Employee Retention Statistics

Employee Retention Statistics image

With so many jobs to choose from, most workers don’t hesitate to change positions. This fact should concern employers because many can’t afford to lose and replace workers with more expensive and less experienced recruits. While it’s good to welcome new talent, the cost of replacing the ones that leave sometimes outweighs the benefits, judging by employee retention statistics, at least. Hence, we have prepared some stats to help you rethink your retention strategy.

Employee Retention Statistics (Editor’s Choice)

  • 87% of HR leaders have set employee retention as the number one priority in the incoming years. (TINYpulse)
  • 31% of employees resign during the first six months of their new job. (Springworks)
  • A strong onboarding program increases retention rates by 82%. (Glassdoor)
  • Companies that include remote work register 25% lower employee turnover. (Cision PR Newswire)
  • Employee burnout is responsible for 50% of turnover. (Vantage Circle)
  • Higher retention rates increase the company’s profits up to four times. (Springworks)
  • 98% of employers have career development programs. (HR Dive)
  • Employees with a healthy work-life balance are 10% more likely to stay in the organization. (TINYpulse)

Employee Retention Stats: Basic Overview

1. 87% of HR leaders have set employee retention as the number one priority in the incoming years.

Staff retention is high on the priority lists of most HR departments. However, a study has shown that 20% of HR leaders find it hard to focus on this priority due to budget limitations or other more pressing matters. Therefore, the progress to ensure retention is slower than expected, and only automation achieved through specialized HR software and higher budgets can speed it up.

(TINYpulse)

2. 31% of employees resign from their new job during the first six months.

Managing employee retention is a way of preventing turnover. According to employee retention statistics, recruits analyze everything during the first days at the new job. Then, they decide whether it was a mistake or the right choice. More precisely, they compare their experience with the culture described to them at the interview and decide if they could become part of the company.

(Springworks)

3. 51% of US workers are happy with their job.

Compared to global retention statistics, this percentage does sound solid. However, there are still 49% that don’t feel satisfied. This result indicates that employees are more content with their job security and salary. On the other hand, they still feel disappointed with the career development component of their jobs.

(Cision PR Newswire)

4. 62.4% of workers in the US are happy with other people at work.

The levels of job satisfaction in the US vary across different segments. According to employee retention statistics, most people are happy to commute to work (60.6%); 59.6% find their work interesting; 57.5% are satisfied with their supervisors, and 55.9% with the physical environment. Similarly, job security (53.8%), vacation policies (53.7%), sick leave (49.3%), health plans (43.5%), and wages (43%) are at the top of the list. On the other note, respondents reported the lowest levels of satisfaction with educational programs and training, bonus plans, promotion policies, and performance management, statistics show.

(Cision PR Newswire)

Employee Satisfaction by Job Component in the US

5. A strong onboarding program increases retention rates by 82%.

The better the onboarding programs are, the higher the employee retention rate gets. Retention suffers if the organization fails to perform this process and doesn’t instruct the employees about the corporate culture and the workplace, employee retention rate statistics show. Further, the better-onboarded employees are, the more productive they get (70%). The alternative is losing most of the candidates during the first year.

(Glassdoor)

6. Companies that include remote work register 25% lower employee turnover.

Retention stats suggest that remote work has become a tipping point for some employees. If the company doesn’t support it, employee retention problems are imminent. Remote work statistics show that 65% of employees that don’t work remotely claim they would like to work out of the office at least once a month. 57% of those who don’t want to work remotely cite the nature of their jobs as the main reason.

(Cision PR Newswire)

7. 77% of organizations focus on employee experience to raise retention.

Nowadays, most companies work for the employees instead of the other way around, employee retention stats suggest. Aside from collecting feedback, companies actively collaborate with their workers to maintain employment retention rates by creating positive experiences. In fact, 96% of talent professionals claim employee experience has become highly important.

