Employee turnover is a huge concern in certain industries. And is one of the main reasons for causing managers sleepless nights. Turnover is simply the superficial problem and the crux of the problem is much deeper. Most importantly, what really needs to be studied and analyzed is the reason behind the high turnover rate of an organization. There can be various reasons inducing employees to switch jobs. Such as lucrative offers by other companies or long working hour. Others include stress at work, inadequate training and development, lesser growth opportunities, to name a few.
Understanding Employee Turnover
A high turnover rate obviously has serious side effects. These can include increased expenditure and effort on hiring and training. As well as greater risk of information leakage.
As we have already discussed, there can be several reasons for a high turnover rate; the most alarming one is ‘dysfunctional turnovers’. These refer to cases wherein talented and hardworking employees decide to leave the organization.
For the HR department of any organization, reducing the dysfunctional turnover rate is one of their primary responsibilities.
Employee retention begins with understanding the turnover. Breaking it down into department, branch, and hierarchy. Also, comparing your organizations turnover with industry averages and previous years. Having analyzed the numbers the next major challenge is to correctly understand what is causing employees to leave the organization. This can be done by the way of regular employee surveys, exit interviews, observation techniques, etc.
For instance, the causes discovered can be a variation between bad managers, low salaries and inappropriate organizational culture. It can also be due to a limit or little opportunities for growth, boredom and lack of particular skill sets. If a particular reason is the a frequent reason given for employees calling it quits; then you definitely need to look into it.
Turnover Management Strategies
In general, good human resource policies can go a long way in keeping employees happy and satisfied. The following are believed to be some of the most effective strategies:
Motivators
The organization must provide motivators for task completion. People work best when there is a tempting reward waiting for them at the finish line. Incentivized performance policies are a great way to keep engagement, interest and satisfaction of the employees high.
Additionally, boredom with work is another reason for a high dysfunctional turnover rate. It is important for an organization to ensure employees do not feel stuck in their roles. Regular training and development programs are a great first step to breaking the monotony. As well, corporate retreats, get-togethers, inter-department tournaments and competitions, etc, can go a long way employees engaged and motivated.
Financial
Salaries and perks given to the employees need to be at par with the industry standards. After all, financial growth is a huge incentive for any individual. Dissatisfaction with their salary is a huge reason for employee attrition.
Support
Counselling and coaching at the right time can often prevent an employee from leaving an organization. Having a pro-active and accessible HR department is therefore necessary in order to control employee attrition.
Work – Life
An imbalance between one’s work and personal life often leads to burn out. It is essential for employees to not ignore their personal lives just to deliver at work. The HR department needs to encourage their employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
In conclusion, employee turnover rate has a huge impact on the business’ productivity and profits. However, allocating proper time and energy to review and improve upon corporate culture and employee success planning makes more sense. All the efforts leads to investing less time and money into prevention. Rather than spending more in order to make up for it!
Regarding your organization, which are willing to invest into?