Employee retention is key to growing your book of business. Starting 10 new people this week might be great, but if you had 11 quit, you are still sliding backward. In staffing, we tend to place too much emphasis on placements and new starts, and not enough focus on keeping employees on assignment as long as possible. Starts can be a valuable metric to track, but there is a huge difference between a start that yields a few hours on assignment versus one that lasts for months or even years.
Not only is retention critical for growth and profitability, but it yields a whole host of other benefits. Clients are happier because you provide them more stable, reliable workers. Talent is happier because they have consistent pay and don’t have to keep going through the stress of finding another job. Recruiting costs decrease because we aren’t constantly recruiting replacements. And our own team morale improves due to less frustration and stress dealing with constant turnover.
Unfortunately, most of the industry doesn’t put much thought and resources toward improving retention. We tend to look at turnover as just the cost of business. We blame the client for below-market pay. We chalk it up to an undesirable position or work environment. We point the finger at unreliable employees. And yet we ignore the most important question we should be asking: Why are there some people that work in these positions for years? Find the answer to that question, and you’ll unlock the solution to your retention problems.
Customize this orientation schedule for recruiters joining your staffing firm!
Looking for a way to help your new hires adjust to the social and performance aspects of their new jobs quickly and smoothly? Thendownload our free onboarding tool, the Orientation Schedule for Staffing Recruiters. This sample schedule maps out all the activities for a new staffing professional to hit the ground running. This tool also shows how to integrate Tom's online training into your new hire onboarding.
