I’m a glass-half-full kind of person, so I’ll lead with the good news from PricewaterhouseCoopers’ latest workforce report: Voluntary turnover, particularly among high-performing employees, is down sharply.
The percentage of employees resigning or retiring has dropped 21% since 2008 to 7.3%, according to PwC’s calculations. For high performers, voluntary turnover rates also are down by more than a third — from 5.7% in 2006 to 3.7% in 2009.
But, now the bad news: You may have to put air quotes around “high performers,” since PwC also finds that workforce productivity (measured by revenue per full-time employee) has decreased for the first time since 2005.
Additionally, organizations are investing 17% more in workforce compensation and benefit costs to generate each dollar, PwC concludes.
In 2008, organizations invested $221 for every $1,000 in revenue. In 2009, organizations invested $259 for every $1,000 in revenue. When viewed in conjunction with a decline in revenue per FTE, the downward trends suggest that productivity and profitability may have reached a peak.
Not the best news for a Monday, for sure. But just to play devil’s advocate: the turnover stats conflict with
What do you think of PwC’s results? Share your thoughts in the comments.