Studies have shown that 22 percent of employee turnovers happen in the first 45 days of employment (Wynhurst group), which is alarming. This study shows that the cost of losing an employee in the first year of employment is estimated to be at least three times the salary.
While staff turnover is not always bad for an organization, it can throw your costs and plans into disarray when you find that all you do is to replace recently hired staff with new ones. The duration an employee serves their employer is fast reducing with most young employees serving for an average of two years. Today, stints of five year service may be considered as long service.
While the short durations may be the design of the employees, employers need to focus on how to maximize on the duration that their employees are with them. It is also important to establish strategies for getting the best out of your employees irrespective of the duration they are with you. Keeping them longer is not the solution but maximizing on performance and focused outputs could benefit both employee and employer. This therefore brings forth the need to empower the young employees on how to plan their careers, and entrepreneurs on how to make simple business plans, do their budgets, seek financing and know what to expect from each other as employer or employee.
Out of this need, it is important to design a program that addresses all these with participants undergoing intensive lecturettes, role plays, interactive discussions and advice from successful entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.
Such a programme is designed to address a gap identified in the crop of new employees entering the entrepreneurial world and job market. The participants are taken through a wide array of topics from how to communicate, dress, relate with colleagues and supervisors, corporate culture, surviving employment or business, how to handle their duties and responsibilities, plan and manage their performance among other issues. It also gives insight and prepares them with real life skills that will empower them to fit in a modern corporate world. Although designed for those not yet in employment like university and college students, those who have been in employment for less than a year are also encouraged to participate.
For Kenya’s vision 2030 and MDGs to be achievable, Lincoln acknowledges its role in ensuring that Generation-Y and all persons preparing for employment and business set their priorities right when it comes to entrepreneurship and career development.
By Salome Gitoho, Lincoln
