years, improved health insurance coverage and flexible schedules may be enough of an incentive to change positions.

Voluntary turnover rate varies by industry according to the Compensation Data survey. The hospitality industry had the highest, 19.9 percent, in 2006. They were followed closely by the real estate and construction industry, which had 15.5 percent voluntary turnover. Competitive pay and job shortages may have contributed to the high rate in health care, 15.1 percent. In comparison, utilities and the government had just 5.7 and 8.2 percent turnover.

Total turnover rates were high for some industries like hospitality with 31.8 percent, although this rate was down 3.1 percent from 2005. Real estate and construction had a total turnover rate of 26.9 percent, which is not surprising given the downward turn of the housing market. The distribution industry had a total turnover rate of 22.5 percent. Utilities and the government had low total turnover with 7.7 and 10.4 percent respectively.