Benchmarking labour turnover rates and costs in 2011
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The national median voluntary resignation rate stood at 8.1% in 2010, according to 2011 benchmarking research on labour turnover from XpertHR. The mean (or average) rate ran at 10.1%. |
Labour turnover on these measures is in decline when compared with data relating to the previous calendar year, when the median voluntary resignation rate for 2009 was 8.6% and the mean rate was 12%.
Subscribers to XpertHR Benchmarking can drill down into the complete benchmarking data from the 2011 XpertHR Benchmarking survey on labour turnover rates and costs. The survey - based on responses from 280 organisations with a combined workforce of 460,881 employees - looks in detail at absence trends among UK employers for the 2010 calendar year.
Voluntary resignation rates by sector and region
As XpertHR's Rachel Suff notes, voluntary labour turnover "is the main type of labour turnover that is not directly controlled by employers, and thus tends to be of most interest to them". Other key findings on voluntary resignation rates include the following:
- By broad sector the median voluntary resignation rate was highest among private sector services companies.
- By UK region, the lowest median voluntary resignation rate for 2010 was found in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, while the highest was in South-East England. The rate for London was 11.3%.
Total turnover rates on the increase
The XpertHR survey on total turnover rates also reveals the following:
- The median total labour turnover rate (which includes redundancies, and is also known as the crude wastage rate) ran at 13% in 2010.
- This was up when compared with the total labour turnover rate recorded by XpertHR one year previously.
- By broad sector, the highest median total labour turnover rate for 2010 was again seen in private sector services.
Monitoring turnover costs remains a minority pursuit
Monitoring labour turnover costs tends to be something of a minority pursuit. Only a minority of organisations surveyed by XpertHR were able to supply data on the costs associated with labour turnover.
Among this group:
- The median cost of labour turnover borne by the organisation was £9,991.50 in 2010.
- The national median cost of labour turnover per employee worked out at £84.02 in 2010.
Impact of tough economic times on turnover rates
The UK economy might be in slow recovery from recession, but tough economic conditions continue to influence labour turnover rates.
Around one-third of respondents said that their organisation's labour turnover rate had changed "substantially" over the past 12 months.
Analysis of anecdotal evidence from respondents as to how and why labour turnover rates have changed over the past year reveals that many employers believe that a lack of external job opportunities is reducing turnover rates. But a minority of employers in the service sector noted that they had seen an uptick in turnover rates, due to improved trading conditions in their sector.
You can also access XpertHR's detailed written analysis of the labour turnover survey findings.
Michael Carty, benchmarking editor
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