Recruitment process 'costly' for UK firms23 Jul 2008Britain's businesses are losing valuable time and money by failing to track employee turnover and recruitment costs, according to a new report.The PayCheck 2008/09, carried out on behalf of human resource consultants Adecco, suggests that firms have 'little regard' for how they recruit and retain staff, despite the current economic climate.The survey, which questioned 700 UK employers, found that businesses lose an average of six weeks of productivity in the period between an employee resigning and their replacement joining.This could be due, in part, to it taking eight weeks to recruit for an existing position, and around seven to hire for a new role. Moreover, employing a new recruit costs an additional 30-36% of their first year's salary.Despite this, it appears that employers are failing to take action to minimise recruitment costs, with 49% of businesses unable to say why their staff leave.Commenting on the findings, Steven Kirkpatrick, Adecco's managing director, said: 'The stark reality […] is that businesses just aren't keeping close enough track on what staff changes are costing them.'Furthermore, the costs of recruitment and the effects of staff changes on profitability should be tracked closely. Businesses need to look very carefully at what they're spending, why they're spending it, and perhaps how they can avoid doing so in the first place'.