With the continually improving economy, companies nationwide are looking at key employee retention as one of the main factors in growing their organizations, a factor also prominent in more than 100 new clients using the unique strategic advantage of Marketplace Chaplains

According to a recent news release from the Hay Group as quoted in a Bloomberg BNA article,¹ the average employee turnover rates over the next 5 years are predicted to rise to 23.4 percent from 20.6 percent. In 2018, the number of workers departing from companies is predicted to stand at 192 million worldwide. For a company with 10,000 employees, turnover costs for entry-level workers, alone, could reach $17.3 million, said the Hay Group Senior Principal Mark Royal, during a recent talent-management webinar.

Marketplace Chaplains, the nation’s original and largest workplace chaplaincy organization, had its largest year of expansion ever in 2013, thanks in part to its role in improving employee retention and turnover.

During a recent semi-annual client review, Marketplace Chaplains saved them $130,000 in just one location in six months. “We have a very diverse workforce and many of our key employees have been here for a long time. It’s vital that we retain and please each one; having chaplains has been very helpful for us,” said Randy Turnbow, Chairman of EME, Inc., an airplane parts construction company in Southern California.

Examples of how Marketplace Chaplains make a difference and help with employee retention include an employee telling the chaplain he was quitting because of an ongoing physical challenge that would qualify him for disability.  The chaplain continued to encourage him in discussions over a period of months helping him to reconsider his ability to continue to work.  The chaplain reminded him of the value of his contributions to the company, the number of years he had worked, the work relationships and friendships he had built, and the value of continued years of service at the time of retirement.   To this day, the chaplain continues to reassure him, and the employee is still contributing to the success of the company.

Another time, a worker had been told by her supervisor that she could no longer work on the production line because of an injury.  She stated that this injury was caused by her job and that she was going to quit and take legal action against the company. The Marketplace chaplain encouraged her to visit with the company nurse and get treatment for her injury.  All has worked out well and she is recovering and continues to work with the company.

“We want to help and keep our employees and we feel that chaplains are the best way to do it,” said Roger Burdick, Owner, and President of Driver’s Village in Cicero, New York.

Marketplace Chaplains currently has 2,800 chaplains serving 3,189 service locations across 23 different industry types, in 46 states, 989 cities, in 4 foreign countries, and 1 commonwealth.

“In today’s economy, employee retention is vital to a company’s success. We are privileged and excited to see these innovative CEOs making the wise business decision to use Marketplace Chaplains to help their employees and their family members deal with the ups and downs of life. In my experience, if employees are content and feel valued by their current employers, it makes it much less likely that they will seek other employment,” said Richard S. De Witt, Executive President and COO of Marketplace Chaplains.