Keep employees happy and keep them, period
The premium that employers have placed on retention reflects the high cost of turnover: Experts estimate it can cost as much as twice an employee’s salary to recruit, hire and train a new worker.
And close friends often follow one another out the door. According to John J. Sullivan, a professor of management at San Francisco State University who specializes in human resource issues, when one person leaves, several often follow suit. “So it’s not replacing one person, it’s replacing three to five,” he said.
But the current obsession among employers is worker engagement. Employees are engaged, experts say, when they feel productive, think they are contributing to their company’s mission, have trust and confidence in their managers and are given the opportunity to grow and advance — not necessarily by climbing the corporate ladder, but by learning new skills.