Employee turnover can be expensive and disruptive.
But what if we told you that you could reduce employee turnover rates by implementing more strategic and intentional processes?Employee turnover rates do not decline without leadership intentionally implementing strategies to reduce it, but even those strategies need to be implemented with a high degree of authenticity.
Going through the motions, for the sake of it, will not have the results you’re aiming to achieve. An authentic retention strategy will see leadership making a difference from the front.
Before we jump in, do you know what high employee turnover actually costs you?
If you do, just skip this part. If you don’t, then journey on with us.
Have you ever considered the time it takes to write up job descriptions, to post job ads both printed and digitally, the time it takes to train new hires and the productivity you lose whilst employees take on extra work as you try to fill the new position?
If not, you should start factoring these things in. It will provide you with a better idea of how much this process costs and why it’s better for organisational success to reduce employee turnover rates.
We have a few ideas on how you can do just that:
Here are 7 ways to reduce employee turnover in your organisation:
1. Hire the right people
This can be a tricky one.
You’re likely thinking, “Well, that’s the goal every time we go through the hiring process.” While this is true, you will want to hire people who have both the right skill set for your company, but who are also a good fit for your company culture.
So that could mean, that you’ve found a highly skilled individual but doesn’t quite align to your company’s culture. This plays an important role as it relates to collaboration and ‘the way the organisation works’ as well as the types of challenges this individual may encounter for the duration of his/her time at your organisation.
As a result, they could start isolating themselves and become lonely at work. Studies have shown that having a best friend at work increases productivity – that translates to success for the individual and the organisation.
Ensure that culture alignment is one of the checkboxes that you are measuring candidates against along with the on-the-job skills that are required.
2. Refine your onboarding process
It’s important to see the on boarding process as a continuation of the hiring process. An on boarding process that is consistent and strategic could mean higher employee retention rates for your organisation.
Most commonly a new hire will spend a morning with HR being oriented on company policies and signing documents. After that an employee might show them around, take them to their desk and introduce them to their new colleagues.
But maybe this should be viewed a little differently…
When a new employee is set to start try to ensure that they receive all the tools and information needed to start effectively. Without this information made readily available, it can be the cause of frustration for both you and your new employee.
Does your on-boarding present opportunities for professional development and growth?
With Millennials set to occupy 50% of the workforce by 2020, coupled with the pace at which business is operating, there’s a need for new learning and development opportunities.
This learning is taking on new forms to match this pace. It’s called microlearning – which is specifically designed to meet a learning outcome. It incorporates micro-moments of learning to drive improved job performance and development.
A refined on-boarding procedure indicates to new (and existing) employees that you take their well-being, learning and development seriously. This should result in new employees feeling settled in, a bit faster.
3. Flexibility
Geographic location can play a big role in turnover. If you have employees that live further from the office than most, reducing their time in traffic with flexible working hours can help to relieve a great burden.
You could also offer work-from-home days to help your employees break up their commuting times. Flexible lunch hours could be provided to allow employees to run any errands that they may need to.
This kind of flexibility re-enforces that you trust your employees enough to offer them the opportunities to alleviate some of their day-to-day stresses. This could result in a boost in motivation.
4. Involvement
Try involving your employees in some business activities. Your employees may even have some great ideas to add to the conversation.
If you have tasks that you think particular employees may benefit from, consider including them. This can aid their career development and serve as purposeful growth opportunities.
5. Create a great culture
Improve team spirit by actively creating a culture of respect, appreciation and collaboration. In turn this helps employees to exercise creativity, innovation and even develop leadership skills as a result.
A great culture takes time to build because it’s an ever-evolving process that needs constant review and analysis. A key factor in creating a great culture is that the leadership set a healthy tone for this.
6. Nurture company traditions
So you have a culture that’s great for motivation and productivity, it may be time to start thinking about nurturing some company traditions.
If you don’t have a tradition, we have some ideas for you;
You could have a Friday sticky note session – this could be where employees write words of appreciation that they experienced during the week along with a name to indicate who this message is directed towards.
You could take your team to a nearby coffee shop on Wednesday mornings, for a casual, impromptu catch-up. A coffee outside of the office is always considered a treat.
Try and make these weekly or bi-weekly and stick to them. You could also have different people facilitate the sessions. This could then become a process of nurturing an employee into a more leadership type position.
7. Recognise your employees
Employee recognition can go a long way in motivating your employees. Studies show that employees who are recognised often tend to stay longer at their companies.
It has been proven that employee recognition can deliver Return On Investment (ROI) – 50% higher productivity and an estimated 20% increase in critical business outcomes.
It is important to provide employees with regular feedback on their performance; particularly if they have done a great job.
On-the-spot recognition has an immediate impact. Remember, the longer it takes to provide great feedback, the greater the risk of losing the desired effect of boosted morale and motivation.
Ensure that you devise an authentic and sustainable recognition strategy to achieve those desired results.
Key takeaways
Employee turnover is expensive, time-consuming and disruptive to the productivity and motivation of a workplace.
The good news…
You can reduce employee turnover through some practical strategies. While turnover can’t always be prevented you can ensure that your organisation is a great place to work at – a place where the leadership and management do everything they can to ensure that employees are respected, appreciated and engaged.