What’s the Return of Investment for a Relief Fund?

February 6, 2017

Emergency Assistance Foundation was once asked, “What is the return on investment (ROI) for Relief Funds?” This was an interesting idea, since most Relief Funds are born in the aftermath of large natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, or from events which effect many team members in a single locale, such as a flood or forest fire.

In these circumstances, Relief Funds are an effective way to address a team members immediate needs so they can get back to work more quickly. There are many beneficial reasons for a company to sponsor a Relief Fund but the most easily measurable one is the positive effect it can have on reducing turnover and its related costs. Another, less easily measured one, is the increase in productivity when team members are able to get back to work sooner.

Some companies feel that Relief Funds have reduced team member turnover by helping team members deal with the financial hardships that are dramatically impacting them and their families. This is especially true for younger team members who, when faced with catastrophes, sometimes quit their jobs and return to the family nest. If they can get the assistance they need, these team members may be able to get back on their feet and back to work sooner.

The Society of Human Resource Management estimated that it costs $3,500.00 to replace one $8.00 per hour team member when all costs — recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, reduced productivity, et cetera, were considered. SHRM’s estimate was the lowest of 17 nationally respected companies who calculate this cost. In an article by Ross Blake in the WebProNews pointed out that other sources note that it costs 30–50% of the annual salary of entry-level team members, 150% of middle level team members and up to 400% for specialized, high level team members.

Thirty case studies taken from the 11 most-relevant research papers on the costs of turnover demonstrate that it costs businesses about one-fifth of a worker’s salary to replace that worker according to Heather Boushey and Sarah Jane Glynn in their November 16, 2012 report entitled, There are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees.

This report also shows that for workers earning less than $50,000 annually—which covers three-quarters of all workers in the United States—the 22 case studies show a typical cost of turnover equal to 20 percent of salary, the same as across positions earning $75,000 a year or less, which includes 9 in 10 U.S. workers.

Studies also show that the additional “ramp-up” costs to bring a new hire to the same competency level as the previous team member will cost between 0.5 to 1.5 times of the new person’s salary. For example, a $40,000 position would cost the business an additional $20,000 to $60,000 as the new team member becomes proficient in the job.

Based on that data, you can calculate the rough ROI of the cost of operating the Relief Fund and program. Say your company has 20,000 team members and a Relief Fund can reduce turnover by as few as four people annually (meaning that the fund assists four people who would otherwise be forced to leave the company). If these team members were paid an average of $50,000 each, and the cost avoided is a minimum of 20% of their salaries, then the total costs avoided are $40,000 or greater. The result is that your company’s cost of operating its fund, which should be substantially less than the avoided cost of turnover, ought to show a positive ROI.

Author: Doug Stockham, President

Emergency Assistance Foundation