As stores constantly battle to hire and keep good workers, retailers last week heard again how expensive employee turnover can be.
Nationally, the average merchant spends $77 million a year in severance and exit interviews for departing employees and the recruitment and training of replacements, according to an Institute for Retail Excellence study presented at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference in Manhattan.
The average company also loses $161 million in revenue opportunity because of employee turnover.
The data was based on a 1998 survey with an undisclosed number of retail companies that run more than 20,000 stores.
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Though workers can be choosier in this good economy, the Institute found that turnover is often due to employees’ dissatisfaction with their companies. That’s why retailers must make sure they pay competitively, invest in retention, recognize top performers and understand why people leave their stores.