Ambition Technology Blog

The goal of any recruitment company is to place the correct people with the correct organisation, and as the market grows and becomes more buoyant this becomes a greater challenge. In a busy marketplace with many opportunities and few strong candidates, it is essential an organisation sells itself strongly. One of the main selling points to candidates regarding prospective companies is their level of staff retention. A low level of staff turnover should relate to a happy workforce, and a happy workforce is a key goal in creating a successful company.

Australian Incentives agency AD+Inc conducted a survey of 500 SME’s where 65% of respondents said it would take up to six months to get a replacement for a key staff member “up to speed”, therefore both the financial and personal cost of replacing a key employee is very significant indeed. I’m sure the importance of retaining staff is not underestimated by any company, however the methods of achieving this vary considerably.

So what’s the secret? The answer possibly lies in one of the biggest studies ever undertaken by the Gallup Organisation, an American statistical research company who concentrate on studying human nature and behavior. Their study of over a million employees and 80,000 managers came up with an interesting finding: if you’re losing good people, look to the management. Management is the main reason people stay and thrive in any organisation, and the main reason as to why people leave. When people leave they take knowledge, experience and contacts with them, more often than not straight to the competition.

The value placed on attracting key staff should not be underestimated, the value placed on keeping them should be substantial.