Recent employment trends that have made headlines include both quiet and loud quitting, but it appears that another phenomenon is to be added to the list: fast quitting.
One in six workers (16.8%) on open-ended contracts in 2022 have been found to quit within six months, a survey by social secretariat Securex showed.
While one in three cases involves redundancy, the majority of the people are 'fast quitters', employees who voluntarily decide to quit after a short time, a worrying idea for companies at a time when good workers are scarce and expensive.
"The impact of unsuccessful hires cannot be underestimated, especially for small companies," said Frank Vander Sijpe, Director of HR Trends and Insights at Securex. He explained that hiring and properly training a new colleague not only has a financial cost but also requires a significant time investment from colleagues.
"If the contract is terminated early, these investments have not paid off, and on top of the costs incurred, there is often a severance payment," he noted. On top of this, the search for a new employee has to start all over again, and in the meantime, colleagues have to take up the work of the employee who has left, adding to the workload and stress.
Sustainable recruitment and continued guidance
He stressed the need for SMEs to sustainably recruit, starting with the careful selection of a candidate-employee to ensure they not only have the skills needed but also that they are motivated and are in line with the company values and culture.
The survey also showed that it is these smaller companies that are hit hardest, as this phenomenon of people quitting within six months is most common among SMEs with fewer than 10 employees.
"They rarely have a developed HR department or sufficient resources to screen or test candidates. Sometimes this is not done so as not to lose the candidate to other parties during the recruitment process, and in some cases, a candidate is recruited blind," said Vander Sijpe.
The act of fast quitting is also more common among blue-collar workers. They are also more likely to leave voluntarily, whereas white-collar workers are more often dismissed.
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"With both blue-collar and white-collar workers, qualitative onboarding is crucial, and it doesn't stop there. The subsequent period of guidance is equally important," said Vander Sijpe, concluding that the focus here should be on increasing the chances of a new employee feeling good, developing skills step-by-step and staying motivated. "This greatly reduces the risk of quitting quickly."
