Organizations often face challenges with employee turnover and frequently look to assessments to help reduce it. However, it’s vital to understand that not all turnover is the same. To build an effective hiring strategy, organizations must recognize how the nature, timing, and type of turnover affect assessment choices.
1. Identify the Nature of Your Turnover
Turnover is generally categorized as voluntary or involuntary.
Within these categories, there are several subcategories. Involuntary turnover may result from underperformance, policy violations, or absenteeism, while voluntary turnover may stem from personal circumstances, organizational fit, transportation challenges, misalignment of job expectations, or compensation.
2. Match Your Assessment Strategy to Turnover Timing
The timing of turnover typically points to different underlying factors that require specific assessment approaches.
Early Tenure Turnover (Hire Date to 90 Days)
- The Cause: Early turnover often occurs when the reality of the job does not match what the employee expected. Factors such as schedule, physical demands, work environment, pace, responsibilities, or other day-to-day realities may lead employees to quickly determine that the role is not right for them.
- The Strategy: Realistic job previews and thoughtful screening can help candidates understand what the job actually requires before accepting an offer. Providing an accurate picture of both the opportunities and challenges of the role helps candidates make a more informed decision about whether the position is a good fit.
- Please refer to Understanding and Implementing Realistic Job Previews (RJP) for more information.
Training Phase Turnover
- The Cause: When employees struggle to complete training successfully, it can indicate a mismatch between the demands of the role and the abilities needed to learn, understand, and apply new information. In some cases, training quality, expectations, or other organizational factors may also contribute.
- The Strategy: Assessments can help identify whether candidates have the cognitive abilities and behavioral characteristics needed to successfully learn the role and apply what they are taught. This can reduce the risk of hiring individuals who may struggle to meet the demands of training or perform successfully once training is complete.
Late Tenure Turnover (Beyond 6 Months)
- The Cause: Turnover later in an employee’s tenure can happen for many reasons, including better pay or growth opportunities elsewhere, changes in personal circumstances, issues with management, or performance challenges. When turnover is related to job fit, employees may be capable of doing the work but find that the role does not align well with their natural behaviors, work style, or abilities over time.
- The Strategy: Assessments can help address the factors within the hiring process by identifying candidates whose behavioral traits and cognitive abilities align with what is required to perform the job successfully. While assessments cannot account for factors like compensation, leadership, or changing personal circumstances, they can help reduce turnover caused by poor job fit or performance.
When deciding on an assessment strategy, it is critical to consider the nature of your turnover and when it is occurring to ensure the assessment addresses the right problem. Our Success team at support@highmatch.com will be happy to schedule a call to discuss more.