Attrition rates vary by industry sector, but the outsourcing industry is a unique case. On average, call center agents in the Philippines leave their jobs after only a year or so of employment. Some outsourcing experts have even estimated the median number of months falling between 13 and 18 months.

The younger ones — those who are unmarried and don’t have dependents — may leave at an earlier time, e.g., after only six months of working at the company. Most of them transfer to other outsourcing companies because of promises of higher pay, better and wider coverage of benefits, and more social and financial perks than they could get from their previous employer.

No matter the level of performance these employees used to deliver at your company, they still possess valuable work experience and skills that they were able to develop after working for you. Losing that kind of investment to another company is not an easy pill to swallow.

Rather than ask experts what are the acceptable rates for employee turnover and attrition for your industry, shouldn’t you be asking how you can prevent these from happening, and perhaps reduce the costs of dealing with one’s inability to retain employees?

More Than a Cost-Savings Decision

Opting to outsource rather than hire an in-house team means that you wanted to minimize your costs and widen your margins. Yet, selecting the cheapest provider you could find might be the worst decision you could ever make. An outsourcing partner with low attrition and turnover rates is a much better option if you wanted to focus on long-term profitability.

Specifically, choose a fair trade outsourcing company. Such an organization has a unique advantage. It combines the noble principles of Fair Trade with an outsourcing governance model. Thus, you get to work with an organization that’s focused on making a social and economic impact while creating an outsourcing arrangement designed to produce maximum profitability for you as well as superior results for your consumers/clients.

The fair trade outsourcing model has been proven to produce lower turnover and attrition rates compared to other management approaches.

Moreover, fair trade outsourcing firms don’t have to charge you with costly fees or even shortchange you while working with you as your service provider just to cover the costs of losing their employees. In contrast, companies with high attrition and turnover rates are likely to lie to you about their human resource problems.

Attrition and Absenteeism are Symptoms of a Sick Organization

Another reason is that companies with high turnover and attrition rates are obviously unreliable. Their inability to retain their workers is a symptom of a sickly organization.

When employees become aware of the number of people who left the company, they start to doubt the capabilities of the organization to take care of its people. They lose faith in the company’s capability to provide them with stable employment and a secure future, which they would need to be happier and more productive at work.

And, this weakens the organization. Processes are bogged down, and projects are left unfinished. The outsourcing provider and their clients end up spending more by training new agents every 6 to 8 months and dealing with inadequate skills and work experience among the newbies.

Selecting an outsourcing company with low attrition and turnover rates is not enough, however. Choose a fair trade outsourcing company, which adheres to standards expected of any fair trade organization in the world. The principles they adhere to serve as a guarantee for exemplary service delivery. Dropping the ball is not an option. Otherwise, they not only lose clients, they also end up destroying their brand.

The concept was first developed by a pioneering textile mill owner in Scotland named Robert Owen who had realized that if his workers felt safe at work, could advance in their lives, and feel valued, they would be happier and more productive. They would be rewarded with economic and personal progress, and he would be rewarded for making the conditions for their success possible.