measuring employee retention in wipo a study of survival probability
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Measuring Employee Retention in WIPO A study of survival probability. Palais des Nations, Geneva 31 October – 2 November 2011. Cristobal Bazan. Definitions. “Employee retention” refers to policies and practices employers use to keep valuable employees on the job. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Measuring Employee Retention in WIPO
A study of survival probability
Palais des Nations, Geneva31 October – 2 November2011
Cristobal Bazan
Definitions
1. “Employee retention” refers to policies and practices employers use to keep valuable employees on the job.
2. “Retention rate” is a measure of the probability an employee will remain on the job over a given period of time.
3. Use retention rate to forecast future retention costs - better than turnover.
4. Retention data can tell who leaves, after how long, why, with what
skills.
Methodology
Sample• 276 employees• Fixed-term appointments• Appointed from 1 January 1994 to 31 December 2001
Measured by• Date of entry in service• Date of leaving by voluntary separation• End of period
Method• Survival Probability
Possible factors affecting survival
Factors affecting WIPO’s retention rate?
Gender MaleFemale
Category General ServiceProfessionalDirector
Age at appointmentUnder 3030 to 40Over 40
Results
1. Of 276 employees in the sample, 47 left voluntarily and 229 were still active at March 31, 2010.
2. WIPO’s retention rate for the 8-year period is 83%.
3. Of 47 leavers, 41 (87.2%) left in the first 4 years in service.
Table I Years in Service Before Voluntary Separation
Years in Service 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 89 >
Active
Count of Leavers 6 13 8 7 7 0 2 2 20
229
Yearly % of Leavers 2.2% 4.7% 2.9% 2.5% 2.5% 0% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7%0%
83.0%
Retention Rate % 97.8 93.1 90.2 87.7 85.1 85.1 84.4 83.7 83.0 83.0 83.0
Results
Survival Fuction by Gender (Kaplan-Meier Plot)
Male = 77.9%
Females = 81.4%
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Years of Service
Su
rviv
al P
rob
abili
ty
Male Female
Entry
Survival probability
not significant by Gender
Results
Survival Fuction by Category (Kaplan-Meier Plot)
General Service = 81.4%
P and above = 77.6%
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Years of Service
Surv
ival
Pro
babi
lity
General Service P and above
Entry
Survival probability
not significant by Category
Results
Survival probability significant (p 0.01) by Age at appointment
Conclusions
1. WIPO’s Retention Rate is among the highest in the UN system
2. The Retention Rate is a measure of probability to remain professionally active. For every 100 employees appointed, 83 have a high probability to remain professionally active until normal retirement age
3. For employees over 40 at time of appointment, this probability is 92%.
4. Employees over 40 at time of appointment look for the security and stability of long-term employment.
5. It is not necessarily positive correlated whit a high degree of satisfaction
6. Is an indicator of the quality of employment on long term
Further issues
1. The Retention Rate is not systematically measured in the UN system
2. The higher the retention rate the higher the associated costs (health insurance, pension, education grant, training)
3. Retention rate could be an indicator of the quality of employment
