OVERVIEW

Network of 184 independent, community-based organizations in the U.S., Canada, and 14 other countries.

Provides job training and employment services, job placement opportunities and post-employment support.

Strengthens communities and families by training people to become independent, tax-paying members of society.

2007 HIGHLIGHTS

1.1 million people benefited from Goodwill career services.

140,056 people placed in competitive jobs – that’s every 53 seconds of every business day.

$3.2 billion total revenue.

84 precent of revenues funded employment programs and support services.

2,200+ retail stores and an online auction site, www.shopgoodwill.com.

65 million donors.

Employee Retention Strategy Lowers Turnover Costs

Goodwill Guide Offers Proven Workforce Model

April 4, 2005

Rockville, MD — Staff training, performance reviews and no- or low-cost incentives for good work are some of the strategies employers say reduce employee turnover, according to a new employee retention guide published by Goodwill Industries International and funded by The Hitachi Foundation’s Making Work Work initiative. Begun in 2001, the Goodwill pilot project aimed to develop a business model that would help small- to medium-sized employers keep their employees.

"According to recent surveys, the number one issue vexing businesses today is finding and keeping good employees," says George W. Kessinger, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "To help people build successful careers and business owners build strong enterprises, we need to build the systems that help employers keep their workers, while helping those workers move up the career ladder." Surveys estimate that the annual employee turnover rate for all U.S. companies is 12 percent, and that turnover can cost an employer $6,000 to $12,000 to replace an employee earning $16,000 per year.

Three Goodwill agencies that provide career services in U.S. cities with high-poverty areas - Huntington, WV; Shreveport, LA; and Somerset, KY - participated in the Making Work Work project. They enlisted their local Chambers of Commerce to recruit 22 area businesses to serve on advisory councils, including Clear Channel Radio, Manpower, and G.C. Services, a financial collections call center. Together, they identified five key strategies to combat employee turnover:

Conduct a comprehensive orientation for all new employees.
Provide opportunities for staff training and development.
Institute leadership training for all new supervisors.
Develop and implement an effective performance review system.
Offer no-cost or low-cost incentives for good work.

"Welfare reform and other public workforce development strategies focus on placing people in jobs. But unless they retain and advance in those jobs or find better jobs, they are less likely to rise above poverty," says Barbara Dyer, president and CEO of The Hitachi Foundation. "Businesses, lower-wage workers, and our communities all gain if we do this right. Our support of Goodwill has helped show what it takes for businesses and communities to help improve the quality of life for low-wage workers."

In addition to the retention model, the project also developed pre- and post-employment strategies for Goodwill agencies to enhance their career programs. "With Making Work Work, we’ve created tools for long-term employment and career advancement that will help move people toward economic independence," says Kessinger.

Making Work Work: Tools for Turnover Reduction

Funded by a grant from the Hitachi Foundation's “Making Work Work” initiative, Goodwill's retention pilot project set out to identify strategies that would help companies keep employees and advance their careers.

Read the full story.