Analyzing Your Retention Challenge

How many people now work in the unit you manage?
How many people have you replaced in the last twelve months?
What is your rate of employee turnover?
How is turnover different in different jobs?
What does your company lose when an employee leaves?
What is the average cost to replace an employee?
Are there soft costs – or hidden costs – that are significant?
How does your unit predictably gain from employee turnover?
Is the net cost of employee turnover significant to your unit?
How does your current employee turnover problem now affect the success of your operation?

How many different jobs are there in your unit?
What percentage of these jobs are single-occupant positions?
Job by job, how much of the work depends on company-specific knowledge for success?
How much do the jobs depend on industry-specific knowledge?
In which jobs are new hires more valuable than senior employees?
In which jobs do people become more valuable with seniority? How much more valuable? For how many years does this value increase?
Where do the employees you lose go?
Where do new employees come from?
Why did the employees you have lost really leave?
Is the retention challenge you face short-term (temporary or cyclical), or is it long-term?
Considering the employees you have lost, was the greatest loss one of skills? Or knowledge? Or personal processes?