Stop the Bleeding! Reduce Turnover!
If a job could talk, what would it say about itself?
What would it say are the behaviors, key motivators, and personal skills necessary for superior performance?
Job Benchmarking is a process that tells you that very thing, about any position in your organization.
80% of turnover is caused by bad hiring decisions, and a job analysis is the most neglected aspect of hiring. Matching the right people to jobs is critical for superior performance and retention. The average US employee turnover is about 23% annually. The cost of employee turnover can range anywhere from ½ to 5 times an employee’s annual wages depending on his or her position. If you just do the numbers you’ll understand why employee turnover in the US costs employers $11 Billion dollars a year!
Investing in a benchmark, in which you will invest between $3,000 and $10,000, can save a small business hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a larger business millions.
Step 1.We’ll meet and identify the job to be benchmarked and identify the “Subject Matter Experts”, or stakeholders in this process. This is often done over the phone in a teleconference meeting, and will take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on whether the job is a new job or an established job that is quite easy to understand.
The stakeholders we identify will be people who know how the job should be done. Managers who have been in the job and top performers who are currently in the position usually make the best stakeholders. We’ll want to have no fewer than 3 and no more than 7 subject matter experts for an accurate benchmark.
Step 2. We’ll meet with the stakeholders and identify “Key Accountabilities”.
This meeting will take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on how well the stakeholders can identify what is required fo the job.
This meeting starts as a brainstorm with the stakeholders, to come up with 3-5 key reasons why the job exists. This is different from just a job description, which includes tasks and activities. Once the stakeholders have agreed on 3-5 Key Accountabilites, they will rank them in order of importance. Once they are ranked, the stakeholders will agree on what percentage time is required for each key accountability during a workweek.
Once these are ranked and weighted, each stakeholder will respond individually to an in-depth online survey that takes about 45 minutes to complete. The assessment will measure the behaviors, motivators, and personal skills needed for success on the job based on the key accountabilities of the job.
Step 3. Once all the stakeholders have completed the questionnaire, I will create a multiple respondent report and meet with the stakeholders to review the report.
The report will point out the “Critical Factors”, including the top 7 attributes, the top 3 workplace motivators, and the top 3 behaviors required for the job. Once we agree that no changes need to be made to the benchmark, I will create a Job Overview Page from the benchmark by using National means and standard Deviations to show you what you are looking for in each Critical Factor.
If the benchmark is for a position that already has a person in it, we will assess the person already in the job to see where the “gaps” are, and we know how to tailor training, personal development, and coaching to close the gaps, thereby improving performance, productivity, and engagment.
If the benchmark is for a position to be filled, now we have the tool we need to match candidates to. Your top 5 candidates will take the same advanced surveys, and I will create a customized behavioral interview for the position. I will also prepare a talent comparison report. Combined with the results of your interviews, reference and background checks, you will be able to choose your best candidate without bias. We will do a gap report for the candidate you choose, thereby shortening the on-boarding process by personalizing the recruit’s training and coaching to the existing gap and make sure he or she is set up to succeed instead of leaving anything to chance. Employees participating in structured on-boarding are 69% more likely to stay with their employer for 3 years or more.
Companies using this job benchmarking system faithfully can raise their retention rate to 90% or more. All that profit goes right to the bottom line.
Why don’t all companies benchmark their positions?
a. They don’t know this scientifically validated process exists
b. They don’t know the true cost of turnover, or having the wrong people in the wrong jobs.
c. They don’t want to “spend” $5000, even though the ROI is off the charts
d. They are so busy putting out fires they can’t figure out a way to squeeze the time out of the stakeholders’ schedules to do the process.
It is documented that behavioral interviewing in the selection process yields 52% better results. Benchmarking covers that. Employees participating in structured on-boarding are 69% more likely to stay with their employer for 3 years or more. Benchmarking covers that. 60% of the workforce is considering leaving their current job for another as the economy improves. Benchmarking can reduce your turnover to 5% or less if you do it as a consistent practice.
Having your Recruiting, Selection, and On-Boarding Systems in great shape will reduce your turnover, add lost revenue back to the bottom line, and raise the price of your stock.
Now you know how the process of job benchmarking works. If you would like to talk about a particular position, and whether it should be benchmarked, simply contact me. There is absolutely no charge to talk, no strings attached, and no pressure of any kind. I simply want to reduce that $11 billion in lost revenue by as much as possible.
Tags: Cost of Turnover, Executive Coach, executive coaching, Hiring, HR, Increasing Profit, job benchmarking, Management, management consultant, On-Boarding, Recruiting, Retention, Training
