Stay and pay is better than churn and burn.

According to employment trends, it seems many employers are concluding it's better to jettison expensive, long-term employees in favor of youthful workers. They seem to assume that it's better for the bottom line to cut excess expenses in salaries and benefits and replace their existing employees with newer ones, thus lowering their overhead and improving profitability. This kind of thinking can cost you, especially in your role as a recruiter. Even though fresh employees may be the most attractive, it's generally more productive and, therefore, more profitable to keep your higher paid, longer-term employees than to replace them with newer, lower-cost models.

You may not be able to find the replacement workers you are counting on when sloughing off the more expensive, older workers. With skill shortages in many industries and occupations, the talent you need may not be available. Take the case of one national heavy equipment manufacturer; this organization offered an early retirement package to those approaching retirement age. Many of its smart, long-term employees decided to take the lucrative package. Then, the organization found it could not replace the workers and ended up hiring back many of its own retirees at a premium.

Wages may not be lower with newer employees.  Young employees are looking for competitive salary and benefits packages and often aggressively negotiate for top salaries. You might not be getting cheaper labor.

Bad word-of-mouth is also an expense. You don't want word getting around your town or industry that your company is in the habit of turning over its long-term employees.  You'll find your pool of applicants and resumes dwindling down to a small stack of job seekers who are desperate for work. They'll try their luck with your company, even though your position may only be a stepping stone for new career options. Then, you'll lose even them.

Recruiting and selecting employees cost real money. Even if you could find replacement workers, and even if you could negotiate lower wages, there are many other costs of replacing workers, such as the upfront recruitment and on-boarding costs, not to mention the expensive risks of hiring unknowns, a percentage of whom you can fully expect to be bad fits.   Just consider all the costs involved in recruitment and selection:  recruitment advertisements and events, open houses and career fairs; third-party recruiters, recruitment advertising companies, and recruitment researchers; recruitment materials; administration of the selection process; selection tools, such as psychological and aptitude tests, background and reference checks, and drug tests.  Some organizations conservatively estimate that turnover, even with a bad employee, costs upwards of $10,000 per employee, and some employers with extensive training and on-boarding initiatives may realize even higher costs.

Training and on-boarding cost real money.  Assuming you are lucky enough to have hired a group of new, quality, and qualified employees, you can count on experiencing lower productivity (when the position is vacant and when the new employee isn't yet functioning at full capacity) and potentially increased errors and mistakes, accidents, and even lost customers.

Turnover can be damaging to employee morale. When a key employee leaves the organization, employees may find they have to work harder to complete the work.  They may also miss a good friend. They see loyalty gets them nowhere, and those left behind may also begin to think that perhaps they, too, should consider a move.

When you keep employees by meeting their needs, they tend to be more satisfied.  And satisfied employees often mean more productive employees who believe in the organization and are committed to quality work.

When you keep good employees, you become an employer of choice. Word gets around that your company is a good career move.When you have this kind of reputation, you'll discover that you don't have to work so hard to attract or source good candidates since many will be waiting in line for the chance to work with a top employer.

New Book Available!

The Truth About Hiring The Best

Unemployment rates are at record lows, making it even more challenging to find the best employees.  Hiring managers want new, creative ways to recruit and select top employees.  Savvy managers also know they're not just hiring for one open position-they're creating the future for their department and their organization.

The Truth About Hiring The Best, written by Employment Strategist Cathy Fyock, is the first easy-to-digest, practical book that dispels the myths about how to identify, recruit, and then select the best people.   Cathy draws upon her experience as a recruiter, hiring manager, and employment consultant in providing "break-through a-ha's" to help you find the best people for your organization.

Available now through Amazon.com!

"You think you knew everything you needed to know about employment until you read the most recent catchy Pearson Education "Truth" book by staffing expert Cathy Fyock.   In only 212 pages Fyock effectively uses 53 'Truths' to challenge many of HR's long-standing assumptions and practices related to recruitment and selection.  With everyone wanting to 'hire the best,' this quick read, has a high ROI."

                                  Michael R. Losey, SPHR, CAE

Former CEO, Society for Human Resource Management

Selected Engagements from Cathy's Calendar

t      November 1, Press Enterprise, "The Truth About Hiring the Best," Riverside, CA

t      November 8, HR Book Club, "Making Change Stick,"  by Richard Reale, Louisville, KY

t      November 13, Bluegrass SHRM, "America's Workforce is Coming of Age," Lexington, KY

About Cathy Fyock

Are you looking for a high-content speaker for your next conference or meeting?  Call or email Cathy to find out how she can work with you to meet your specific goals and objectives.

Cathy Fyock, CSP, SPHR, is an employment strategist-helping organizations develop strategies to recruit and retain top talent in an aging and changing marketplace.  For nearly 20 years she has combined her knowledge of work-force issues and her talents as a speaker to provide innovative and inspirational learning events. She has helped organizations attract top talent, reduce turnover, and improve productivity in a volatile labor market.

"Cathy Fyock offers a rare combination of mastery of HR knowledge, superior speaking skills, a passion for the HR profession, and warmth and humor that permit her to lead, inspire, and educate hundreds of HR professionals annually. I highly recommend her."

--Gary B. Kushner, SPHR, CBP
President, Kushner & Company

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