From an employer’s standpoint, there is nothing more frustrating and damaging to the staffing budget than to continually hire the best candidates and then lose them to a competitor not long after. Employee turnover is a difficult thing to manage, especially when the company hires those with specialized skill sets or in competitive markets. Recruitment can become costly and mistakes like this can become even more expensive.
If you are noticing that there is above average turnover in some or all of your assignments, there may be some reasons for this that you can start working on now. Read on to learn how to spot signs of trouble and prevent the loss of top candidates.
Early Turnover Happens – The Signs are Not Always Obvious
Losing great candidates after you’ve worked so hard to impress them and bring them on board can be very troublesome. It takes time, effort, and money to source, screen, and hire candidates. There are some signs that a candidate may be the type to take a job and run, which can help crack down on this problem. Some less obvious signs include:
- Candidate who has strong work experience, but limited solid references – This is someone who may be skilled at what they do, but they generally ‘fly under the radar’ and don’t work to impress others. They may not be living up to their potential and will skip a current job for greener pastures because they don’t care about being loyal to any one employer.
- Candidate has worked in jobs that don’t add up to progression in a career – This may be a hardworking person who is accepting jobs simply for the opportunity to earn a paycheck, but whom doesn’t show long-term career growth. If another company comes along and offers more pay and benefits; they are gone.
- Candidate is going through a big life change of some sort – There are many good people out there, but when life creates havoc on a person, it can cause them to make rash decisions and leave a job suddenly. Although it can be hard to tell from a resume or an interview (and you cannot ask them this legally in an interview) listen carefully because often these candidates will openly mention they are going through a divorce, have lost someone recently, have moved around a lot, or have trouble with the family at home.
- Candidate has a poor attitude about work in general – A person who is disillusioned or unhappy about the type of career they have will often voice it when they’ve had enough. During the hiring process, they may seem thrilled about an opportunity to work for you, but then just weeks into the job the ‘honeymoon’ phase is over and they begin to grumble. Ask previous employers to provide a reference before you risk hiring someone like this.
Solution to Employee Turnover in the Early Stages
The most effective way to reduce a hire and then they quit scenario is to spend more time screening every single candidate who walks through your doors. Even better, hire people through a Troy MI staffing agency who have done this for you. Make sure you hire new people as temps first to gauge each candidate’s suitability for long term employment, before you invest too much into them. This can often be a good way to reduce turnover early on, and weed out people who aren’t interested in being loyal.