Employers need to invest in selection and induction to help manage staff turn-over, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The CIPD says that one in eight employees leave within the first six months, so recruiting the right person in the first place, retaining them and revising existing selection techniques should be a priority for employers.

It argues that good induction programmes manage employees' expectations and give them a realistic understanding of the organisation and their role in it.

The CIPD said that low unemployment combined with a stable and growing economy, has left employers fighting over a small number of potential recruits and facing real difficulties getting the right people into the right jobs. It latest research shows over four-fifths of employers experienced recruitment difficulties in the last year, and staff turnover remains high.

Gareth Roberts, author of the CIPD's Recruitment and Selection, said that recruitment was the foundation of all HR activity and inductions should start before a member of staff takes up their role.

"Get it wrong and it doesn't matter how good the development programme is, how well an employer motivates their staff, how well they manage their performance, or even how well they reward them - they are always making up for that one bad decision."

He added that an induction should help new employees understand their role and the organisation as a whole.

"A good induction programme will encourage enthusiasm and help manage employees' expectations from the start of the recruitment process right through to the time when they join the organisation," he said.