"The huge investment in recruitment, induction and training of quality candidates can seem to have been for nothing if they leave before they have fulfilled their potential," said Recrion managing director Katherine Wiid.
"In fact the cost of losing an employee within the first six months of employment has been estimated at as much as twice their annual salary.
"Many companies were incurring huge costs simply from back-filling vacated positions, often on an alarmingly regular basis.
"We needed to find a way to identify the root causes of these high levels of attrition and to spot those employees with a high potential to leave, so we developed our Employee Engagement Barometer," she said.
The process begins with an interview when employees first join a company to shed invaluable light on how the employee feels the impression given during the recruitment process is borne out in reality, at a time when they are still keen to suggest constructive changes to improve the probability of them staying for the long term.
The results have helped develop retention programmes to deliver what the employees value: increased job satisfaction, better promotion opportunities and clearer communication.
For more about Recrion, a Mercury Business Awards 2008 finalist, visit www.recrion.co.uk