If you’re the head of your organization, keeping your employees happy and engaged leads to higher retention.
Social service organizations, like other healthcare firms, cannot afford high turnover. Not only does the turnstile of unhappy employees create higher levels of anxiety and stress for those remaining, there’s also a cost factor. Some organizations take it seriously, identifying the causes of employees leaving, while others shrug their shoulders and say, “It’s the nature of the business.”
If you’re the one who’s counting the dollars and cents, it helps to look at the financial drain on your organization if you have high turnover.
An article by Christina Merhar on the website PeopleKeep outlined “The Real Cost of Losing an Employee.” In it, she talks about the how satisfied employees help organizations to thrive. But that “voluntary turnover has a negative impact on employee morale, productivity, and company revenue.” This is because finding new employees requires a great deal of effort.
Merhar also discusses where the costs for hiring go:
Recruiting - the time it takes to run an ad, either in the paper or online, or find a recruiter to help. Then the countless resumes, interviews, second and third interviews. Not to mention background checks, references. And then agreeing on a salary (if what you offer is agreeable to the candidate). Especially in today’s labor market where unemployment is low, candidates can afford to compare offers and hold out for a better salary. It’s definitely a “candidate’s market”, not an employer’s.
Training- there is the time which is required to help employees learn all that is needed. The orientation to the organization, the policies, their department, their job and duties. And then there is shadowing which may be required as they learn the ropes from others. Not to mention ongoing training and re-training. Businesses invest 10-20% in training, and in many social service organizations, it’s more because of contractual requirements (evidenced based practices, special programs).
Lost productivity- thinking about the amount of time it takes an employee to reach the level of productivity of an existing person. Depending upon the job, it takes an average of 6 months for an employee to feel they’ve got the job understood.
Lost engagement - other employees are influenced by those who leave. They tend to lose interest, be less involved, and this lack of engagement leads to less productivity Especially in jobs where teams are involved, because the employee doesn’t feel they have a “go-to” person they can trust.
Back to the costs.
According to the website Enrich, when a business replaces a salaried employee, that costs between 6 to 9 months of salary. If a manager or supervisor makes $60,000 per year,, that means it could cost the organization between $30,000 to $45,000 in both recruiting and training costs. The higher in salary and responsibility the higher the costs, such as even twice annual salary.
For low paying jobs, the costs are less, probably around 16% of an annual salary. So if you have an employee making $15/hr. , the costs are about $5,000.
What can you do?
Put the costs on your side; find ways to keep your employees retained.
Got questions? We've got answers.
PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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