TURNOVER REPORT FOR

SY 2016-2017

June 2,
2017 A closer look at why employees are leaving

Fauquier County Public Schools School Year 2016-2017

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

A closer look at why people are leaving ...................................................................................... 3

What types of employees are leaving Fauquier County Public Schools? ................................ 3
Why are they leaving? .................................................................................................................. 3
How long were they here? ............................................................................................................ 6
Who are their next employers? .................................................................................................... 7
How are our benefits viewed? ...................................................................................................... 8
How do employees feel about working for Fauquier County Public Schools? ....................... 9
How do employees feel about administration?........................................................................... 9
How do employees feel about the school environment? .......................................................... 10
What suggestions were made by exiting employees? ................................................................ 11
Final Thoughts ............................................................................................................................. 11

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A CLOSER LOOK AT WHY PEOPLE ARE LEAVING
During the 2016-2017 school year, Fauquier County Public Schools (FCPS) had 137 employment
separations, including retirees; 68 certified employees and 69 classified employees. There were 45
retirees; 25 certified and 20 classified. The total number of staff separating service from FCPS is
significantly less than in previous years. When retirements are factored out, turnover equaled 5.0%. Exit
surveys were conducted at the schools; retirees participated in the exit survey during their retirement
meeting in Human Resources

Turnover Percent
School Year Certified Classified Total Employees
(excluding retirees)

2016-2017 68 69 137 5.0%

2015-2016 95 86 181 6.8%

2014-2015 113 95 208 8.3%

2013-2014 91 102 193 7.8%

2012-2013 102 113 215 8.9%

WHAT TYPES OF EMPLOYEES ARE LEAVING FAUQUIER COUNTY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS?
Fauquier County Public Schools has two main classifications of employees; certified and classified. To
determine where the majority of turnover has occurred the separations have been sorted out by positions.
The chart on the following page illustrates the different positions and their respective turnover percentage.

Of the 92 non-retiring employees leaving the school division, 43 are certified and 49 are classified.
Eleven Position categories experienced fewer people exiting Fauquier County in 2016-2017 than in the
previous year. Five Position categories had no one leaving the school division during the current year;
those categories are Administrators/Directors, Librarians, OT/PT, Social Workers and Speech Language
Pathologists. It should be noted, however, that several SLP Positions were contracted out for the previous
school year, and those positions are not reflected in the turnover data. Four Position categories
experienced an increase in the percent of turnover from the previous year; those categories are Bus
Drivers/Aides, Computer Science, Instructional Supervisors, and School Health Nurses. The total
number of employees, including retirees, was 137. This is a decrease from the previous year by 43
employees.

*Excludes retirees

WHY ARE THEY LEAVING?

To assist with understanding and managing turnover, data are gathered during the exit process. Data are
collected through the Human Resource Department in records maintained by the department and also
through exit survey data. Data maintained through the department indicate that 45 employees separated
in retirement (25 certified and 20 classified), 81 employees left through resignation; 40certified and 41

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 Position Exiting Exiting SY 16-17 SY 15-16 Percent
Employees Employees* Turnover Turnover Change
Percent* Percent*

