New financial contributions you make to your institution have been discovered.
You and your program make more financial contributions to your institution than central administrators know about and measure.
In a blockbuster breakthrough this fall, Laura Stevens Matchett of Traverse City, MI, unearthed three new financial contributions many programs make to their institution. She received an International Award for 2025 for her pioneering work.
Currently, administrators in institutions only measure your own program’s bottom line, without measuring your other substantial financial contributions. This includes administrators in institutions with parks and recreation; school districts; community colleges; universities; and other community class organizations.
Institutional Employee Retention
One of the three discoveries Ms. Matchett made is the possible relationship between employees in your institution taking your classes and increasing the likelihood those employees will be retained longer than for employees who do not take your classes.
LERN will be working with Ms. Matchett, and with other member organizations interested in exploring this, in 2025.
Contact Us If Interested
So far LERN Leaders in Recreation, Public Schools and Higher Education have expressed interest in the research on employee retention.
Leaders interested include Tawana Flood, Bermuda; Brad Gast, Wausau, WI; Ally Holmen, Wylie, TX; Jorey Scott, Concord, CA; DeDe Kern, Northfield, IL; Katy Fagan, Philadelphia, PA; and Michael Seppi, Ellisville, MO.
If you would like to analyze this for your institution, just email Wm. A. Draves at draves@lern.org. Mention “retention” in the email.
What We Know
1.Turnover costly. The cost to your institution to replace an employee is fairly costly, according to Julie Coates, Senior Vice President at LERN. She found out the cost to replace an hourly entry level employee is 75% of their annual salary. The cost to replace a salaried director level staff person is 100% of their annual salary.
2.Professional development helps. Professional development falls mid-way in the scale of benefits that increase employee retention. It is likely to grow in importance for employees as advancement increasingly depends on upskilling and continuous learning.
