Forty-two percent turnover in their front line sales team was costing a $6 billion high tech firm $30 million annually and hobbling sales growth. But in order to meet its growth objectives the company knew that had to add an additional 650 salespeople – and get them productive quickly.
Axiom's diagnosis of the root causes of sales force turnover revealed that salespeople were most likely to leave six months or 18 months after joining the company. This was often because the company was not adept at hiring the right people for the right roles. To fix that problem Axiom helped management design an execute improved processes for sourcing, screening and selecting the right hires, including:
- Assessing the true skills and experience required for success.
- Expanding the sourcing pool to find more qualified candidates.
- Refining the selection process by adding new assessment criteria and realistic job previews to ensure candidates understood expectations.
- Engaging managers in selecting candidates and then holding those managers accountable for retaining salespeople.
- Sales force turnover decreased 17% in year one; another 9% in year two.
- The annual cost of turnover was cut in half, saving $15 million in year one.
- By hitting their recruiting goals more efficiently the company was able to increase revenue and improve the sales performance on new salespeople.