The true cost of state employee turnover, how low salaries play a part in the problem and what needs to happen NOW!
Again, according to the State Auditor’s annual report on state employee turnover, Texas broke its record for highest turnover rate across all state agencies. This follows years of elected leaders choosing to keep our pay stagnant and uncompetitive with other public sector jobs.
The average turnover for all state agencies is 20.3%! This impacts the remaining workforce and costs taxpayers millions. With the constant need to hire and train new employees, state agencies and universities have even more obstacles to overcome to perform their purpose and function for all Texans. By retaining employees, Texas can develop a more experienced workforce providing quality services that our communities need. High turnover rates result in low morale and overworked employees with increased workloads, which further increases the turnover rate in a vicious cycle. Texas can’t afford to ignore this reality.
FACT: Lower paid workers have higher turnover. In fiscal year 2020, 37.6 percent of classified regular full-time employees earned less than $40,000 annually. Employees in that salary grouping made up the majority (59.3 percent) of full-time employee turnover.
Staff Reductions increase turnover
A fast growing population has created a higher demand for state services. Over the years, the Texas Legislature has not funded staffing levels to keep pace with population growth. Adequate staffing is necessary to meet the needs of our most vulnerable citizens and to keep the state running. The decline in the state’s workforce coupled with increasing population has also resulted in unmanageable caseloads for current employees and increasing turnover rates.
Solutions to the turnover crisis
-
increase wages across-the-board to keep state jobs competitive with private sector
-
keep up with the needs of a growing population by increasing agency staffing levels
-
protect our pension benefits from cuts and keep our health care affordable
Pay for the vast majority of State workers has been stagnate for years, even though productivity and workloads are always escalating. Our State Workforce is working harder, being more productive, and is even more educated than ever! Despite this, an ever-increasing sentiment in the State Capitol seems to be that “State Employees are not a Priority” . This is a solvable problem. We Organize!