(LinkedIn)

8. Employees acknowledged for the good work by their managers are five times more likely to remain in the company.

According to employee retention data, managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores. Consequently, this reflects on productivity, employee retention rate statistics demonstrate. Furthermore, acknowledged employees are five times more likely to stay, and those whose managers help them with the workload are eight times more likely to stay.

(Qualtrics)

9. Almost 30% of workers would quit if they had to return to the office physically after the pandemic.

To be precise, 29% of professionals would prefer to continue working remotely during the post-pandemic. Otherwise, they would quit. These employee retention statistics come from an online survey conducted by LiveCareer on a sample of 1,022 working professionals. For reference, 42% of the US employees worked remotely full-time since the pandemic started.

(USA Today)

10. The cost of losing an employee goes up to 213% of their annual salary.

One serious issue arising from higher employee turnover is definitely costs. Recruiting and training new talent takes time and investment and reflects poorly on productivity. These costs typically vary, but generally, they tend to go between six and nine months’ salaries. For example, the costs to replace an hourly employee are $1,500; for technical positions, the costs go up to 150%, while for C-suite positions, they tend to go up to 213% of an employee’s salary.

(PeopleKeep)

11. Employee burnout is responsible for 50% of turnover.

HR leaders believe that burnout cripples employee retention, according to some retention stats. For HR leaders, maintaining employees' well-being should be a top priority, considering they drive business operations and help generate revenue. However, working overtime too long and being constantly overloaded can engender their work-life balance. Therefore, organizations need to make some changes, HR statistics show.

(Vantage Circle)

12. Eight out of 10 employees would seek another job after a bad day at work.

Job retention rates sometimes depend on employees’ emotions. A recent survey found that dissatisfaction made 81% of job aspirants look for another job. In addition, half of the respondents specified they were underpaid, while others were unhappy with the company’s benefits policy. Finally, for many, the problem was limitations in career growth. Other than that, employees cited hostile work culture, unsupportive managers, work-life balance, and several other reasons for their dissatisfaction, employee retention statistics reveal.

(Vantage Circle, Vantage Circle)

Top Reasons Employees Leave Their Jobs

13. 70% of staff members would leave their current employer for a company that invests more in development and training.

A recently conducted poll of 300 HR decision-makers and about 1,500 employees has shown that 34% of people left their jobs because of career development opportunities at the new position. In addition, this ranks second, after compensation, in training and employee retention statistics as a reason for employees leaving their organizations.

(HR Dive)

14. 63% of people working for 10 or more years for an employer are open to new opportunities.

It’s a large number, true, but the job retention rate among the newly employed is much lower. For instance, 77% of new employees working less than a year with a current employer are open to new opportunities. As a matter of fact, 45% are actively looking for new options, employee retention stats indicate.

(Emplify)

15. Employees are 16% less likely to stay in a company if they don’t feel at ease giving upward feedback.

Feedback is not a one-way street. Both employers and employees are supposed to give feedback to each other since only open communication improves operations. Moreover, the retention of employees depends on it a great deal. In the US, 60% of employees have a way to provide feedback. However, only 30% claim their feedback resulted in action by the employer, according to employee retention statistics.

(TINYpulse)

16. More than 25% of employees are in a high-retention-risk zone.

Many companies are facing issues related to retention of employment. Based on recent data, one-quarter of employees are likely candidates for turnover. Meanwhile, most of them possess critical skills and are often top-performing workers. That’s why it’s important to identify these people and place them in the high-retention-risk category. Communication is the essential key to retaining them.

(Bonusly)

17. Employees who report low respect levels between their colleagues are 26% more likely to resign.

Team collaboration and relations play an important role in employee retention, stats indicate. So, team members who are considerate and treat each other respectfully are more likely to remain in their organizations. Alternatively, failure to maintain respectful relations in the team results in disaster.

(TINYpulse)

18. Only 15% of workers worldwide classify as engaged.

According to employee engagement statistics, each day workers' decisions affect the entire organization. On the other hand, how the company treats its employees influences their decisions and actions. Employee retention stats show that engaged employees are more productive. Also, engagement affects the staff retention rate. Yet, most organizations fail to note this, and only 35% of workers in the US and 15% globally feel engaged.

