It also had 130,000 applicants during the year and hired approximately 2,900, or one out of every 45. It's apparent that paying employees more is not going to get them to stay. Another airline, Continental, had 70,000 applicants and a turnover rate of only 8 percent during 1998. It spends 40 hours annual training each employee and has been rewarded with strong employee loyalty. That loyalty was evident when thousands of FedEx's ground workers rallied to support the company when its unionized pilots threatened to strike.
Training is a key element in reducing employee turnover.
According to the Department of Labor, however, only 11 percent of American workers get any formal training, and only 14 percent get any informal training. A recent survey in Training magazine also showed that 70 percent of training dollars were spent on salaries and overhead and only 7 percent was spent on actual training programs. Unfortunately, many employers have a fatalistic view of training. They wonder why they should spend the money to train employees who will probably leave the company within six months. What they don't realize is that a good training program will decrease employee turnover.