It takes a lot of time and effort to find the right people for your business and this is particularly apparent when hiring for a small or medium-sized business – Because, essentially, hiring the wrong person will potentially have more of a negative impact on the team in a smaller business. You have the advertising costs, the time taken to sift through CV’s and carry-out interviews and then the time spent on induction and training. And so, taking this all into consideration you should be doing everything within your power to reduce employee turnover and this article concentrates on the most common reasons employees decide to leave.
1. EMPLOYEES ARE OVERWHELMED BY AMOUNT WORK
If an employee has too much work on their plate and feels overwhelmed at the sheer amount, it is likely that they will start looking elsewhere for a different opportunity. It’s not uncommon for employees to feel like this on the odd occasion, however, if this becomes part of their daily work life, then it may just become too much. They may have to spend longer hours at work to keep on top of the workload and as a result, the work/life balance can become majorly unbalanced.
Line Managers need to keep an eye on workload and productivity. It could be that an employee is spending too much time on a task and there is a more streamlined process. Or, I could be they don’t understand the tasks and would benefit from a learning and development program. Or, there could be other members of the team who don’t have enough to do and the workload could be better distributed. Whatever the reason, make sure that as a Manager, you’re aware and actively working to solve the issue.
2. LACK OF RECOGNITION
We’ve written a few articles on reward and recognition and it’s important to re-iterate the importance of recognition when it comes to employee motivation and retention. Your employees want to feel that they’re doing a worthwhile job and when warranted, it’s important to recognise this. From a simple ‘thank you’ or ‘well done’ to perks, bonuses and alike. Your company should have, in place, a recognition scheme and this doesn’t solely feature manager to employee recognition but also peer to peer recognition as well.
3. COMPANY CULTURE
Your work culture will have a strong correlation to your employee happiness. If you have a good company culture, which your employees like, they will be much happier and as a result more productive. A poor company culture will result in miserable and demotivated employees.
And so, if your company culture needs work, make steps to do something about it because company culture really is the backbone of your business and if you don’t get it right, it could have a hugely detrimental effect on your employee turnover rate.
3. POOR RELATIONSHIP WITH MANAGER
It requires skill and ability to function as a good manager. Your managers need to be organised, fair, motivating, skilled, approachable, knowledgeable and much, much more! If you’re noticing that employees working under a specific manager are jumping ship, it could be due to the manager’s ability.
The only way to remedy this is to ensure you’re recruiting the right managers in the first place or offering training and development where required. It’s important you keep an eye on your managers and listen to any feedback from your employees.
4. LACK OF FLEXIBILITY
Flexibility is closely linked with company culture. Gone are the days of your typical 9-5 job in the office. Our lives are busy and we want more from a work-life balance. Many companies now offer flexible working options such as flexible hours and remote working. If you’re not open to offering flexible options, your employees may start to begin the search elsewhere and find that other companies are on the ball with flexible working and find this a far more attractive option. Flexible working should of course be rolled-out company wide and offered to all employees or you run the risk of further upsetting the apple cart.
5. REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
Research shows that around 25% of employees would leave their jobs for a pay rise elsewhere. It’s important for your business to offer decent salary packages. This will include basic salaries, commission (where applicable) and benefits, including pension, healthcare, dental and discounts etc. It’s important to track your employee’s progress via your performance management program to ensure they are rewarded with relevant pay raises and bonuses.
6. POOR LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Learning and development will be important to the majority of your employees. They will want to advance in their chosen careers and know there is ample opportunity within your business. Make sure you have a learning and development scheme.
If your business is experiencing high employee turnover then it’s highly likely you’re guilty of one or more of the above. However, this needn’t be the end of the world because you can make sure you listen to the issues and take action. It may be that you need help and support to implement various programs to support higher employee retention rates so please contact: 01453 297557 or email enquiries@peepshr.co.uk.
