People Report is pleased to introduce you to the first in a series of new, interactive human capital tools we will be releasing in late 2008 and early 2009.  The Cost of Turnover Calculator is an interactive calculator that allows you to find out the true cost of management and hourly turnover, and find out quickly how much even a 2% reduction in turnover can save your business.
 
The Cost of Turnover Calculator is available today for complimentary download by simply clicking HERE. 
 
After you have a chance to calculate your turnover, the biggest question is, “How will you use this cost information to change human capital practices for your business?”  Every year, People Report recognizes member companies that demonstrate best people practices at our Best Practices Conference (November 12 & 13, 2008). 
 
Consistently, companies that are recognized for best practices have on average 10-15% lower employee turnover.  Now, you don’t even have to do the math, just lower the turnover numbers on your Cost of Turnover Calculator and see the difference it makes for your business.
 
One of the best pieces of insight that People Report provides for evaluating your employment practices is the annual Survey of Unit Level Employment Practices (SULEP).  The industry’s largest unit level study provides benchmarks for new store openings, turnover, training time, diversity and many other key human capital metrics. 
 
Just a few highlights from the 2008 SULEP Report:
 
Turnover:
Unit Level Turnover continues to be high with both hourly and management turnover rising across the industry.  In 2005, hourly turnover was 112% on average and in 2007, it went up over 10% to 124%.  In the same vein, management turnover in stayed consistent at 34% from 2005-2007.  Coupled with a 70% voluntary turnover rate, it is easy to see that this increase in turnover at the hourly level is by choice of the employee.  Interestingly enough, job abandonment continues to be the number one reason for hourly employees to leave their posts. 
 
The proliferation of walking off the job points to significant dissatisfaction with the job or the management for these hourly employees.  We need to be asking ourselves how to better train or compensate managers based on the engagement and turnover of hourly employees.
 
Compensation and Benefits:
Of course, you’ll have to read the whole survey to get the average compensation data for the industry, but where we actually found the most interesting data in terms of compensation and benefits actually lies in the benefits part of a total rewards program. 
 
If you take health insurance as the base benefit offered across the industry, it is positive to see more companies offering some kind of health package for both part and full time hourly employees, but there is still a significant gap between full time general managers where 100% have access to health care and part time hourlies where only 54% have some kind of health benefit.  Also, on average, full time hourly employees are paying the bulk of their health care costs with the most frequent response being that companies pay 0% of their full time hourly staff’s health care costs. 
 
With hourly employees being harder and harder to find and knowing that most hourlies work at least two different jobs at the same time, paying more for health care could easily be what makes them choose to stay or go from your restaurant.
 
Find out more about SULEP by clicking HERE.