Job turnover lower in ’23 compared to ’22, ’19 polls
Regional survey finds retirement to be top voluntary reason to go
People change jobs throughout the year and for different reasons, but according to a recent survey, job turnover is down compared to last year.
In 2023 the turnover rate, overall, was 23% down from 25.8% the year before and down from 24.3% in 2019, according to a survey by MRA, a human resources and management firm based in Waukesha.
“While ‘turnover’ can sometimes have a negative connotation, not all turnover is necessarily bad. For example, productivity can soar if a poorly performing employee has been let go and replaced with a high performer. Ideally, this could boost the team morale and the bottom line,” the survey reads.
“While some degree of turnover is inevitable, excessive turnover can cause harm to an organization. It can lead to decreased morale among remaining employees, a loss of institutional knowledge, and increased recruitment costs. With the current competitive market, organizations need to work harder than ever to attract and retain top talent.”
MRA surveyed 533 organizations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and northern Kentucky.
When broken down by position, executives saw a 10.1% turnover; followed by 14.7% of managerial and supervisory roles; 21.3% from office and technical jobs; and 32.6% from production, maintenance, service and trade positions.
Executives saw a higher turnover rate than last year which was 8.8%.
Of those employees that left jobs, 61% worked for the employer for less than two years.
Overall, the top reasons for leaving a job were for a better salary, retirement and work performance.
Of the companies surveyed, 300 were based in Wisconsin.
Here’s a closer look at what the local businesses are seeing:
How long are employees with a company?
In Wisconsin, 35% of employees left their job within a year of working there and roughly 28% left their job before hitting the two year mark.
Of those who left a workplace, 46% of production, maintenance and service level employees left within a year and an additional 28% left within two years.
Among executives, 47% left their job after 10 or more years with the company.
For managerial and supervisory positions, 28% left after one to two years with the company, and 33% of office and technical workers also left after one or two years.
Why did people voluntarily leave jobs?
Retirement was the top reason in the state why workers left their jobs across position levels; 37% for executives; 39% for managers; 31% for office and technical workers; 49% for production workers.
But respondents were able to mark more than one box for reasons why they changed jobs and here are some of the other reasons.
For managers, 30% found a similar job with another employer.
For office and technical workers, 27% found a similar job with a different employer; 27% made a career change; and 27% left for some other employee reason.
For production, maintenance and service workers, 49% left for a similar job but different employer; 46% left for a better salary; 43% left for personal reasons.
What about people who left involuntarily?
Job performance was the top reason for most of the position levels for reason someone left involuntary with 15% for executives; 41% for managers; 35% for office and technical workers; and 47% for production workers.
But there were other reasons workers involuntarily left their jobs.
For executives, 10% left for other employers. For managers, 17% were laid off and 17% were let go for another employer reason.
For office and technical workers, 16% were laid off and 14% were let go for another employer reason.
For production, maintenance and service workers, 60% were let go for attendance and 39% were let go for a rules violation.