New staff more likely to quit 07/11/2006

Employees are twice as likely to quit their job if they have been with the company for less than two years, according to new research.

Employees with less than two years’ service resigned at a rate of around 20% per year, while those who have been at an organisation for more than two years leave at a rate of only 10%, according to a study of worker attrition rates by Sirota Survey Intelligence.

The survey of 47,000 employees showed that 60% of all workers that leave an organisation within any given year, have been there for less than two years.

“During the first two years on the job, employees are confirming that their actual jobs meet their expectations, as well as those that their employers led them to believe during the recruitment process,” said David Sirota, chairman of Sirota.

With recruitment costs a major drain on business finances, the research suggests that concentrating attention on new employees can reap financial benefits.

"It is commonly estimated that it costs more than one and a half times the salary of a departing employee to replace him or her when factoring in recruitment and training costs and lost productivity,” said Sirota.

“Since management’s attitudes and behaviors can enhance employee retention, companies should invest in improving managers’ leadership skills, and creating an environment where employees feel genuinely valued by their employers,” Sirota added.

Managers should also be more consistent in what they say and do, according to Sirota, and create a secure environment where employees ‘do not continually feel as if they are on a slippery slope’.