Why employee turnover isn't always a bad thing

The difference between functional vs. dysfunctional employee turnover.

It is estimated that the total cost of turnover ranges between 90 percent and 200 percent of the leaver's salary, according to a blog post from Select International. But not all instances of turnover are necessarily bad.
 
When well-qualified and high-performing employees leave an organization, it's called dysfunctional turnover since it has negative consequences for the organization. But there are positive outcomes when some employees leave the organization, particularly those who slack off, consistently make errors, create workplace drama or tension, or have cynical attitudes, according to the post.

The blog post points out a few ways in which retaining poor performers can hurt an organization. Often, the full negative impact they have on an organization is not recognized until they depart.

More stress among good employees. Employees may feel pressure to make up for work that the problem employee fails to finish, resulting in an increased workload and increased stress on the well-qualified employees.
Lower performance among existing employees. Furthermore, this increased workload and stress could escalate to resentment toward the problem employee and even the organization itself.
Low morale. If there are a number of individuals in a specific team or workgroup, the entire group morale may be low simply from being forced to work with or work under a problem employee.
Distrust of leadership. If strong performers feel they are working with poor performing individuals and that no one is willing to take action to improve the situation, they are likely to lose faith in their leaders and perhaps the organization itself.

"The moral of the story is that not all turnover is bad, and in some cases turnover can be extremely beneficial if the 'correct' employees choose to leave," according to the post.

More Articles on Employee Turnover:
What the Fortune 500 Can Teach Healthcare About Employee Retention: Q&A With Bill Sims Jr. on Employee Engagement
IT Staff Recruiting: How to Lure Employees Who Could Work Anywhere
How Tenet Is Using Predictive Analytics to Improve Employee Retention

 

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