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Australian Employee Retention Returns to Best-Practice Level

Announcement posted by Integral Development 11 Dec 2013

Provider of leadership development programs in Perth analyses recent survey and reveals how best-practice levels benefit employees and management.
Perth, WA, December 11, 2013 - In late 2012, a survey was conducted by the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) concerning turnover and retention rates in organisations and companies across Australia. The last survey of its kind was conducted in 2008.

The participants were all human resources practitioners: 4% from organisations who employed less than 15 people, 40% from firms employing between 16 and 250 employees and 56.3% from companies with 250 or more employees—this included 20.7% organisations employing 2500 or more people.

The most significant development was that the average turnover rate for the 561 organisations who responded was 13%. This is considered a “best-practice” percentage—small enough to keep from becoming cost-prohibitive but large enough to allow for evolution and fresh ideas.

The 13% rate was down significantly from the 18.5% when the survey was last conducted near the end of 2008. This has been attributed to a workforce that appears less willing to change jobs due to the uncertain economy and job shedding of the last 4 years.

The Human Resource employees were asked other questions concerning retention, why turnover happens and how to improve overall numbers. 27% responded that they expect more turnover during the next year, while 30% responded that they anticipated less turnover; 40% felt that the level would remain the same.

47% felt that the amount of turnover in their organisations was too high, while 14% thought turnover in their organisations was too low; 39% responded that the turnover rate in their company was appropriate.

When asked what caused the turnover, 20% said that the main cause was a lack of upward mobility within the company. 17% cited adversarial relationships between management and employees, while 12% said that employees most often left to obtain higher pay.

When asked how to best improve retention, 12% said that their companies needed better communication with employees. Another 12% felt that better induction processes were needed, while 10% cited a faulty selection process. On the subject of the selection process, 60% felt that their organisations did an effective job of recruiting the right employees, while 19% expressed dissatisfaction with the process. 20% didn't have an opinion.

According to Dr Ron Cacioppe, Managing Director at Integral Development, the results are good news for the Australian business community:

“We like seeing a number around 13% for employee turnover. Companies with too little turnover often stagnate, while organisations with too much turnover tend to be chaotic due to chronically having to train new personnel. At 13%, there is just enough turnover to help an organisation evolve, but not enough to cause undue strain on time or budget.”

Dr Cacioppe continued, “We think that Australian companies are starting to have a better understanding of how to keep their good people while encouraging those who don't fit the company's mission or goals to go elsewhere. At Integral Development, our leadership programs and courses are based on Integral Theory, which stresses balanced, whole-person development, professionally and personally. Ideally, employees will feel that their input is valued and that they will be afforded the opportunity to grow within the company.”

Dr Cacioppe concluded, “This helps create a professional environment where employees maximise their potential.”

Integral Development provides management courses, executive coaching and leadership development programs, on-site or from their Perth campus. Their offerings are based on Ken Wilber's Integral Theory, combining the best of more than 5,000 years of human innovation and thought. For more information, call (08) 9242 8122 or visit their website: http://www.integral.org.au/.