Many businesses proudly state that ‘our people are our greatest asset’. If that’s true, then keeping your team happy enough so they don’t leave is critical for the bottom line.
Employee turnover is costly; not only will you have to pay to find a replacement, but it takes time and money to train a new team member to the right level, which can impact service delivery. High turnover can even decrease engagement and productivity across the business, with staff questioning why their colleagues are leaving for pastures new.
With this in mind, we’ve compiled a short list of the 5 ways you can reduce employee turnover (and boost engagement and productivity along the way).
5 ways to reduce employee turnover
This may sound obvious, but a retention strategy should start with recruitment. People often leave their employer when the cultural or job fit isn’t right, so be sure to consider this when hiring. Ask candidates questions like ‘what do you need from your employer in terms of development’, ‘what type of environment do you work best in’, ‘what are your career goals in the short to medium term?’. If their answers are wildly different to what your organisation can provide, then they may be a flight risk. (PS Don’t take culture fit to mean ‘hiring clones of your team’. Diverse teams boosts productivity.)
Simple but true. 65% of UK workers think they’re underpaid, and while money isn’t the most important factor in retaining staff, paying below market rates and a lack of structure when it comes to pay and promotion, certainly isn’t going to do you any favours as an employer. Benchmark your pay against industry norms, regularly review pay to make sure it’s fair among the team (including your gender pay gap) and look at other financial benefits such as pensions and discounts to ensure people are fairly rewarded.
Career progression (or, lack thereof) is one of the most commonly cited reasons for leaving a role. So if you want to reduce employee turnover, having good structures in place to offer learning and development opportunities is absolutely key. This could include providing regular training, access to learning materials, and feedback and recognition mechanisms that allow people to improve their performance and be recognised for great performance. Training your managers on how to develop their team members may also help.
If your team love their jobs, why would they want to leave? Making employee experience and wellbeing a priority should increase job satisfaction and engagement, ultimately leading to lower turnover and higher productivity. A recent poll by Gallup indicated that engaged employees are 59% less likely to look for a job outside the organisation. Employee engagement in practice could mean policies like flexible work schedules, wellbeing benefits, work socials and community events.
Engagement at work is partly about feeling that your employer looks after you, but it’s also about having meaning in the work that you do. Millennials in particular, are increasingly motivated by purpose in their work; ie knowing that what they are doing is having a positive impact beyond their individual contribution. By regularly communicating the impact your company is having on customers, the industry and the wider community, your employees will feel like the work they’re doing is worthwhile – leading to greater job satisfaction, and less turnover.
Are you a hiring manager looking to hire the best people into your team (and hopefully keep them too)? Why not start by having a conversation with one of our specialist consultants about bringing top talent into your organisation.