Up to 74% of businesses working across the ‘visitor economy’ (hospitality, tourism, travel and passenger transport industries) believe there would be a notable impact on employee retention rates if training budgets were increased, according to industry research on behalf of the People 1st Training Company among HR Directors and training managers.
On average, respondents felt that budgets would need to increase by around 50% to have a significant impact on retention.
The Retention Index research measures the levels and the factors influencing staff movement in the sectors which influence the UK’s visitor economy.
Staff who were most likely to stay after being offered regular and relevant training were frontline staff – where turnover rates are the highest of any group of employees averaging 30%, but have dropped slightly in recent years. Turnover among middle managers remains static at 23% and among senior managers it is 21%, but nearly half of all respondents (46%) report that turnover among the latter group has increased in the last three years.
Respondents felt their training budgets would need to increase by an average of 50% to impact retention rates. Based on current spend, organisations would need to spend:
- £7,800 a year on each member of senior staff;
- £5,700 a year on each member of middle management staff; and
- £1,800 a year on each member of frontline staff
As well as size of investment, respondents were asked what types of training were most likely to impact retention. Personal development and people/team management came out top, closely followed by customer service.
Sharon Glancy, Director of People 1st, said: “We know that staff turnover is a big challenge for our sector’s employers. The Retention Index gives us the opportunity to monitor the causes for this churn and give HRDs and training managers research which will help them convince their boards to invest in the things which will make a difference to their workforce, and ultimately, the bottom line.”
