Home / News / Employers Report Frequent First-year Departures
March 08, 2007
Employers Report Frequent First-year Departures
BOSTON, March 8, 2007 — A
significant number of organizations lose as many as a
quarter of their new hires within the first year, according
to a survey of 2,000 HR and training executives by Novations
Group, a global consulting firm based in Boston.
One-third of employers suffer such a loss, and for an
additional 11% of companies first-year departures can even
approach 50%.
With respect to recruitment by your organization,
about what percentage of new hires leaves your organization
(voluntarily or involuntarily) within the first year of
employment?
| Less than 10% |
54% |
| Between 10% and 25% |
33% |
| Between 25% and
50% |
11% |
| More than
50% |
2% |
“The incidence of hiring failures is startling, even
to experienced selection and assessment
professionals,” said Novations Executive Consultant
Tim Vigue. “Because there’s no reliable
baseline data we don’t know for sure if the findings
mark a trend or whether first-year departures have been a
pressing problem for a long time. But we think
they’re a not a new issue.”
According to Vigue, “It appears that individuals and
hiring managers are not sharing enough of the kind of
information that would help each side determine if there is
a good match. This makes it a lot more difficult for
new hires to get up and running in the new job and
frequently results in new hires quitting.”
What are the reasons that new hires leave your
organization within the first year of
employment?
(Please select all that apply.)
| Unrealistic expectations of the job and
organizations |
48% |
| Failure to grasp “how things get done”
around the organization |
39% |
| Poor communications with immediate
supervisor |
33% |
| Failure to develop a sense of belonging and
purpose |
26% |
| Inadequate technical
skills |
23% |
| Not understanding the link between the job and
organization goals
|
21% |
| Failure to connect with key employees |
18% |
| Inability to establish trust and credibility
quickly |
13% |
| Poor people
skills |
13% |
The study underscores the need for the organization
to be realistic about what the job entails, believes
Vigue. “The employer has the responsibility to
be clear and straightforward. Not to do so proves to
be self-defeating.”
Vigue also observed that not developing a “sense of
belonging” ranks high among the reasons for failed
hirings. “One-quarter of our respondents
pointed to this real human issue…the need for new
hires to bond with co-workers and the direction the company
is taking. The finding underlines what all HR
professionals know…that people stay with an
organization only if they feel connected.”
The Novations Group Internet survey of 2,046 senior HR and
development executives was completed in December 2006 by
Equation Research.
Novations Group is a leading provider of consulting and
training services on four continents. Novations is
recognized for its expertise in diversity & inclusion,
employee engagement, talent management, employee selection,
leadership development, organization communications, sales
training, customer service and project management.
Contact: Pat FitzGerald, Novations,
617-787-2163, pfitzgerald@novations.com,
or Phil Ryan, Ryan Public Relations, 845-339-7858.
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