Staffing in the United States is a $212B industry. Yes, you read that right. The US has the largest staffing market in the world. From candidate search to interviewing and onboarding, a lot of time and money goes into acquiring and training talent. But what most people don’t realize is just how much it costs to lose that same talent. 

It is estimated that companies in the United States lose a trillion dollars a year to employee turnover. Likely, that number still isn’t capturing the full cost of replacing lost talent. While experts estimate that it costs 33% of an employee’s salary to replace them, in reality it can cost 3x or even 4x the departing employee’s salary to hire a replacement. In addition, employee turnover often leads to a loss of institutional knowledge and can negatively impact your company’s culture. Combine that with the additional workload it places on your team while you find and then train new talent and you begin to enter the attrition spiral, where additional resignations are triggered (cue an apocalyptic soundtrack). With today’s job market, that is something we bet most companies just cannot afford. 

Don’t panic, this isn’t all doom and gloom. There are many recruiting tactics that can help companies make the right hire from the beginning. Here are some things that our talent experts at RTA suggest to get it right the first time: 

  • Screen-in. Instead of eliminating candidates because they don’t meet your entire laundry list of criteria, look for success factors. Hire for behavioral competencies and then train on skills that can be learned. 
  • Focus on the candidate experience. Having candidates jump through endless hoops is a sure-fire way to get them NOT to want to work for your company. According to research by Google, after 4 interviews you are not only not getting new information about the candidate but also wasting everyone’s time. Be intentional about your conversations and make timely and informed decisions. 
  • Pay fair and competitive salaries. Data shows that employees who are satisfied with their compensation packages are 13% more likely to be working at their same employer in 3+ years. Additionally, over 60% of Americans  who leave their jobs do so because of low pay. Given how much it costs to replace employees, we’d bet that it’s worth it to ensure you’re paying your team their market value from the beginning. 
  • Be transparent. If you’re not posting your salary ranges, start there. Remember, transparency goes beyond salary to connecting the work each employee is doing to the overall success of the company.  Employees want to feel included, valued, and successful. A whopping 76% of employees who don’t feel valued will look for new job opportunities. 
  • Invest in your onboarding. Don’t just set someone up with their tech and a few one-on-one sessions and then forget about them. Research shows that a more robust onboarding program will make new hires 32% less likely to quit. Have an onboarding program that includes in depth training and lasts at least 3 to 6 months.
  • The future of the workplace is flexible. Over the past few years we’ve proven that employees can be just as, if not more, productive working from home. Let them. Companies that offer remote work have a 25% reduced turnover rate. 

No one likes losing talent. And in our experience, most companies can’t afford it. Putting the time and effort in upfront to find and screen candidates is worth it in the long run, we promise you. We know that this can seem daunting, especially if you’re juggling all of your other responsibilities.

Our company was built to help small and midsize companies hire and keep the talent they need without having to invest hours of time or hire additional people to do it for them. If this sounds like something you’re interested in learning more about, reach out to us to learn more about how we’re helping our partners win in hiring.