Employees are freer than ever to move from one employer to the next. Staying at the same job for years is unlikely to happen unless employers provide some excellent reasons and benefits to do so. One of the reasons for the increased mobility is that employees – about 80 percent of them – do not feel engaged while on the job.
The result is that one survey, conducted by Achievers, indicates that as many as 64 percent of employees may leave their jobs this year. Having a job is no longer a good reason to stay with an employer. Sometimes even the best employees – the ones you want to stick around – may look for employment elsewhere. If employers wish to stop the fast turnover, some changes need to be made in the workplace.
High Turnover Rates Are Costly
Constantly hiring employees because of a high turnover rate means that a company is losing a lot of money. The hiring process means that the HR department has to spend time advertising the position, reading tons of applications and resumes, talking with potential candidates, narrowing down the candidates, conducting a second interview, and then settling on one or two people that are qualified.
Once the new employee comes on board, training them is next, during which time production is down. Then, time needs to be allowed for the employee to get up to speed and quality – which could take at least a couple of weeks or more – depending on the tasks and equipment to be learned.
Reasons Why Employees Leave
Discovering the exact reason why your employees leave may be difficult. While you cannot control some of the reasons, many of them are under your control, some techniques are not difficult to implement and can result in positive change.
- Conflicts or Relationships with Other Employees
Conflicts often arise between employees in the workplace, or with bosses. The opposite also happens – they get too close and problems develop. This problem may be to a degree unavoidable but keeping open communication with employees can help.
- Lack of Recognition for Good Job Performance
Managers need to provide some feedback to all employees on how well they are performing. A little praise or constructive criticism can go a long way toward motivating an employee and helping them understand that their performance is appreciated.
- Insufficient Challenge at Work
People need a challenge today. They want to grow and use talents that they already have. Employers need to seek to develop their best employees by giving them the opportunity to progress in some area, including leadership. They could be put on a team to devise better products, simplify the manufacturing process, reach out to the community, or meet some other company need.
- Bad Bosses
Having bosses that do not know how to lead with concern for employees will create a revolving door. They tend to micromanage or pick on certain employees without good reason. Training your managers can help produce good ones and it will enable your company to grow and become more productive.
- A Lack of Meaningful Work
Work has to be meaningful if you are going to increase employee retention. Employees like to think that their work is contributing to something worthwhile and that it is helping the organization.
- No Growth Opportunity
When employees feel trapped in a position with no future, they are not likely to stay. If they took the job because they had no other opportunities, they will likely take another one that offers a future shortly after they get back on their feet. Mapping out a potential career path will help retain your best employees.
Employees also get a degree of security when they can make suggestions that are heard by management. Getting regular feedback from your employees and implementing good ideas when possible will also help your company have better employee relations. Many changes are not costly, but there must be a willingness to make them.