(Gallup)

19. 79% of workers won’t work for a company that didn’t act against sexual harassment, despite the salary.

People care about respect and wouldn’t want to work for a company that is unethical toward anyone. Employee retention statistics show that, aside from sexual harassment, 76% wouldn’t accept offers from a company selling users’ data. Next, 72% would decline offers from companies causing environmental problems. In case the company pays minorities and female workers less, 71% of employees wouldn’t work for them too. Finally, 69% wouldn’t accept an offer from a company lobbying against consumer protection regulations.

(TINYpulse)

Company Actions Employees Won't Tolerate

20. 80% of employees claim HR technologies improve their attitude toward the company.

According to employee retention statistics, despite many employees feeling under pressure because of the use of software at work, HR software such as employee engagement tools has significantly improved the attitude toward the company. Without the proper employee engagement, talent retention is a mission impossible.

(TINYpulse)

21. The average cost-per-hire for a new worker is around $4,129.

Typically, the cost of employee retention is the best indicator of how important it is to keep employees satisfied. Otherwise, replacing them would be costly, especially if we consider close to 19% turnover rate across many industries, employee retention stats show.

(Apollo Technical)

22. 75% of employee turnover causes can be prevented.

According to employee retention research, the most common reason employees quit their jobs is an unchallenging job. Usually, they feel either under-appreciated or bored with everyday mechanical tasks. That’s why employers need to work on employee engagement.

(Apollo Technical)

23. High retention rates increase a company's profits up to four times.

In line with employee retention statistics, low employee retention impacts the company by creating a negative image, while high retention makes the company more profitable. The reason behind this lies in more productive employees that perform the better the longer they remain in the company.

(Springworks)

Best Employee Retention Practices

24. 98% of employers have career development programs.

Because career growth is imperative for most employees, many organizations have set up career development programs. These are important for training and employee retention, statistics confirm. In fact, these are some of the most common employee retention strategies. Despite this, 80% of employees said they had to navigate their career development themselves.

(HR Dive)

25. 23% of employees are more likely to stay if managers explain their roles and responsibilities.

Employees should not wonder what they need to do or what their everyday tasks are. Therefore, onboarding plays a vital role in worker retention. Despite this, a study has shown that 76% of HR leaders underutilize their onboarding programs, while 24% don’t have an onboarding strategy. It’s important not to neglect this segment, either devising a strategy or leveraging the power of various onboarding software solutions.

(TINYpulse)

26. Millennials are 22 times more likely to work in a company that has a strong trust culture.

Poor corporate culture results in high turnover, employee retention statistics indicate. This especially refers to Millennials. They are less likely to leave an organization that fosters a culture of trust and transparency. An organization with collaborative corporate culture treats its employees as professionals and trusts them to do the job they are hired for without pressuring them. Conversely, if employees work under pressure, the retention in the workplace falls drastically.

(TINYpulse)

27. Employees with a healthy work-life balance are 10% more likely to stay in the organization.

Instead of a healthy life without stress, having to go to the office every day and failing to achieve targets affects employee loyalty, statistics confirm. More and more people are under the effects of burnout and work under stress every day, which leads to serious health issues. At the same time, it lowers the average employee retention rate and decreases employee productivity, statistics indicate. So, access to healthy work hours and the possibility to work from home could be decisive in retaining employees.

(TINYpulse)

28. Three out of four job seekers said they evaluate workforce diversity when considering job offers.

Workforce diversity is an important factor that impacts the employment retention rate. In fact, 76% of employees would consider it when evaluating a potential workplace. However, according to employee retention statistics, nearly a third of employees wouldn’t apply in a company that lacks diversity among its workers.

(Glassdoor)

29. 41% of Black job seekers wouldn’t apply in companies that lack diversity.

