When an employee leaves, regardless of the departure are voluntarily or not, the organization loses four important things:
• Skills, experience, and leadership
• Trust and respect of their colleagues
• Confidence in the abilities within the role
• Consistent, measurable results
It is the loss of these key areas that factor into the high cost of turnover. Other costs include:
• Lost production before and after the employee’s departure
• Administrative costs such as COBRA, severance, and vacation time payouts
• Hiring costs
• On-boarding and training the replacement team member
Unfortunately, hiring managers do not possess a crystal ball, but there are some obvious and not so obvious signs that an employee is headed for the door.
Obvious signs include:
• Coming in late and leaving early
• A marked decrease in productivity
• Poor attitude
• Absenteeism
• Increase in personal phone calls
Not so obvious signs include:
• Increase in medical appointments to use benefits before making a change
• Poor performer suddenly increases their productivity or efficiency in an effort to obtain a good reference or leave on good terms
• Updated and perfectly polished LinkedIn profile
Learning to spot the early warning signs of an employee’s potential departure can allow you to have an honest discussion with that team member. One conversation could make a huge difference between retaining and replacing.
David Klein is a leading Executive IT Recruiter & Headhunter with over 15 years of industry experience. As Manager of Recruitment Strategy for KDS Staffing, Inc., he has achieved industry-leading success. David has successfully led, trained and introduced many in the art of Executive Recruitment and Headhunting. If you or your organization would like to discuss hiring needs, contact David at 646-650-2833 or david@kdsstaffing.com.
