What are the true costs of dismissal? You know, the people costs.
Take school dismissal. The bell rings. Everyone goes to their assigned duty and students flow to the correct halls, classes, and exits as if on auto-pilot.
Dismissal is a complex process, but it flows rather smoothly once the procedures are established.
The dismissal of a person is also a complex process. It can be a serious mistake to approach it with cavalier simplicity.
It was concluded in a recent study that turnover costs an average of 20% annual salary.
Here are a few ways people are dismissed without regarding their value to the organization:
- Ignoring a suggestion.
- Not asking for feedback.
- Not giving permission to be candid.
- Attempting to sell an idea or manipulate an outcome.
- Reacting out of fear or insecurity.
I’m sure you can think of other ways to dismiss someone or ways you’ve experienced dismissal.
But what about human resource management? Turnover. Contract nonrenewals. Dismissals.
Most teachers don’t get dismissed or terminated from their contracts. Also, most educators don’t quit their post. They quit the culture. They quit the supervisor.
Why do they quit? Because they’ve been dismissed – repeatedly.
Usually, the dismissals are unintended, but the culture is shaped thereby. What are the true costs of dismissal?
The financial cost is horrific. It was concluded in a recent study that turnover costs an average of 20% annual salary. Imagine investing in the people and instead of losing 20% each year, you are able to provide a 10% annual pay increase instead!
How’s that for opportunity cost?
The culture cost is even worse. That’s why it’s important to find star teachers (interview tips).
Turnover erases organizational memory and requires the leadership team to continually start over, retrain, and reshape the school.
The learning cost is the worst. Turnover means teacher teams don’t solidify and growth is geometric, at best. The cumulative effects of the revolving door are no different than running an engine without oils and coolants for any length of time…everything grinds to a halt.
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