Compared to white job seekers (30%), 11% more black workers would skip companies that are not diverse. Employee retention studies show that 41% of LGBTQ work aspirants would do the same, compared to 32% of non-LGBTQ ones. Therefore, companies need to consider this when conducting the recruitment process.

(Glassdoor)

30. Companies with an employee referral program have a 46% average retention rate.

Companies that have referral programs in place, compared to organizations without ones, registered the highest employee retention rate, statistics show. For reference, companies without these programs have a retention rate of only 33%.

(Firstbird)

31. Roughly one-third of companies plan to launch referral programs using third-party software.

Third-party software — from employee monitoring tools to referral programs that track applications — has become a common element in many aspects of HR. As a result, it plays a significant role in personnel retention. For example, 63% of the companies that consider themselves satisfied with the referral solutions used third-party software with social referral features. Further, 22% include non-employees in these programs, while 45% plan to launch programs including non-employees, employee retention stats show.

(LinkedIn)

32. High management transparency results in 30% better employee retention.

One of the reasons why employees stay in the company is transparency. It’s the foundation for trust and good relations between employees and a company. If people trust the management and senior leaders of a company, they are more likely to stay.

(Bonusly)

Conclusion

The job market is getting extremely competitive, and these employee retention stats are here to prove it. At some point, the cost of low retention will affect some companies to the extent that there is no going back. That’s why it’s important to use these stats to your advantage and formulate a good retention strategy that will make your company stand out from the crowd.

Employee Retention FAQ

What is employee retention?

Employee retention refers to the ability of a company to stop employee turnover, as retention statistics indicate. Turnover is the number of people who quit their jobs in a specific period. Preventing it can have a strong impact on a company's operations. The loss of talent over a period of time is a big issue for most companies.
(NetSuite)

What is a good employee retention rate?

Based on the US example, retention rates are around 90%, depending on the industry. This classifies as a good retention rate, in line with employee retention rate statistics. Some typically high retention rate industries are finance, insurance, government, and education.
(The Great Game of Business)

How do you calculate employee retention?

The best way to calculate your company’s retention rate is to divide the number of employees that remained in your company throughout a certain period by the number of employees that your company had from day one of that period. Then, this number is multiplied by 100, and you get the employee retention rate.
(Lattice)

Why is employee retention important?

According to retention statistics, it saves the company from loss of productivity, maintains the employees' morale, and reduces hiring costs. High retention workplaces have more engaged employees that improve customer experience and employee experience, and increase revenue.
(NetSuite)

What is an employee retention policy?

The employee retention policies consist of a list of rules and programs drawn up by the employer to maintain maximum employee retention and satisfaction. They often include different perks and training, deepening the relationship between the employer and the employees. They help both sides carry out successful business operations.
(Koppr)

What are retention strategies?

In line with retention stats, there are many types of strategies in this domain. Some include better salaries, bonuses, and profit-sharing, while others have better work-life balance, good onboarding, the potential for career development, and promotions. These strategies also include good leadership skills, communication, and teamwork.
(Simplicable)

What are the objectives of employee retention?

In the first place, the main objective of these activities is to reduce turnover. In other words, employers apply retention tactics to lower the cost of acquiring new talent. Further, these strategies boost the entire company’s morale and productivity. Finally, all these things combined lead to better customer experience, retention statistics confirm.
(HR Shelf)

What are the factors influencing employee retention?

Six main factors impact employee retention. The first is onboarding and training. Next is flexibility, since most workers don’t want to work under pressure. Financial stability (or instability), work-life balance, and poor management follow on the list. Finally, ongoing recognition of employees also plays a vital role in retaining and keeping them engaged.
(Rippl)

Who is responsible for employee retention?

Everyone in the company is an essential cog in the machine, influencing retention. So, not only talent acquisition teams should take all the credits or all the blame. Managers, coaches, mentors, and colleagues all play their parts. Sometimes, even customers can influence workers’ decision to stay, employee retention statistics suggest.

(HR Bartender)

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