Ad m in istr at i ve St af f 7 1 0. 9% 7.6 % (6 .7 ) %

Ad m in istr ator s/ D ir ecto r s 1 0 0. 0% 0.0 % 0. 0%

B u s Dr i v er s/ A id e s 26 23 12 .2 % 10. 2% 2. 0%

Co m p u ter Ser v ic es 2 2 12 .5 % 6.3 % 6. 2%

Cu sto d i an s 16 7 6. 4% 11. 6% (5 .2 ) %

Gu id an ce Cou n se lor 2 1 3. 0% 5.3 % (2 .3 ) %

In str u ct ion a l A ss i stan t 9 8 5. 1% 4.1 % (1 .0 ) %

In str u ct ion a l Su p er v i so r s 2 1 8. 3% 0.0 % 8. 3%

Lib r ar ian s 0 0 0. 0% 4.5 % (4 .5 ) %

OT/ P T 0 0 0. 0% 0.0 % 0. 0%

Pr i n c ip a ls /A P s / A D s 3 1 2. 1% 4.1 % (2 .0 ) %

Sch o o l He a lth Nu r se 3 2 11 .1 % 9.5 % 1. 6%

Sch o o l N u tr it ion Wor ke r 6 6 5. 1% 12. 0% (6 .9 ) %

Sch o o l P sy ch o lo gi st 1 1 14 .3 % 25. 0% (1 0. 7) %

Sch o o l Soc i al W or ker 0 0 0. 0 25. 0% (2 5. 0) %

Sp ee ch P ath o lo g i st 0 0 0. 0 7.1 % (7 .1 ) %

Tea ch er s /D i a gn os ti ci an s 59 39 4. 2% 5. 4 (1 .2 ) %

Tota l Po s it ion s 13 7 92 5. 0% 6. 8% (1. 8)%

classified. Seven employees were released (1 certified and 6 classified). Four employees expired (1
certified and 3 classified). The chart below is a representation of this data.

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 Why Employees Left FCPS
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Retirement Resignation Released Expired

Certified Classified

Another source of data available to Human Resources Department staff are collected through the Exit
Survey. During the 2016-2017 school year, exit surveys were conducted at the school locations making
this survey more convenient to separating staff. Retirees completed the survey in Human Resources as
part of the Retirement Meeting.
Employees are encouraged to respond honestly to each of the questions asked; however, not all exiting
employees completed the interview. Of the 137 separating employees, 81 completed the survey. Twenty-
four selected retirement. There were twenty-two Other responses. When you look at the explanation
provided for those twenty-two responses (some listed multiple reasons), most reasons can be categorized
into one of the already existing categories. Using that revised analysis, the top reasons employees
provided through survey responses was Family Circumstances (thirteen responses) and Compensation
(twelve responses). The table below shows the reasons people separated with the Other responses
factored in to the primary categories.

A Deeper Look
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Certified Classified

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Data from the last several years were analyzed to determine which category saw the largest increase.
Survey results indicated that Compensation is a primary reason why people are leaving this year. An
area that showed a slight increase in responses is Work Conditions.
The chart below illustrates the responses over the last three years from employees to the question, What
is the number one reason you are leaving Fauquier County?
Please note that there was no data for 2015-2016 exits presented last year. This was due to the low
number of responses on the exit survey. A review of that data is reported below, although the numbers
are an estimation.

2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13

Retirement 25 17 38 34 36
Family Circumstances 13 5 16 6 19
Compensation 12 4 8 6 26
Advancement 8 4 10 7 11
Relocation 6 8 18 0 1
Work Conditions 6 2 4 4 5
Health 4 5 4 1 11
Other 4 36 3 15 0
Quality of Supervision 4 1 0 9 11
Commute 2 0 5 0 7
Interpersonal Conflict N/A N/A 1 0 0

HOW LONG WERE THEY HERE?

When considering length of service, retirees were included. Fifty percent (68 employees) of employees
who terminated service with the school division had 0 5 years of service with Fauquier County Public
Schools. Thirty-two of these employees were certified, and thirty-six were classified. A total of 14%
(19 employees) with 6-9 years of service resigned. In this category, seven were certified, and twelve were
classified. Twenty-seven percent (37 employees) with 10 - 29 years of service and 9% (13 employees)
with 30+ years of service ended service to the county. This breakdown clearly indicates that the large
majority of people leaving, do so in the first five years of service.

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 Years of Service to FCPS
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0-5 Years 6 - 9 Years 10 - 29 Years 30+ Years

Certified Classified

Further analysis of Years of Service data is represented in the table below. The table breaks the data
into years of service, reason for leaving, and whether the staff member was certified or classified.

Breakdown of Terminations by Years of Service, Job Classification, and Reasons

Certified Classified
0-5 6 to 9 10 to 29 30+ 0-5 6 to 9 10 to 29 30+
Released/Nonrenewal 0 0 1 0 2 2 2 0
Resignation 31 5 5 0 31 4 5 0
Retired 0 2 14 9 1 6 9 4
Expired 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0

When looking at resigning classified and certified staff, those with five or less years of service have the
highest number of employees (32 and 36, respectively) exiting from Fauquier County Public Schools.
Losing employees with 10 or more years of service also has a significant impact on FCPS as there is a
substantial loss of institutional knowledge and training. As the years of service increase, the depth of
institutional knowledge increases significantly.

