Retention problems? | How to stop the 90 day employee

Employee turnover can be a costly and disruptive problem for businesses of all sizes. According to research, 30% of new employees leave their jobs within the first 90 days of getting hired. This has been shown to cost on average between 6-9 months’ salary to replace them, taking into account recruiting and training. This doesn’t account for lost productivity, and it can creep much higher at leadership level.

So, once you have invested in this person and got them into the business, it really is costly if they don’t stay very long. To avoid this, it’s worth revisiting some of the of the basics and ensuring your house is in order. Here’s some considerations to help minimise 90 day employees in your organisation…

A transparent Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Your EVP is a crucial element of how you attract and retain talent into your business. And in a competitive backdrop, an enticing EVP is becoming almost as critical as job role and salary when attracting new employees, so it’s no wonder organisations want to use this to their advantage. The risk comes when organisations oversell their EVP; exaggerating the good and not communicating the challenges. It should be a true reflection of your organisation’s environment to ensure you attract the right people who will fit in. Read more about how to get this right here.

Clear expectations and job descriptions

One of the most common reasons employees leave their jobs within the first few months is due to a lack of clarity regarding their roles and responsibilities. Perhaps the role hasn’t been well thought out or perhaps an old job description was recycled. In the case of the latter, this often happens when an organisation is directly replacing a role. Chances are, if a business has grown or evolved at all, the description should be updated to reflect any changes of the role.