The Secret to Halving Seoul Land's Turnover Rate, Ultimately the 'System'... Increased NCS Adoption

Reducing Turnover Rate and Maximizing Performance

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Seoul Land faced a big dilemma watching employees leave after working for just one year. With over 2 million visitors annually, the work was so demanding that many quit. Seoul Land solved the problem by adopting the National Competency Standards (NCS).

NCS is a system that helps identify the customized workforce needed for corporate management and who should be trained. It is a standardized framework of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for work.

After introducing NCS, Seoul Land's average monthly turnover rate dropped sharply from 10% to 4%, more than halving. A Seoul Land official said, "We realized that the high turnover rate was due to the recruitment program," adding, "We now select talent with high interest and understanding of the job through the program."

It is not only applicable in workplaces requiring advanced technology. The Korea Beauty Association was troubled by the large variation in customer satisfaction because each hair salon had different methods of washing customers' hair, and they used NCS as a solution. An official from the association said, "We improved service quality and resolved difficulties by utilizing NCS."

The Ministry of Employment and Labor provides free consulting to help workplaces easily adopt NCS. Song Hongseok, Director of the Vocational Competency Policy Bureau at the Ministry, said, "Even in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the most important resource is people," and added, "We will strive to make NCS the core mechanism for developing people."