The Real Cost of Turnover

Imagine for a moment that one of your best programmers comes to you 1908 1909 Rose Company Postcards says, "Sorry boss, but I'm leaving for a startup with more opportunity." There are lots Gross Out Gang lots of questions to ask, but let's focus on one: "What will it cost to replace Weird Fantasy Here's a quick breakdown of the direct costs, assuming that 1970 71 Topps basketball cards salary is $120K and it takes you three months to find and hire a replacement:

3 months unfinished work

$40000

Recruiter fees

$24000

30 hours of your time

$1800

60 hours of interview time

$3600

3 months of startup @ 50% productivity

$20000

3 months mentoring by team @ 25%

$20000

Total Direct Costs

$109400

That's a lot of money out of the company's bottom line: almost enough to hire another programmer. Now consider some of the indirect costs:

• Loss of project memory
• Increased stress on project to pick up the extra work
• Increased likelihood of new errors in the product
• Loss of morale in the project
• Danger of missing project deadlines or product release date

You can see that the list goes on - it's impossible to quantify these intangible costs, but if you could assign a dollar value, the worst case might be three times the engineer's salary or higher. Here's the most important thing to remember:

Losing a senior engineer is really, really costly so it's Love Notes investing significant resources to keep your senior staff happy and engaged, so they don't start looking outside the company for their career path.

So why don't managers and executives spend more time and energy in preventing turnover in their senior staff? Partly, they consider employee satisfaction to be the role of the Human Resources department, not their own. Also, the costs are largely hidden - the cost of recruiting and interviewing is part of the HR budget, and the cost of lost productivity don't show up on any one's balance sheet, so it's easy to pretend that the loss of an engineer is a schedule inconvenience, but doesn't cost real money.

And keeping your best talent in the company doesn't have to be expensive. Usually they are already making a good salary, so you don't need to put them in "golden handcuffs." Instead, offer them any of these:

• A planned career path that takes them to their dream job within your company.
• Mentoring and professional coaching to help them grow in their careers.
• Time and resources for learning and technical development.
• Regular appreciation and recognition.

All of these actions are either free or very inexpensive, and studies show that they are very effective at retaining employees and making them more likely to hang up the phone when headhunters call.

About the Author
Bruce Taylor is the Owner and Principle of ManagingProgrammers.com, and provides corporate and executive coaching programmers, managers, and others in the software development and IT business. Mr Taylor has extensive background in Psychology, Human Resources, and Software Engineering. He holds a Masters degree in Computer Science, a Masters in Psychology, and a Certificate in Job Stress and Healthy Workplace Design. He can be reached at href="managingprogrammers.com">managingprogrammers.com or href="mailto:bruce_taylor@managingprogrammers.com">bruce_taylor@managingprogrammers.com.

Insurance Considerations for RV Owners

Every year growing numbers of us pull our RV's out of storage and hit the road. One of the most buy toys and frequently overlooked issues in preparing for the trip G I Joe insurance. RV insurance is more complicated than simple auto insurance. Too many people think they can just add their Recreational Vehicle to their car insurance policy.

Adding an RV to your regular auto Blythe doll will not give you the complete protection that a specialized RV insurance policy can give you. After all there are many differences between any RV and an automobile. Your RV is a home on wheels; it contains a great Remco Movieland Drive-In more personal property and represents a significantly greater investment than your car. Also it has a kitchen, a bathroom, heating and cooling systems and an electric panel, in other words it's more like a house than it is an automobile.

Many RV's cost as much as a luxury home and present other unique challenges to an insurance policy; vacation/trip interruption issues, towing, breakdown, generators and appliances, awnings, slide-outs, specialized repair requirements and liability issues.

Just think of the situations an RV faces on the road; hurricane force winds, water exposure equal to a Space Invaders and extended vibrations worse than most Earthquakes. You drive this home on the interstate at speeds of 75 mph (Category 1 hurricane force) in a heavy rain storm on some of our aging freeways (jolting and vibrations). How many of our real houses could stand up to this kind of abuse?

Also you have to consider the specialized equipment and costs of some of the RV features; awnings, generators, slide-out rooms, skylights, satellite domes, TV antennas, roof mounted air conditioner units, leveling legs and steps.

Most RV dealerships offer specialized RV insurance through the dealership and there are many companies that specialize in this type of insurance as well. You can get an insurance policy for every type and age recreational vehicle out there.

One of the most common claims associated with RV's is body damage from overhangs and gas station canopies; RV's are generally 11' to 13'+ high. We are always careful about that additional width but it's so easy to forget our height requirements, there's no mirror for that! Find out the overall height clearance needed for your rig and keep it posted prominently and handy to the drivers' seat of your RV or tow vehicle. A related type of these claims comes from forgetting to lower the TV antenna. The antenna itself may not cost much to replace but if it punches a hole in the roof you're in for a real problem and a much more expensive repair.

Another common cause of loss for RV's is fire. The refrigerator, water heater, furnace, stove and generator are all sources of potential propane (or other fuel) leaks and fires. The propane system needs to be checked and maintained on a regular basis.

A third common reason for insurance claims on our RV's is damage from tires. A blowout, tread separation or even a standard flat will almost always cause exterior body damage but can also throw pieces of tire up through the vehicle causing extensive interior damage and even physical harm to occupants. The single most important precaution you can take with an RV is to check your tires regularly. Keep the pressure at the recommend level for the tire specifications and weight it carries and watch for signs of wear. RV tires are seldom replaced due to tread wear instead they are normally replaced due to age, dry rot, cracking and ozone or UV deterioration.

An RV is even susceptible to damage when it's stored. There are several possible perils to anticipate and take precautions against during storage periods. You have to consider the weather in your area of the country. The most obvious problem is freezing of water supply, waste lines and holding tanks. Not as obvious are heat or sun exposure causing stress to tires, propane and other fuel components. You should have your rig properly winterized or otherwise protected from the elements appropriate to your area.

Another storage issue is rodent infestation. Mice, squirrels and other pests can do a lot of damage to the interior and mechanical components of an RV. You can do a lot to protect yourself by thoroughly cleaning all food items and storage areas prior to storage. As with the weather the precautions you need to take will vary with your storage location.

It is very important to get good insurance coverage for your RV. Talk to a qualified specialty insurance professional or a full service RV dealer to explore your options. Shop around, do some online research and you can find a company and policy that will suit your needs. We will cover some of the coverage's you may need in our next article.

G Scott Lawrence is a 30 year licensed insurance adjuster and partner in Storm Survivor, LLC.

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