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Major turnover at massive companies

I recently had my staff analyse some of our staff statistics. It turned out that for 2015 we had a 9% turnover.  Essentially what that would mean, if you want to see all new faces at the firm, is that you probably have to wait approximately 11 years!  Our median employee has been with us over 2 years.  I use a median figure quite often, even with silly things like a spreadsheet I keep of my weight for about 10 years now.  An average sometimes can be misleading, although I can say that my average weight and my median weight are pretty much the same.  I think everyone is familiar with the concept of an average - if there are 5 numbers you add them together, you divide by 5 and you get your average.  An average can be misleading sometimes, because it means that you are affected by a very low figure as well as by a very high figure.  Sometimes a median would give you a different result because what the median is in that 5 number scenario is the value of the number in the middle – number 3.  So it is not the average but the middle figure, or person in this case, in this example who has been at the firm longer than half the staff and shorter than half the other staff.  

That being said, I was stunned to see that at Amazon that median employer is there for a little bit less than a year and then Google for one year.  I would have thought, because we always hear about the share options, but that probably only goes to the top employees who have been there for 10 or 15 years, that it would have been 5, 6 or 7 years.  I cannot imagine for two such major successful firms that their staff turnover would be so high.  I was quite happy with our 9% turnover rate – in other words, during the calendar year 2015, 9% of the staff members who were with us at the beginning of the year were no longer with us at the end of the year.  I think from my recollection my time at the Law Society, where we have similar figures, that that figure was about 10% to 15%, but it would not be unheard of, particularly in the call centre industry or other industries for that to be much closer to 30% if not higher.  In short, we have a relatively low turnover and that is good for a business, not only in terms of what it says about the happiness of your staff but also in terms of the cost of having to retrain people on the procedures as well as the company culture.

Posted by Michael de Broglio on Thursday 12-May-16 Share on Facebook   Tweet It

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Comments

Natasha  said:
on Friday 20-May-16 08:30 AM
I don't think that is bad at all

Brenda Du Toit   said:
on Monday 16-May-16 03:51 PM
9% is not bad at all

Joyce  said:
on Monday 16-May-16 08:32 AM
I think 9% turnover figure is much better compare to other companies and the figure speaks for itself means the company is actually the best.

Sinead  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 04:40 PM
Wow that's really not bad...
I also read about Google being one year. I would have thought people would stay a lot longer than that.
I must agree with Juliet though, it is probably the reason it's one year.

Nikita  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 03:28 PM
I think if one's employees are happy then a turnover rate is not even something you need to worry about. If people feel appreciated they will be better workers.

Zanell  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 03:20 PM
9% is great, If you treat your employees well they will have no reason to want to leave. If you have a high turn over rate your company is clearly not going to survive because people can not work in that environment.

Chanika  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 03:17 PM
A 9% is not bad. A companies success depends on various factors and happy staff will definitely improve that.

brumilde  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 02:50 PM
I agree with Lourien, she is one of the employees that really make a difference in the company. always has ideas on how to improve the business working environment as well as try and keep the staff happy, and this also keep the rate low.

Mathilda  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 02:00 PM
9% is very good comparing to other company's .
If you give your staff a good environment and look after them they will stay

Melissa  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 01:58 PM
Not too bad

Michelle  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 01:53 PM
9% is very good, much better than other company`s.

Tamzyn   said:
on Friday 13-May-16 01:21 PM
Turnover always reflect on the company, and how content people are to be part of it.I think 9% is a good statistic for turnover- keeping in mind that people will leave for reasons other than unhappiness etc.

Lourien   said:
on Friday 13-May-16 11:02 AM
The turnover rate of staff is very important to any firm, as soon as the turnover rate goes too high it starts becoming a problem but I do think 9% is a great rate to have. There will always be people leaving the firm for different reasons which may even be due to relocating and there will also be new recruits every year which will only benefit the firm with new ideas and different views. Its all about having a competitive advantage in the labour market and being able to keep the best employees.

Daniella  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 09:16 AM
I think a turnover of 9% is great happy workers are an essential part of a business

Angelique P  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 09:03 AM
I think 9% turnover is good. If people are happy where they work they will work extra hard to make the business more successful.

Thabitha  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 09:02 AM
This percentage is good for the company you do not spend too much time hiring and training new staff.

Charlotte Harding  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 08:54 AM
The turnover of staff of a company always tells a story of the management style of the company. But in retrospect, you always get those employees too who are so unhappy, will tell everybody about it, but will not make an effort to move on. So sometimes the staff turnover number is not really an indication of how happy people really are in a company. The only thing that will determine that is an anonymous survey where people can truly answer on their feelings.

Jessica  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 08:49 AM
Well I must say since I have been back for 6 years this year. The staff turn over isn't bad at all.

Juliet  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 08:48 AM
Amazon and Google are companies that demand innovation and strategy. I would think that this means new minds and ideas are always more welcome than existing ideas. So the staff turnover would be high to ensure maximum creativity and market strength. New people bring new ideas and ideas from competitors and Google and Amazon staff take their knowledge and ideas to the competitors. In this way success is spread between companies otherwise there would only be a few companies that succeeded. Staff and therefore knowledge and expertize must move from company to company to make the wider economy grow.

Liesl  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 08:46 AM
Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don't want to - Richard Branson

Daria  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 08:36 AM
That percentage is very low and i agree with the previous statements. It all depends if the employees are happy at work or not.

Clare  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 08:35 AM
Well i say 09% is not bad, Treat your stuff good they will treat your company good

latoya  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 08:35 AM
9% is very low from my point of view.

Melissa P  said:
on Friday 13-May-16 08:02 AM
I think 9% is a low percentage. I believe that employees are the money behind every company/firm. I feel that if employees are appreciated and happy in their environment they would work harder and in turn make the company/firm a bigger success.

Prishani   said:
on Friday 13-May-16 07:59 AM
9% is not bad at all. A low percentage is something that most companies aim for because if you have employees who are staying with a company for long periods of time it must mean that the working environment is a pleasant one and that in turn forms part of creating a positive image for the company.

Bianca  said:
on Thursday 12-May-16 08:57 AM
That percentage is very low and one should be content with such a low staff turnover. I also find that a high staff turnover is a sure way to show that people are unhappy in the jobs/surroundings and thus there is a flow of people leaving the company that they are working for.

Kaylee  said:
on Thursday 12-May-16 08:48 AM
I think those are very good stats! I can say I have noticed a decline in staff turn over rate since I started working here especially in professional staff, which I think is indicative of people being content with their jobs!

Alexis  said:
on Thursday 12-May-16 08:30 AM
9% is not bad at all. I think all in all it also depends on the happiness of the people. If they are in a bad environment, they want to get out and soon. Then it also depends on the people being hired, whether or not they can handle the job or not. There are a lot of aspects to why a person would leave, So although an average is not as reliable, it in a sense gives you an idea of where your company stands and room for improvement.

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Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
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