High staff turnover? It’s not just how many employees leave – it’s when they go

 

Turnover is turnover.

Right?

Not exactly. When I start with a new client, I ask plenty of questions about costs, suppliers, turnaround times, production rates, and, of course, turnover.

Usually, an HR manager can provide me with their temporary worker turnover rates, but once I ask them when those contingent workers are leaving, that’s usually where I stump them.

I’ve been doing this long enough and worked with enough clients to know that this data point is invaluable. Whether your workers walk out the door at three days or at 45, you need to know when they’re leaving before you can address high staff turnover.

Worker turnover at three days

I didn't know I was going to be on my feet all day long.

I didn't know I’d be just counting bottles.

I didn't know I had to wear protective gear.

There are plenty of reasons why temporary workers say they’re done after less than a week, but the actual reason is often the same.

This is not the job they thought they signed up for.

Short tenures tell me there’s an issue with your hiring process. Somewhere along the way, there is a breakdown in qualifying job candidates or onboarding new hires. Because if a recruiter sells a candidate on one kind of job and they start only to see that the work is completely different, chances are, your new hire is just going to leave and find a job they do want.

Whether it’s your current supplier, recruiter, or hiring manager, they’re simply not setting up temporary workers to be successful within your facility.

Worker turnover at 45 days

If a temporary worker has been in a role for 45 days, it’s safe to bet that they possess the skill set and work ethic needed to do the job – or they wouldn’t have made it 45 days.

That tells me that there’s another reason your temporary workers are leaving.

Maybe, they’ve put up with a supervisor problem or leadership issue for as long as they can, and now, they just can’t do it anymore.

Or, they’re leaving for a permanent position. They started and realized there is never going to be an opportunity to move up or out of temporary work.

If you’re my client, those are the things that I'm going to look further into.

Not all turnover is the same

At Adecco, we create points of communication throughout our associate’s assignment to make sure we’re capturing information along the way. These check-ins can happen during onboarding, at 30 days in, and beyond.

A survey can be a few simple questions. How are things going? How did your first day go? Are you coming back tomorrow? Did you get the training you need? Do you feel you've been set up for success? What are your concerns?

With technology, we can set up those points of communication automatically through text messages and emails. In our onsite programs, we use our floor walk mobile app, so supervisors can regularly check in with associates and track their responses at a shift level and by site location. We’ve even planned in-person roundtables once a month for intake. 

By doing this, I’m able to work with my client and let them know what we’re hearing and seeing. From there, Adecco can build and propose a new strategy, and what that looks like depends on your size and scope of needs.

 

Adecco is an expert on creating transparency and data-driven strategies. We’ll also look at our reporting, analytics, and tracking of temporary workers to provide even stronger visibility, so contact us today to talk to me or one of my colleagues to start that conversation and come up with a new plan.