Reno County HR flags near-30% turnover and outlines benefits strategies to retain staff

Helen Foster, Reno County Human Resources director, told commissioners the county’s turnover rate for 2025 was 29.99 — the highest rate she could find back to 2011 — and described short-term and longer-term strategies to address retention and safety.

Foster said the HR office completed a departmental restructure after two staff losses, launched a safety committee to review near-miss reports and Department of Labor findings, and is evaluating vendors for pre-employment screening and other services. She told the commission the office had implemented stay interviews and will revise the employee handbook and many policies during 2026.

Rick Bynes of benefits broker USI presented the county’s health-plan strategies and said several programs — allied advocate, Fair Market Health, international sourcing (Rescribe) and chronic-disease management (Tria Health) — have produced substantial gross claim-cost savings for the county’s health plan. Bynes said programs reduce employee out-of-pocket costs (in some cases eliminating deductibles or co-insurance) and lower county-paid medical costs through negotiated rates, patient-assistance programs, and rebate capture.

Commissioners asked for de-identified examples that show where the savings were realized and how employees benefited; Bynes said vendors could provide anonymized case examples that illustrate the savings and employee impact.

Next steps: HR will continue policy updates, vendor evaluations and safety-committee work; staff and USI will prepare de-identified examples to show the commission how savings and employee benefits were achieved.