New research into the hidden costs of onboarding talent has revealed that company culture has suffered in 63 percent of UK businesses because of high employee turnover.
New research by Wiley Edge found that 23 percent have received complaints from remaining team members about a change in company culture.
It also found that another 23 percent have noticed the company culture drift further from the stated mission and values due to high employee turnover.
Further, it was highlighted that 22 percent of organisations have had issues arise between team members due to the development of a toxic culture, 21 percent have noticed a decrease in employee engagement, and 22 percent have had long-standing employees leave as a direct result of the change in culture.
In this way, poor retention rates can become a vicious cycle in which the culture of a team or whole organisation becomes destabilised, which results in even more employees choosing to leave, further increasing recruitment and onboarding costs.
Company culture and job hopping
Millennial and Gen Z job hopping is well documented.
Interestingly, 16 percent of organisations surveyed reporting that a staggering 51-100 percent of their graduate employees typically leave the business within 24 months.
A further 38 percent find that between 21 percent and 50 percent leave within two years.
Only 28 percent of businesses said that 10 percent or less leave within that time period.
What can increase staff retention rates?
When asked in a separate Wiley Edge survey what would encourage them to stay at a job for longer, 59 percent of 1,000 21–28-year-olds in full-time employment said good benefits.
This was followed by 54 percent saying supportive manager/colleagues, and 46 percent citing a socially active team, and 44 percent saying a culture that matches the stated mission and values.
When asked for their main reasons for leaving a job, the most popular responses were a toxic company culture (40%), a lack of opportunities for progression (40%), and a lack of support from management (36%).
Tom Seymour, Senior Director, HR at Wiley Edge, said: “Poor retention rates are very costly for businesses, driving up recruitment and training expenses. However, often overlooked is the impact on company culture, which can have its own more long-term implications, both financial and otherwise.
“When it comes to younger employees, businesses need to make sure they’re really listening to them and meeting their needs in order to prevent high levels of turnover. By creating a positive, welcoming environment in which employees from all backgrounds can flourish and progress in their careers, businesses should not only find that their retention rates improve, but also that employee engagement increases, productivity improves, and recruitment and onboarding costs are minimised.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
