This document discusses how big data and analytics can provide insights into employee attrition. It notes that the cost of attrition to UK businesses has risen from £42 billion in 2010 to £63 billion in 2013 as attrition rates have increased from 10.4% to 15%. The document then reviews several factors that influence attrition, including macroeconomic conditions, company practices, workforce relationships, job characteristics, and worker characteristics. It suggests that analyzing trends in these areas using large datasets can help employers better understand and manage attrition.

1. Big Data and the factors impacting
employee attrition
Russell Beck
Head of Consulting
May 2014

2. The cost of attrition
Cost to UK
business due to
attrition
£42bn
UK’s average
attrition rate
10.4%
In 2010
Cost to UK
business due to
attrition
£63bn
UK’s average
attrition rate
15%
In 2013
Direct
costs
Direct
+
Indirect costs

3. References
The following were references for this presentation:
• Wikipedia
• Forbes – “Big Data in Human Resources: A World of Haves And Have-Nots”
• Deloitte Bersin – “Big data in HR – Talent Analytics comes of age”
• REC/Markit - labour data
• Evolv - Workforce performance report
• Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey – Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Freakonomics - website, book and podcast
• Dan Ariely - “What makes us feel good about our work?” TED talk
• David Mendoza - ‘Futurecasting: How the rise of Big Social Data is set to transform the business of recruiting’
• Gerry Crispin – CarrerXRoads - Data on mechanical engineers
• Various data points from: CEBR, ONS, OBR, CBI, Reed
• Impellam data - varied

4. Who are Impellam?
5th
Largest in
the UK
Structure
Multi-
brand
2,500Managers and
consultants
£1.2bn
Turnover
75,000Placed into work
each week
270+
Outsourced &
Managed services
contracts
£1.6bn
Recruitment
spend under
management
10,000UK customers

5. What is ‘big data?’
Big data is about "building new analytic applications based on new
types of data, in order to better serve your customers and drive a
better competitive advantage"
Big Data as the three ‘Vs’: Volume, Variety and Velocity
As a business example…..
100 to 1

6. How does this apply to attrition…?
Data analysis of:
Hourly workers:
60%
18 13121m
Attrition rate:
upto 50%
16%
11%
54%
11%
8% Macro Economic factors
Company Practices
Workforce Relationships
Job Characteristics
Worker Characteristics

7. The economy has recovered…
In Feb 2014,
staff availability
fell at its fastest
rate for 10 years
(Markitt)
48% of employers
intend to increase
temp headcount
in the next 4-12
months
The UK will be
Europe’s largest
economy by
2030 (CEBR)
Unemployment
will fall to 6.5% in
2015 (OBR)
The UK will have
the fastest
growing economy
of the G7 in 2014
(IMF)
Job vacancies in
Q1 2014 were 30%
higher than a year
before (Reed)
>75% of
employers
intend to
increase perm
headcount in the
next 3 months
Demand in IT
skills will increase
by 85% in the
next 3-5 years
(CBI)
Demand in
manufacturing
skills will increase
by 72% in the
next 3-5 years
(CBI)
Demand in retail
skills will increase
by 55% in the
next 3-5 years
(CBI)

8. 20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Dec-97
Jun-98
Dec-98
Jun-99
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Jun-00
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Jun-01
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Jun-04
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Jun-05
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Jun-06
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Jun-07
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Jun-08
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Jun-09
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Jun-10
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Jun-11
Dec-11
Jun-12
Dec-12
Jun-13
Dec-13
Index of staff demand (seasonally adjusted)
Macroeconomic factors
16%
Period of recession
Attrition costs
will rise by 25%
as resignations
returns to
historical norms

9. Skills shortages will get worse
In the US, for every 100,000 students entering the 9th grade in 2013, only
68,000 will graduate from high school in 2016.
Only 40,000 will then enter college that same year and when they graduate
in 2021, less than 17,000 will get a degree.
Of these graduates 800 will be engineers, of which 125 will be mechanical
engineers.
Source: Gerry Crispin - CarrerXRoads
4,300,000 5,375 11,157
100,000
125
5
15 of these will be women and less than 5 of them will remain working in
that profession for more than 5 years.

10. Company Practices
11%
2. Job applicants know the system
1. Candidates stretch the truth… so do recruiters

11. Everything is available, if you look

12. Workforce relationships
54%
“Employees do not leave their jobs, they leave
their managers”
Tenure Increase: 6x
Who makes the hiring decisions…?

13. Motivation is easy to give, and very easy to destroy….
Name:……………………………..
Who did the most work and by how much…?

14. Worker characteristics
8%A workers previous job-related
experience does not predict
future performance or tenure…
…aptitude and work
style do.

15. Summary…
• Your attrition will increase in 2014 and beyond
• Do you know what good looks like?
• Do you select based on this knowledge?
• Are you honest in representing your roles?
• Employees leave managers not jobs
• Train your poor people managers
• Learn what motivates your staff; recognition vs. financial
• … or hire people who use Firefox or Chrome?

16. Thanks
Russell Beck
07710 898904 russell.beck@impellam.com