SITUATION

For three consecutive years, this 100 employee financial services client was experiencing above industry average employee turnover, so a formal internal committee had been established to address the problem.

The President assigned the goal of reducing their turnover rate to a level that was ten percentage points below the industry average.

Committee members had conducted an employee survey and were seeking expert advice for interpreting the survey results prior to taking corrective action.

Two committee representatives enrolled to attend KEi's spring 1999 employee retention seminar, after which KEi made a presentation to the full turnover committee and the President, who then engaged the services of KEi to support the committee efforts.

ACTION

KEi employee retention specialists gathered essential background information from the committee members and reviewed the results from the recently completed employee survey.

A series of specific action steps were recommended that would prioritize the client's employee retention initiatives and generate the greatest return on investment.

Step one created an employee satisfaction gap analysis using KEi's online automated tool for gathering input from a representative cross section of the workforce. The data collection time requirement per employee was only 15 minutes.

This tool asked employees to rate the most critical areas where they need to be supported if they are to achieve individual job success. It also asked employees to rate how well this client was providing these support needs to their employees. The resulting gaps between the importance ratings and the support provided ratings highlighted employee dissatisfaction and pointed to the sources of turnover vulnerability.

Step two introduced Behavioral Competency Interviewing to all supervisors and managers. One full day of training was delivered that introduced them to KEi's tool for identifying the Behavioral Competencies that lead to long-term success in each of the clients job categories. They also learned the techniques for conducting effective behavior-based interviews that gain proof of job applicant abilities.

Step three was the implementation of KEi's online Attitude/Behavior screening questionnaire for screening applicants in the highest turnover job categories. This tool allowed the Human Resources staff to efficiently eliminate nearly one-third of job applicants who did not match the company culture. Prior to using this tool, these misfits were getting through initial screening and were included in the more costly phases of the interview process. In some cases, their "interviewing talents" were even getting them hired.

Step four implemented KEi's online Background Verification tool. This tool moved the client from a source taking 4-5 days for turnaround to a source that delivered results in 1-2 days.

RESULT

The Human Resources department, for the first time, was able to ensure that all supervisors used a common, reliable process for interviewing job applicants and selecting which candidates to hire.

The supervisors applauded the significantly improved screening processes that Human Resources now used to screen out the misfits so that their valuable interviewing time and money was no longer wasted.

Documented savings from the implementation of these tools showed a Return on Investment ratio of 4:1, translating to $64K saved in the first year.