Some companies have very shallow (if any at all) employee recruitment programs however most do not have one at all.  More importantly, companies do not have a well-planned, focused or effective employee retention strategy.

This strategy should be well organized, be a company priority, company wide and involve all members of the staff, management and front-line alike.  It must be well tracked and it's effectiveness monitored on an on-going basis.

All managers should be held accountable for employee turnover and the costs involved.  I firmly believe that employee turnover cost awareness is not communicated to managers and therefore is not a priority.  These costs should be a part of every department's profit and loss statement and an integral aspect of each department's budget.  Currently, there is very little (if any) accountability placed on management's shoulders for employee retention.  Employee turnover, retention and recruitment should be a topic of discussion at every executive committee meeting, staff meeting, department meeting, etc.  Yet, this is seldom the case.
When I think of employee recruitment, I keep coming up with the same simple theory.  If we can retain more of our employees and lower employee turnover then we would not have to spend the time and dollars on employee recruitment.  Makes sense to me!

I am well aware that there are those companies who are seasonal in nature, there are those who may be in college towns and rely heavily on those resources and there are others that have their own unique employee challenges.
Effective employee retention begins with the interviewing, screening and hiring process. When companies retain more of their employees and when leaders aggressively work on employee development and internal promotions then less time and money will be spent on employee recruitment.

Employee turnover is inevitable, however it is amazing how many companies do not do effective exit interviews (if they do exit interviews at all) with their employees who resign.  It is extremely important that the reasons for employee resignations and termination's be accurately tracked.  If management doesn't know why employees are leaving, especially within the first ninety days, then they can't resolve the employee turnover challenges facing them.

The first ninety days of employment for the company and the new employee are critical. Here are the primary reasons employees resign within their first ninety days of employment:

.....(I)	The new employee did not fully understand what the job involved.  Most likely,management did not properly communicate what the employee's job responsibilities were when he was offered, and ultimately accepted, the position.
(II)	The new employee feels as if he has been "thrown to the wolves" and was not properly trained.  Effective training is not a cost, but rather an investment in the future of the company.
(III)	The new employee never had that "all-important sense of belonging".  He felt like an outsider and ultimately did not feel he was a member of the team.
(IV)	The new employee did not like, respect or receive any guidance from his manager.

It is only after these four reasons for employee resignations that new employees even mention wages and benefits.

Management must, if they want to lower employee defections, place the right employee in the right job and understand that bad bodies are worse than no bodies at all.  They must understand that employee turnover and recruitment costs far more than proper hiring and training aimed at increasing employee retention.

Management must focus on what their companies are doing to make sure there is the right fit between the employee and the job.  Management must also understand that just because an employee may have experience in a certain field that doesn't mean they are best suited for that field.

When companies put the right employee in the right job they will find they will have a happier, more caring and motivated employee.  This employee will be more likely to develop the skills necessary to do his job well and he will also be more receptive to learning.  He will also be less likely to seek employment elsewhere.
 
Quality training without quality selection (and visa-versa) of employees will result in tremendous amounts of lost dollars and time spent on employee recruitment.  This will also result in extremely low employee retention.   There is only one thing worse than a trained employee who quits, and that is an untrained employee who stays.

The culture (or lack of) within the organization will definitely be one of the biggest reasons for employee defections and at the same time can and should be the most effective and cost-free mode of recruiting employees.  As a result, companies must make a concerted effort to make the transition from management to leadership.

If leadership is truly going to make the commitment toward lowering employee defections, then the organizational culture must be expressed through leadership's actions, decisions and behaviors and then shared by all members of the organization.  Their company must be perceived as a great place to work.

The leadership within the organization that will be effective in retaining employees will be those individuals who encourage such incredibly high levels of commitment and dedication amongst the entire team that all members of the organization drive themselves (driving themselves is the key) to new heights of productivity and quality.

When management's compensation in part is based on employee turnover, the organization will find that employee turnover will decrease dramatically.  It is in this light. that we must focus on leadership skills
to effect employee retention.

Lack of training is one of the main complaints heard from new employees, yet few companies ever take the time to effectively train new-hires or have the new employee review the training program to ensure that the company has given him the tools he will need to get the job done.  This should be done between two and four weeks after the training is completed and the employee has had the opportunity to experience his new company its training and culture.

Those companies who have the highest levels of employee retention are those companies that are employee driven.  Those who are not had better budget effectively for the employee turnover they are going to experience.

Quality and service are interdependent. You cannot define quality or service without viewing it from the customer's perspective, and your employees are your customers too.

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