Employee turnover is natural. Not everyone stays with the same company for their entire life. Many people don’t even stay in the same job sector their entire life. But for those that do, what drives them to leave voluntarily? Better offers elsewhere? Low pay? Lack of career mobility? The truth is, there are as wide a range of reasons for employee turnover as there are types of employees.
Even still, no business wants to lose its best workers, especially not to a competitor and especially not if the situation could have been avoided entirely. If growth is integral to the success of a business (and it is), then having a high turnover rate is equivalent to suffering from major blood-loss.
In that case, consider the following strategies as must-know first-aid techniques that could someday save your company’s life.
Optimize Your Recruitment Process
It might seem obvious, but a key piece of the employee retention puzzle has a lot to do with the employee you hire in the first place. Building a workforce isn’t just a numbers game, but rather a roadmap for the development of your company as a whole, while you keep your company security with the use of software to manage payrolls which you can get online, read about it here.
In order to hire the right kind of employees, it’s important to have a comprehensive, forward-thinking, and streamlined recruitment strategy. ATS software, social media engagement, industry networking, and employee referrals can all play a role in this, but the most important thing is knowing the kind of employees you want and communicating clearly your expectations of them.
Provide Room for Employee Growth
According to research cited by Business Insider, one of the reasons why employees today tend to leave their jobs is because they feel that there’s little room for growth and even less guidance to help them develop. A poll found that around 77% of all employees feel like they’re “on their own.”
If your business wants to retain its employees, it’s clear that said employees need to feel that you are genuinely invested in their career growth. When possible, consider promoting internally when management positions open up, rather than hiring from outside the company. If your employees feel like there’s a ceiling stopping them from climbing the corporate ladder, don’t be surprised if they jump off.
Foster a Safe & Inclusive Workplace
Diversity. We’ve all heard of it, we know the concept, and we understand its importance. But do we really? Because there’s another term that many of us still haven’t heard, despite the fact that it’s becoming an increasingly common problem: “representation burnout.”
Representation burnout occurs when employees feel exhausted and isolated due to feeling like they are the only members of a particular identity consistently represented in their workplace, particularly women, POC, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Your employees need to feel safe, respected, and well-represented. That means listening to their concerns, eliminating harassment and prejudice, and avoiding tokenism at all times.