There is an abundance of money to be found inside the technology industry, but that money can be lost as quickly as it can be gained. Employee turnover can ruin a small-town business all the way up to a major corporation — and the tech industry is no exception.
A good strategy that successful businesses implement to cut down on high turnover rates is structured employee on-boarding programs for new hires. New hires that undergo quality on-boarding programs are actually 58% more likely to stay with that organization for more than three years.
It is much more cost effective to retain current employees rather than hiring new ones and beginning the on-boarding process all over again.
“If marking is the outward manifestation of your brand, then culture is its internal embodiment,” said Noah Brier, the co-founder of Perlocate. “That begins with on-boarding.”
As Talent Space reports, the costs of losing talented employees can range anywhere from 30% to 400% of the individual employee’s annual salary. The average cost is 150% of the employee’s yearly salary and carries based on position, experience level, schooling, skill set, and more.
Office cleanliness can even have an impact on employee turnover. Since employees in clean offices have an 80% reduced probability of catching the flu or common cold, employees much prefer clean environments. If an office is too dirty or covered in peoples’ germs, employees are going to get sick more often and have a much worse view of that organization.
Perhaps the biggest contributing factor in employee turnover, however, (especially in the technology industry) is unfair treatment.
According to e27, unfair treatment in the workplace is costing the entire tech industry $16 billion in losses.
A study performed by the Kapor Center for Social Impact and Harris Poll details what exactly contributes to quality talent leaving businesses and what organizations can do to prevent such high turnover. The study surveyed a nationally representative sample of American citizens who had left a technology-based job within the last three years.
The four main takeaways of the study were:
- Workplace unfairness significantly drives employee turnover.
- Experiences are drastically different across groups.
- Unfairness turnover costs $16 billion annually.
- Successful diversity and inclusion initiatives can reduce turnover and improve company culture.
The survey found that, although there are plenty of reasons for employee turnover across the country, unfair treatment was the single largest reason. This driver impacts underrepresented professionals significantly, as well.