The US Air Force spends millions of dollars on recruitment every year -- but their professional recruiters were only picking up an average of one recruit per month. A $10,000 investment in EQ testing let them profile the top performers, and in one year they saved $2.7 million. 54 Ultimately, the General Accounting Office requested that the Secretary of Defense order all branches of the armed forces to adopt this procedure in recruitment and selection. 55 Healthcare provides a prime example of the link between EQ, employee retention and the bottom line. Reports indicate 126,000 nurses are needed now to fill the United State’s vacancies; today, fully 75% of all hospital vacancies are for nurses. 56 Future projections are dramatic: as fewer people enter the
profession and experienced nurses near retirement, a 20% shortage in nurses is projected by 2020 -- which equates to a desperate need for 400,000 nurses. 57 The US national average for turnover of nurses is 20%. If it costs $30,000 to recruit, orient and train a nurse (estimates are up to $100,000 depending on the specialty), then a hospital staffed with only 200 nurses can expect to spend at least $1.2 million per year on new recruits. Plus, while a position is vacant, it must be filled with overtime and/or agency staff. Short staffing can also reduce the hospital's ability to admit patients which further reduces revenue – and even more importantly, can contribute to increased medical errors. Meanwhile, in one hospital with turnover of 28%, an emotional
Annual Cost of Turnover Per 100 Nurses on Staff
Cost of Turnover
$1,000,000
$900,000
$800,000
$700,000
$600,000
$500,000
$400,000
$300,000
$200,000
$100,000
$0
30%
20% (US Average)
15%
A turnover rate of 20% (the US national average) will cost at least $600,000 per 100 nurses on staff.
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White Paper The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence
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