The High Cost of Employee Turnover: The White House Edition
*Editors note, I updated this article from the original posting date with additional separations during the Trump administration for the full scope of just how much turnover there was in the White House.
Whether you agree with him or not, one thing’s for sure: With President Donald Trump, there is never a dull moment! This edition of HR Strange But True is not meant to be a one-sided political discussion. It’s simply an example of how costly employee turnover can be, and with the latest hiring and firing—at taxpayers’ expense—it bears taking a closer look.
Generally, “turnover” refers to any type of employment termination, including both voluntary (the employee quits or resigns) and involuntary (the employer terminates the employee). Employers analyze turnover to evaluate whether a pattern of voluntary resignations, especially among high-performing employees, points to management or organizational issues such as rogue supervisors or inadequate pay and benefits. They also analyze involuntary turnover to determine if the selection and hiring process is working effectively and whether onboarding or training programs need to be adjusted.
Turnover is costly for any organization, and high employee churn directly impacts the bottom line in many ways, including:
Separation costs: severance pay, unemployment premiums, the time it takes to conduct exit interviews, and paying managers and HR personnel to generate all the paperwork related to a separation of employment.
Vacancy costs: lost production or paying overtime to additional employees who help pick up the slack. A recent CareerBuilder survey of HR managers shows that the average annual cost for having extended job vacancies is more than $800,000.
Replacement costs: job ads, recruiter fees, and the time HR spends reviewing résumés and interviewing potential candidates.
Training costs: money spent training the person who left as well as the person who replaces the former employee.
Along with the direct cost turnover has on businesses, employee turnover can indirectly cost the company in other ways, including:
A loss of institutional knowledge, along with the skills and experience of the former employee
Customer loyalty built on positive relationships with the former employee
Lost work time due to relocation of the former employee and/or a new replacement
Additional supervision required to get new hires up to speed and comfortable in their role
Now that we’ve gotten “Turnover 101” out of the way, let’s turn our attention to the White House. Here is a brief rundown of all the people who have been fired, or resigned, within the Trump administration (at the time of this writing), and the annual salary of each. (Keep in mind, however, that unlike private sector jobs, government roles may not require the same onboarding and training as jobs in a private company.)
January 20, 2017: Director of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter M. Shaub Jr., resigned after clashing with the administration over ethics issues. Shaub's departure left a crucial ethics oversight position vacant for several months.
February 13, 2017: National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was forced to resign after information surfaced that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about communications he had with a Russian ambassador. According to the White House, the national security advisor position earns $179,700.00, annually.
On the same day, Keith Kellogg was named “acting” national security advisor but was replaced by H.R. McMaster on February 20, 2017—making Flynn’s tenure 23 days and Kellogg’s time in office 7 days.
May 9, 2017: FBI Director James Comey was infamously canned after he refused to drop his investigation into Russia’s possible election meddling. FBI directors are classified as Level III, according to the General Schedule, and earn $172,100 annually. Here’s where things get tricky: Comey wasn’t replaced right away, but he still had work to do, and it took almost 3 months to hire his replacement.
On August 1, 2017, Christopher Wray was confirmed by the Senate and became the FBI’s new director. Wray will earn $172,100, but keep in mind that we’re still paying for Robert Mueller III to continue the investigation into “Russiagate,” which was one of Comey’s main focuses before he was fired.
July 21, 2017: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned after it was announced that Anthony Scaramucci (more on him later) would be appointed communications director. Spicer would have earned $179,700 annually.
The same day, it was announced that Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders would be promoted to press secretary to replace Spicer—time to fill vacancy: 0 days. According to Glassdoor, on average, deputy press secretaries earn $76,424, which means Sanders is in for a very nice pay increase.
July 28, 2017: Director of the Office of Public Liaison, Omarosa Manigault Newman, was fired. Her departure highlighted internal tensions within the administration.
July 28, 2017: White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was ousted (he said he “voluntarily” offered his resignation) for not being “strong enough to run the White House,” according to the New York Times. The chief of staff position is in the same boat as press secretary, earning an annual salary of $179,700.
On the same day, Trump announced that General John F. Kelly would be leaving his job as secretary of Homeland Security to replace Priebus—time to fill vacancy: 0 days. Time to replace Kelly at Homeland Security: The clock is still ticking.
July 31, 2017: White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci was fired after a tumultuous week and a half on the job. It should be noted that it took more than 6 months to fill this role, and the person who filled it lasted only 10 days, making the time to fill costlier than the time spent in the actual role. Though Scaramucci was quoted as saying he would not be taking a White House salary, there is always cost associated with filling a position.
March 30, 2018: National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster resigned and was replaced by John Bolton. McMaster's departure marked another shift in the administration's national security team.
March 13, 2018: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired via Twitter by President Trump after a series of policy disagreements. Tillerson's abrupt departure left a significant leadership vacuum in the State Department.
October 11, 2018: United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley announced her resignation, citing a desire to take a break from public service. Haley's departure raised questions about U.S. foreign policy and representation at the United Nations.
December 9, 2018: Secretary of Defense James Mattis resigned in protest over President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. Mattis' resignation raised concerns about the administration's foreign policy direction and left the Department of Defense without a permanent leader for several months.
July 6, 2019: Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta resigned amid scrutiny over his handling of a controversial plea deal with accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Acosta's departure marked another high-profile exit from the Trump administration's cabinet.
September 10, 2019: National Security Advisor John Bolton was fired by President Trump over disagreements on various foreign policy matters. Bolton's departure marked another significant change in the administration's national security team.
December 12, 2019: Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer was fired by then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper over the handling of the case of Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher. Spencer's dismissal highlighted tensions within the Department of Defense.
February 7, 2020: White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney was replaced by Congressman Mark Meadows. Mulvaney's departure marked a shift in leadership within the administration's inner circle.
April 7, 2020: Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly resigned after facing backlash for his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Modly's resignation underscored challenges in leadership amid the pandemic.
May 6, 2020: Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell stepped down from his role after a temporary tenure. Grenell's departure marked another change in leadership within the intelligence community.
June 18, 2020: United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman was fired by Attorney General William Barr. Berman's dismissal raised concerns about political interference in law enforcement.
So, what is all this turnover costing taxpayers? Taking into account that these positions are hand-picked by the president himself, it’s hard to factor in hiring and onboarding costs. Given this is a presidency unlike any other, some of Trump’s picks come with little to no experience in the roles they were hired for, which means that some appointees have had to learn as they go; making it virtually impossible to track “training” costs.
When it comes to calculating the cost of job vacancy in the Trump administration, this is another gray area as Trump’s team still has to fill hundreds of other positions, not just the ones he’s fired staff members from. Due to the large number of positions still open, it’s also hard to multiply these factors by the number of employees that typically work on the White House staff.
There is a lesson to be learned for employers as a result of the job turnover at the White House. The key is to make sure your selection and hiring process is solid and sound, otherwise you’ll end up using Trump’s famous catchphrase—“You’re fired”—more often than you’d like.