Employee Turnover is Expensive, Video Security Can Help

ByJason Maddox Updated on

Employee turnover is one of the most expensive problems businesses quietly absorb. Beyond recruiting and training costs, turnover disrupts productivity, morale, and safety culture.

Employee safety plays a larger role in retention than many organizations realize. When people don’t feel safe coming to work or leaving at the end of a shift, that concern builds over time and often contributes to disengagement and eventual turnover.

In this article, we’ll look at how video security, especially around the exterior of your facility, can directly impact employee satisfaction and retention.

Employee Turnover Is Expensive & Often Preventable

Replacing an employee typically costs 30% to more than 150% of their annual salary, depending on role, experience level, and industry. That estimate hasn’t improved since this article was first written, and in many cases, it has gotten worse.

According to HR consultants like GNA Partners, replacing a skilled manufacturing employee, such as a tool-and-die maker, welder, or electrician, can easily cost $40,000 to $100,000 or more when you factor in:

  • Recruiting and onboarding
  • Training and ramp-up time
  • Overtime for existing staff
  • Production slowdowns
  • Institutional knowledge loss

In today’s tight labor market, especially across Alabama’s industrial and skilled trades sectors, good employees have options. And they are far less willing to tolerate environments where they don’t feel safe or supported.

Why Perceived Safety Impacts Employee Retention

Employee safety isn’t limited to what happens on the production floor or inside the building. It also includes:

  • Parking lots
  • Walkways
  • Building entrances
  • Exterior break areas
  • Night and early-morning shift transitions

When employees feel uneasy arriving at work or walking to their car after a shift, it creates stress that compounds over time. That stress quietly contributes to disengagement and eventually, turnover.

We’ve seen this firsthand.

How Exterior Video Security Can Reduce Turnover

One Vulcan client recently expanded exterior camera coverage around parking areas and facility entrances, not because of a major incident, but because employee concerns were rising. Vandalism, vehicle break-ins, and general unease were affecting morale.

After installing properly designed, well-lit, and clearly visible video surveillance:

  • Employees reported feeling safer coming and going
  • Management saw fewer complaints and distractions
  • Property damage incidents declined
  • Retention stabilized

Security cameras alone don’t solve retention, but they remove a major friction point that causes good people to leave.

Property Crime Directly Affects Employee Satisfaction

Property crime is more than an inconvenience; it’s personal. Having a car broken into or damaged at work creates frustration, resentment, and a sense that the employer doesn’t have control of their environment.

And these crimes don’t only happen in “bad areas.”

Catalytic Converter & Vehicle Theft: Still a Real Problem

Catalytic converter thefts surged nationwide over the past decade and, while patterns fluctuate, they remain a real concern, especially in areas perceived as “safe.” Thieves often target:

  • Parking lots with poor lighting
  • Unmonitored perimeter areas
  • Consistent vehicle types (trucks, fleet vehicles)
  • Locations with predictable shift schedules

We’ve also seen thefts of tailgates, wheels, and tools from employee vehicles—often occurring quickly and quietly.

Video surveillance plays two critical roles here:

  1. Deterrence: Visible cameras change behavior
  2. Accountability: When incidents occur, footage helps identify suspects and support investigations

Even when crime isn’t fully prevented, employees feel better knowing incidents are taken seriously and documented.

Physical Safety Matters Even More Than Property

While property crime is costly, employee safety is non-negotiable.

Certain employees face higher risk than others:

  • Night shift and early-morning workers
  • Employees walking alone to parking areas
  • Staff in remote or lightly populated areas
  • Healthcare and behavioral health personnel
  • Facilities with public access or transient traffic

Video security cameras don’t replace good policies or lighting, but they add:

  • Visibility
  • Oversight
  • Faster response
  • Documentation when incidents occur

For many employees, simply knowing someone is watching and can respond makes a meaningful difference.

How Modern Video Security Helps in 2025

Today’s video security systems are far more capable than when this article was first published.

Modern IP video systems can:

This means problems are identified faster and often addressed before employees even notice them.

Why This Matters for Retention

When employees feel safe:

  • Stress decreases
  • Focus improves
  • Trust in leadership increases
  • Engagement rises

Retention isn’t just about pay. It’s about whether employees feel respected, protected, and valued.

Video Surveillance Is a Retention Tool, Not Just a Security Tool

When properly designed, installed, and supported, video surveillance systems help:

  • Reduce property crime
  • Improve real and perceived safety
  • Support HR and incident investigations
  • Protect employees and employers alike
  • Reduce costly turnover

In an era where replacing one skilled worker can cost tens of thousands of dollars, keeping the right people is often the highest ROI decision you can make.

Let’s Talk About Your Facility

If you operate an industrial or commercial facility in Alabama and want to understand how video security can support safety, morale, and retention, not just loss prevention, Vulcan Security Systems can help.

We’ll give you an honest assessment of:

  • Where cameras actually add value
  • Where they don’t
  • How to improve safety without overbuying

Contact Vulcan Security Systems today for a free needs assessment.

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