Does your company have high turnover/attrition?

Question

I work in the HR department that supports a large Call Center in Sacramento. We have extremely high attrition and are looking for new and creative ways to reduce attrition and also hold the management team accountable for it as well. Any ideas?

Some additional info about our company. We have already looked at all of the "obvious" areas that would cause high turenover. We are looking for creative "outsaide of the box" ways to improve it.
1. We are number one in our market
2. We have the best benefits in the area
3. No, pay was not competetive, but we have been adressing that.

Answer 1

it starts with management.

i used to do HR for UPS and it's not easy.

i would try holding a contest with management for rentention. whoever loses the least employees each month can win giftcards or something, we used gas cards.
this will get managment involved in rentention and help with ideas on how to retain employees.

can you offer bonuses to employees who refer applicants. like $25 dollars if they are hired, then $50 dollars foreach month until they are there at least so many months. this can help soild employees recruit other solid employees for you.

have you tried evaluating WHY the retention is so poor?
are people not getting proper training? if so, then hold mngmt accountable. create training packets to be completed by every new employee and signed off on by mngmnt. if someone quits and their packet isn't up to date then that manager loses a priveledge or has to call and follow up with that employee along with HR.

have retention meetings with mngment and new hires to have "******" sessions. not in a negative way, but it will give new hires a chance to voice opinions and not feel guarded, HR must attend. get pizza, soda, whatever to make it happy and positive. then facilitate the meetings, make sure they are paid.

now, remember that the road to low turnover can be a bit pricey at first and may seem bumpy, but it is a marathon, not a sprint.
if you hire 10 people in a week and 7 quit, then you are just spinning your tires.
make sure HR is hiring quality employees, too.

have you opted for staffing agencies?? they can help in these turnover problems. fill spots with temps who may turn into hires or remain temps until you find perm replacements.

good luck.

Answer 2

There are many reasons people change jobs, but I think there are 3 basic categories than can sum up all the reasons.

1) Pay and benefits are insufficient
2) Incompetent or overbearing management
3) Job sucks

A Call Center would be a prime candidate for #3. Working with the public is very difficult.

Of course, your department will have to do some extensive research to see how #1 and 2 applies and if so. Each employee that leaves should fill out some form to describe their experience working there and reason for leaving. Of course, most will not say - that burning bridges thing. But you might be surprised. Try an anonymous reply form to departing and exising employees.

Of course, if the results show #2, then it is most likely nothing will come of the results. There will be a much more serious problem. If you have incompetence at one level, you have same higher up else it would have been corrected.

Answer 3

The first reason people leave is for better pay and/or benefits.
The second reason is poor treatment received from higher ups.
Third reason is office politics.

I suggest you hire an independent efficiency advisory group that will poll your workforce. You'll only get honestly if the workers can express their opinions COMPLETELY ANONYMOUSLY.

The results are tallied and presented to the management / owners. However, management must be a receptive lot. If you have a bunch of closed minds you're wasting time and money. Also, the advisory group you hire must not be "yes men" that only tell you what you want to hear.

ADDITIONAL:
You're tops in your call center field? oooo ahhhh
I'm not impressed...

MCI was tops ... at one time, too.

Get some outside help or the future for your company could be an empty building.
.

Answer 4

HR personell are the ones who should be held accountable. I have watched companies with a very small Hr department hold and retain competent and excellent employees for 30+ years. Then to expand their HR department 3 fold in order to police their unbridaled and immoral capitalist activity.

It is you who are the trader of people and will some day account.... You are getting what you deserve... NO Quality..... Hr has always Policed upper managment policies to cause atritions to employees who invested their lives to build thier businesses in the attempt to capitalize on the employee life investment. Well it comes a time when all things become counter productive. And you are there! and rightfully so.

for the labor's of the poor are stored in the riches of your barn. and

I have watched satan fall from the sky as a bolt of lightning.

Answer 5

Call centers can be stresful and boring depending onthe call volume. What I've found is that agents want a fun energic atmospere and they want to be recognized for meeting the department goals and their KPI's. Most often management is the blame for the turnover, although not by fault, but by ignorance. Inexpereinced manamgnet can destroy your teams morale and reasons for to stay. My suggoestions is to train your managment team on engagement, recorgnition and teambuilding...Ive ran a call center for over 12 years and my employees stayed for 5 years +