WHO ARE THEIR NEXT EMPLOYERS?

Employees are asked to disclose the name of their new employer during the exit interview. Thirty
individuals responded to the question asking about their next employers. Of those, six indicated that they
had not yet accepted a new position. Of those who responded with specific answers, ten certified staff
have accepted positions in other educational environments; eight accepted positions with other public
school divisions and two accepted positions in private school settings. Four classified staff have accepted
positions in other public educational environments, while five report that they will be working in other
industries. The chart below shows the various categories of responses.

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 Where are They Going?
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Public School Non-public Pther Industry Self-employed No Job or Not
School Working

Certified Classified

Of those separating employees who have accepted a position in another public school division, the vast
majority of them have accepted a position in Prince William County. The chart below shows a
breakdown by division.

Which School Division?

Prince William Loudoun Hanover Stafford Out of State

HOW ARE OUR BENEFITS VIEWED?

Responses to the exit interview regarding benefits were analyzed. Overall, employees are very satisfied
with the benefits that are offered and how they work for their family. Approximately 65 people
responded to the questions relating to the health and dental insurance benefits; only 49 responded to the
question on vision benefits. The graph below shows a breakdown of responses to medical, dental, and
vision insurance offered to school employees. Eighty-six percent of employees rated the medical
benefits either excellent or good. Eighty-five percent rated dental benefits as excellent or good, and fifty-
seven percent rated the vision benefits either excellent or good.

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 Medical Benefits
35 32 31
30 27
25 23

20
14 14 14
15
9
10 7 7
5 3
0
0
Medical Dental Vision

Excellent Good Fair Poor

When analyzing data on the other benefits, many had No Opinion. Similar to previous years
responses, when you factor out the No Opinion responses, the majority of people responded either
Excellent or Good to all questions, with the exception of Educational Assistance. This would
indicate that those who participate in the various programs, such as FLEX, Deferred Compensation,
Voluntary Benefits, Wellness Program, and Employee Assistance Program, are satisfied with that specific
benefit.

HOW DO EMPLOYEES FEEL ABOUT WORKING FOR FAUQUIER

COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS?
Separating employees were asked if they would recommend FCPS as a good place to work. Fifty-eight
percent of employees said that they would most definitely recommend Fauquier County Public Schools.
Thirty-eight percent would recommend with reservations, and four percent said they would not
recommend.

In response to the question, What did you like most about your job? the prevalent responses included
working with the children, colleagues, parents, flexibility, environment, rewarding work, and helping
people. There were several responses that specifically named administrators as being great to work
with/for and the overall school environment.

In the section, What did you like least?, there was again a range of responses, such as SOLs, pay,
paperwork, lack of respect, not enough resources, and budget restrictions.

HOW DO EMPLOYEES FEEL ABOUT ADMINISTRATION?

There were seven questions on the exit survey that allowed employees to provide feedback on their direct
supervisor or administer. Those questions addressed fairness, positive recognition, resolution of
complaints, sensitivity to employees, feedback on performance, receptive to ideas, and adherence to
policy.

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 How Employees View Their Supervisors/Administrators

Almost Always Usually Sometimes Never

Consistently Fair 50 17 11 2
Provided Recognition 52 13 18 7
Resolved Complaints 39 18 17 5
Sensitive to Needs 49 11 12 8
Provided Feedback 49 18 10 3
Receptive 51 16 9 4
Followed Policy 60 12 8 0

When considering the above data, a high percentage of exiting employees rated their supervisors
positively by responding either Almost Always or Usually. In the areas of being consistently fair,
providing recognition, providing feedback, and following policy, employees rated their supervisors high.
Areas that indicate employees do not view their supervisors as favorably are providing recognition,
resolving complaints, and being sensitive to the needs of their staff.

HOW DO EMPLOYEES FEEL ABOUT THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT?

