Abstract
The cost of voluntary, controllable labour turnover. Labour turnover for individuals can be classified as voluntary or non-voluntary, whereas labour turnover in organisations can be categorised as controllable or non-controllable. Data on total labour turnover in a particular service organisation indicated the existence of a possible problem. Voluntary, controllable labour turnover between 1 January 1988 and 31 March 1991 for technicians only within this particular organisation was closely scrutinised by calculating the direct recruitment, training, and separation costs for this period. The replacement costs of the technical population alone (N = 1594) for the last-mentioned period were approximately R94 million and could possibly increase to as high as R470 million if the hidden costs are also considered. If these costs are projected to the period 1980-1991 in which there were 60284 voluntary leavers, the total labour turnover costs for this organisation could be astronomical. It is clear from the above that preventative strategies by management could reduce the negative consequences of labour turnover and improve the prospects of a positive outcome.