Employee turnover is an important issue to monitor in the workplace. Understanding how often employees end their relationships with your organization and why people are leaving are vital to managing employee retention. Most of the reasons for employee turnover are not personal, but you can do a lot to learn from the past and lay a better foundation for the future.
Why is employee retention important? The average turnover cost for an employee earning $8 an hour is $5,500. Hiring is just the start of re-building your workforce. New hires need time for orientation and training, which also means reduced productivity. Turnover can also be demoralizing.
However, solution-focused thinking (retention) is important when approaching a difficult issue like employee turnover (the problem). Problem-focused thinking will not help you solve difficult situations that are arising. A problem-focused approach can also have negative effects on your team’s motivation.
“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”― Albert Einstein
Tracking turnover is the first step. Tactics for retaining employees include:
- Offering a competitive benefits package that fits your employees’ needs.
- Providing some small, unexpected perks.
- Using contests and incentives to help keep workers motivated.
- Conducting “stay” interviews with longer-tenured employees.
- Promoting from within whenever possible.
- Fostering employee professional development.
- Creating open communication between employees and management.
- Getting managers involved in coaching and mentoring.
- Communicating your business’s mission.
- Offering financial rewards.
- Making sure employees know what you expect of them.
- Hiring a human-resources professional.
Team Building boosts employee retention!
It is important to break down company barriers and have fun discussions outside of the daily grind. Outside of the office, corporate hierarchy is broken down creating a more comfortable environment.
Research also shows that participants involved in active learning (doing a real job, a simulation, a training game, etc.) retain 90% of the information. Wouldn’t that kind of retention make a difference on your team? We thought so!
