Most Firms Ignore Employee Retention Issues, Study Finds

Despite the reams of material written on employee retention and the high cost of training replacements, most businesses in Southern California ignore--or simply don’t realize--how much they are spending on employee turnover, a new study shows.

A survey of 953 businesses in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Kern counties by Irvine-based Thomas Staffing showed that 47% of the firms do little or nothing to reduce turnover and that only 21% even acknowledge it as a problem.

That’s despite the fact that employees are pretty open about feelings of insecurity from all the business reorganizing, downsizing and layoffs that have been going on, said Douglas M. Slack, president of the regional employment service. “If an opportunity for higher compensation or the perception of a better work environment arises, it will most likely motivate a person to take advantage of the opportunity, especially if there is a perceived lack of appreciation from the current employer,” he said.

To reduce turnover, businesses “need to invest time in getting close to their employees . . . finding solutions to their concerns,” Slack said. “Creating an open environment with their employees and getting to know their needs and concerns will create positive results.”