How Do Unemployment Benefits Impact Early Stage Attrition?

Do Unemployment Benefits Impact Early Stages of Attrition?

Last week we presented at the Contact Center Optimization Forum in Las Vegas. During the Townhall session, where attendees share questions with each other, one of the participants noted that her early stage contact center attrition had increased by ten times over the normal rate with the latest round of hiring.

Specifically, this organization is seeing new hires work for a period of time and then exhibit behavior (example – violating attendance policies) to be fired.

During the discussion, several other contact center representatives, mostly from Las Vegas, suggested that individuals trying to take advantage of lengthy unemployment insurance benefits were driving the attrition issue this organization is experiencing. This is supported by the behavior to be fired versus more traditional voluntary attrition data that we see within organizations.

Based on data from McKinsey, the global consulting firm, high unemployment may continue to linger for into 2013. McKinsey recently discussed how high unemployment can linger based on when GDP improves. In their Chart Focus Newsletter, they wrote:

“Increasingly long periods of high unemployment have followed the US recessions of the last two decades. From 1945 to the 1980s, employment rebounded roughly six months after GDP did. But in the wake of the 1990–91 and 2001 recessions, it recovered 15 and 39 months, respectively, after GDP had returned to the prerecession peak. At recent rates of job creation, the lag this time will be upward of 60 months.”

How much of your early stage attrition is related to individuals trying to take advantage of the unemployment system? What do you think can be done to reduce this impact on your business? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.