What makes people decide to stay with a company? For many employees, the reasons they choose to stay with an employer can be as varied and diverse as the employees themselves.
No companies want to lose their people. It can be painful to watch teams fall apart. Thankfully, some significant trends have emerged from the troves of available employee retention data.
The following 21 employee retention statistics help illustrate what it takes to create an environment that improves employee well-being and encourages them to stay with a company long-term.
General Employee Retention Statistics
To increase employee retention, it’s important to first understand the employee retention environment and why it’s a critical metric to track.
1. 87% of companies agree increasing retention is essential.
According to Fortune Magazine, 87% of employers agree that increasing employee retention is an essential part of their ongoing strategy.
2. 30% of new employees leave within 3 months.
Employment hourly scheduling software, Zoom Shift, reported that almost 30% of new hires leave within their first three months of employment.
3. 3 million people quit their jobs every month.
According to The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately three million people quit their jobs every month. For a frame of reference, that’s roughly the population of the entire state of Nevada leaving their jobs every month.
4. It costs 33% of an employee’s annual wage to replace them.
SHRM reports that it costs one-third of an employee’s annual salary to replace them.
5. Companies with good retention rates have quadruple the profit.
A study by Northern Illinois University found that companies with high retention rates make four times more profits than those with high turnover.
Understanding Why People Leave
To understand how to make people stay, it’s critical to know why they’re leaving in the first place.
6. 82% of people consider leaving because of a lack of advancement opportunities.
One study by Career Addict showed that more than 82% of people consider leaving their jobs because of a lack of career advancement opportunities within the company.
7. 70% of employees want more development opportunities.
A survey by The Harris Poll showed that 70% of employees are at least “somewhat likely” to leave their employers for an employer who offers better development opportunities.
8. 1 out of 2 people will leave a job because of burnout.
Forbes reported that up to 50% of employees leave their current jobs because of the burnout feeling of being overworked and exhausted.
9. 1 out of 2 people will resign because of their manager.
Gallup found that 50% of people leave their jobs to get away from an incompatible manager.
10. People are more likely to leave if there’s a lack of respect.
A TinyPulse survey found if employees feel like there’s a low level of respect within their company, they are 26% more likely to leave.
11. 1⁄3 of employees will look for a new job because of salary woes.
Glassdoor reported that 30% of people plan to look for a new job if they do not receive a salary increase.
12. Job security plays a significant role in why people leave.
The Chron reported that a lack of job security remains one of the top reasons people leave their job.
The Key to Employee Retention: Why People Stay
An in-depth piece from the Harvard Business Review says companies spend inordinate amounts of time figuring out why people leave. Turnover is inevitable, but it doesn’t necessarily always correlate with why people stay.
Studying turnover to increase retention is analogous to researching divorce to increase the number of long-lasting marriages. It’s important to know why people get divorced, but it only illustrates half the picture. To increase enduring marriages, one would also need to study why couples stay married.
In a business sense, it’s the same. It’s important to know why people leave, but there’s also a need to understand what makes them choose to stay.
So, why do people stay?
13. A positive onboarding experience increases retention by 82%.
According to Glassdoor, a positive onboarding and training experience can increase retention by as much as 82%.
14. Mentorship programs increase retention by 50%.
According to the Association for Talent Development, mentorship programs can increase employee retention by 50%.
15. Engaged employees are 87% more likely to stay.
Qualtrics’s Global Employee Experience Trends Report found that employees who are highly engaged in their work are 87% more likely to stay with their current company.
16. People are 5 times more likely to stay if their manager provides consistent feedback.
The same Qualtrics report found that employees are five times more likely to stay with their company if their manager provides consistent feedback.
17. Empathy keeps employees around.
According to a Businessolver executive summary, 90% of employees are more likely to stay with their employer if their bosses are empathetic to their needs. Furthermore, 96% of employees agree it’s imperative for their employers to demonstrate empathy.
18. People stay with companies that have a greater purpose.
A TinyPulse study found that employees who feel like their company has a greater purpose beyond just profits are 27% more likely to stay with their company.
19. Remote options decrease turnover by a quarter.
According to Owl Labs, a work-from-home option can decrease turnover by 25%.
20. People stay with ethical companies.
The Manifest found that 79% of people would not take a job with a higher salary if the job had questionable ethics.
21. Employee recognition is critical for retention.
A TinyPulse report found that employees who do not feel recognized are twice as likely to leave their company as those who do. Additionally, 24% of employees who hadn’t received recognition in the previous two weeks had recently interviewed for another job.
Deciphering Employee Retention Data for Meaningful Impact
If these employee retention statistics illustrate anything, it’s that improving employee retention often requires many things, including some combination of fair salary, excellent benefits and good culture.
For more information and actionable tips for increasing employee retention, check out our blog: How to Reduce Employee Turnover: 15 Tactics for Retention.
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