Exiting employees were asked to respond to questions that addressed overall school environment. These
questions focused on such areas as cooperation within and between school, respect, job training,
equipment, performance review, orientation for new employees, pay, career development, and physical
work. Both certified and classified staff rated cooperation within schools high, along with respect, and
physical work. However, the areas of job training, equipment, performance review, pay, and career
development warrant further attention. Pay received only 6% excellent ratings from certified staff and
7% excellent from classified staff. The concern regarding pay in this question correlates to the increase
in compensation being the primary reason people chose to leave (twelve employees responded
compensation which is an increase over the past two years.

How Employees View Their School Environment

Certified Classified
Excellent Good Fair Poor Excellent Good Fair Poor
Cooperation within School 21 20 7 1 15 7 6 3
Cooperation among Dept. 11 25 10 1 10 13 3 0
Respect from Colleagues 31 14 3 2 19 7 3 1
Job Training 19 19 4 6 12 9 5 5
Equipment 14 15 17 4 10 11 5 4
Performance Review 16 17 10 6 10 6 9 3
New Hire Orientation 15 19 11 1 14 7 2 3
Rate of Pay 3 16 19 12 2 11 5 12
Career Development 13 16 9 7 5 4 12 7
Physical Work Conditions 17 25 6 1 7 12 6 4

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WHAT SUGGESTIONS WERE MADE BY EXITING EMPLOYEES?
Exiting employees had the opportunity to share their thoughts on how working in Fauquier County Public
Schools could be improved. Their suggestions are listed below.

In analyzing each response, several themes were developed. Below are the more prevalent themes, along
with supporting comments.
1. Better pay. Fourteen people responded that pay needs to be increased in order to recruit and
retain high quality staff.
2. Communication. Six responses were categorized into this theme. Reponses reflected that
communication between departments should improve and there should be increased
communications.
3. Benefits. Several responses related to benefits. Those comments suggested increasing the
number of personal days, paying lifetime life insurance for retirees, and also offering a day care
discount.
4. No improvements needed. It should be noted that eight people specifically referenced that there
is no need for improvements they loved working in FCPS and to keep it about the kids.

FINAL THOUGHTS
The overall turnover rate decreased this year by 1.8%, from 6.8 % to 5.0%. Looking at the percent of
turnover for the past five years, this year is the lowest reported during that time period. The data collected
reveal that employees enjoy working for Fauquier County Public Schools but several areas were
identified as areas of focus:
1. Salaries are considered by employees to be low, when compared to surrounding localities. When
considering responses to different questions, salary was an area named when asked what they
liked least and how to improve FCPS, as well as the primary reason for leaving and Other.
Salary increases are consistently a high priority in the budget requests and should continue to be a
priority.
2. Our benefits package is competitive and is viewed positively by employees. The positive
response to benefits was seen in previous years, as well. When recruiting new staff, salary
packages are a part of the overall salary offer so that employees see the true monetary value of the
benefits offered and partially paid for by the county. Also, the value of the community as a whole
is important and is a positive that is stressed throughout the recruitment and onboarding process.
We need to provide more information to our staff on voluntary benefits so that they are more
empowered in their decision making when electing voluntary benefits.
3. When considering their supervisors, being receptive and following policy were rated high by both
certified and classified staff. Areas that may need to be addressed are the perceptions of
providing recognition and resolving conflicts. These areas may be addressed indirectly through
the identified priority of building relationships. The perceptions employees have in these areas
may also be improved through enhanced proactive communication.
4. This year, thirty-nine certified staff separated from FCPS with 0 9 years of experience; this is
equal to the number of certified staff leaving with 10 or more years of service. Forty-eight
classified staff left with 0 9 years of experience compared to twenty-one with ten or more years.
Recruitment and on-boarding are costly. Consideration on signing and retention bonuses may be
needed.

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5. As in recent years, there is continued concern regarding the large number of employees who are
at or near retirement age. We currently have 204 employees who are eligible for retirement now;
this includes individuals that could have already retired but have chosen to continue to work.
There are 416 employees who are eligible to return within the next five years. The chart below
shows a breakdown of eligible retirees by year. If you also factor in the number of employees
separating for other reasons, the turnover for next year could be significantly higher than in recent
years. Workforce planning and succession planning are two areas where continued discussion is
needed.

Year # Eligible Employees

2018 204
2019 46
2020 48
2021 45
2022 73

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