Not too long ago, the “Columbus 2010 Young Professionals Career & Professional Development Conference” took place at the Arena Grand Movie Theater. Did you attend? Did you send any of your younger associates? If not, you missed an outstanding event with panel presentations ranging from Personal Financial Planning to Mentoring for Success and Personal Branding & Professional Networking.
The half-day event was capped by a keynote speech from Simon T. Bailey who inspired the audience to take charge of and transform their lives—both personally and professionally—from the inside out. Everyone in attendance received a free copy of Bailey’s, “Release Your Brilliance.” All of this for the low, low admission price of $50.
Fifty dollars.
Even with a half-day away from the office to attend the noon to 7 p.m. event, it probably cost you more not to send your employees. Let’s do the math:
$ 49.95 = Admission
$ 7.00 = Parking
$ 83.20 = Wages paid for 4 hours off work * $20.80/hr [$33,280 annual salary + 30 percent benefits]
$400.00 = Lost productivity [4 hours * $100/billable hour]
$540.15
Granted, $540 seems like a lot of money--especially in this economy when budgets are tight and expenses are reserved for only the most essential outlays. And this event was not specific techincal training. Rather, the information presented focused on personal improvement. On closer inspection, though, spending $500 to send your junior talent to a conference like this is actually money well spent. Dare I say essential?
Janine Moon, of CompassPoint Coaching, counsels businesses to pay attention to employee engagement. Employees who are better engaged at work, who are more connected to the business, have increased capacity to better serve the business. Moon cites recent research conducted by the Gallup organization which shows that "engaged employees are more productive employees."
The research also proves that engaged employees are more profitable, more customer-focused, safer, and more likely to withstand temptations to leave. Many have long suspected the connection between an employee's level of engagement and the level and quality of his or her performance. Our research has laid the matter to rest."
There's a whole consulting industry built up around answering the question of how to ensure employees are engaged. Suffice it to say, enhanced self-awarenss combined with a solid understanding of the importance of their individual contribution to the business helps foster employees who are truly committed to the organization.
Committed employees, however, are looking for assurances of advancement within the organization. According to “The Guide to Managing and Developing Young Professionals," which is based on a nationwide, multi-generational survey of 2,300+ respondents and which provides advice to employers regarding solutions to attracting and retaining Gen Y, these types of development opportunities are highly valued by young talent. Indeed, more than any other generation surveyed, 53 percent of Gen Y respondents said that “opportunities for career advancement” were the most important element of a position. Further:
“Advancement Opportunities” were more important to them than the challenge of the position, job security, opportunities for learning, fun, ability to work with effective teams or access to job rotation opportunities.
If young professionals feel they are not getting adequate career development and leadership opportunities from their current employers, they are likely to look for it someplace else. From some other employer. Perhaps even a competitor.
Turnover costs employers much more than they typically realize.
Even if employers do not believe it is their responsibility to develop their employees, to engage them and to offer them opportunities to take on meatier roles, greater responsibility and more leadership within the organization, it makes good business sense to do so simply because...well, it’s really, really expensive to replace an employee.
While the actual losses will differ across work category (i.e., exempt vs. nonexempt), occupations, industries and types and sizes of employers, according to Keep Employees Inc., the estimated turnover costs associated with nonexempt employees (hourly) are .25 to .5 times the annual wages and benefits paid, and for exempt employees (salary), it is even higher: one to 1.5 times the annual salary. (Of course, for senior managers and executives, it can cost five times the salary to replace someone!) Turnover costs include:
- Separation processing costs
- Replacement hiring costs
- Training new hire costs
- Lost productivity and lost business cost
Returning to our example of the junior employee who earns $16 per hour (or, including benefits, $43,264 annually), let’s assume he is nonexempt. Even at the most conservative calculation (.25), it will cost nearly $11,000 in tangible costs alone to replace him if (and when) he turns in his resignation ($43,264 * .25 = $10,816).
$11,000 vs. $540.15.
According to Richard Needles, president and founder of Productive People Strategies, LLC, who consults on coaching for performance with individuals and companies, “When employers invest just a few dollars in professional development, they can save thousands of real dollars in the long run AND keep employees motivated and productive.”
Spending $50 to send an employee to a conference seems well worth it compared to the alternative.
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