People Dynamics Newsletter - People Matters
Issue 54, August 2009 | Back to Newsletters Index
PD News
The financial year is well under a way, hope you are having a productive time of it as we are. One of the reasons for this is that we have further extended our recruitment arm of the business. We now offer recruitment services ranging from end to end recruitment through to screening and testing. Call us for more info.
Attachment - Key to Retention?
A new recruit can cost over $50,000 in direct expenses through attraction, recruitment, induction and training stages, according to Anthony Sork, Managing Director of Sork HC. Sork suggests that attachment may be the key to retaining new recruits, and states that the first 120 days of employment, the critical attachment period, are the most influential. If during the critical attachment period an emotional and intellectual bond is formed between the employee and either their employer or colleagues, the employee is more likely to remain and will perform with greater effort.
An employee’s perception of the security, trust, acceptance and belonging
within the company are core factors in influencing an employee’s feelings
of attachment. It is thought that the employee’s immediate manager has
the greatest impact on the employees level of attachment. So the more
effort you can put into making new employees feel welcome, the more this
will pay off in the long run!
Exit Interviews - An Important Lesson
High levels of voluntary turnover cost between $10,000 to $50,000 per employee. Employers therefore need to be aware of any reasons and motivations behind voluntary resignations or departure. Having an exit interview is one strategy, however this needs to be useful, meaningful and acted upon to really be an effective method of future retention.
Most companies use an internal interviewing process, however as the person
is internal, it can be subject to bias, subjective interpretation and
inconsistency. To gain the most out of an exit interview, it is suggested
companies have a well established process, with external help from other
professionals. These processes will provide the business with useful,
unbiased information to help foster improved employee retention rates.
Legal Update
On the 5th of August the changes to the disability discrimination laws and other human rights legislation will take effect and it will be easier for employees to corroborate that they were discriminated against. Amendments to the Age Discrimination Act means that aggrieved older employees will only need to prove that age was a reason for discriminatory behaviour (not the dominant reason, as the law stands currently) for a claim to succeed. It is recommended that all existing employment-related policies be reassessed, also making flexible arrangements for staff with a disability, and also provide "refresher training" for staff on discrimination and appropriate workplace conduct. We are able to assist you in training and updating your current policies, please contact us for more information.