High turnover affects your bottom line and morale
Employee satisfaction is one component that goes into building a positive corporate culture. When your team feels appreciated, motivated, and productive, your customers can sense it.
In contrast, having dissatisfied employees can quickly lead to high turnover — negatively impacting your company’s growth. High turnover has long-term effects on the bottom-line if it’s not addressed quickly and effectively.
If you’re currently experiencing a high employee turnover rate, but you aren’t sure why, here are a few possible causes and how to resolve them.
Burnout
Many employees experience burn out even though we talk about work-life balance. According to a recent survey, 61% of employees say they are burned out at their current job. This occurs when employees have a bigger workload than they can do alone, when they don’t take enough time off, or when they are stressed.
To combat burnout, employees need to know how to take steps to manage stress, their workload, and take time off. As an HR professional or business leader, be sure to check in with your employees often. When they need help, give them practical tips they can start applying right away. When you see employees managing their workloads and stress proactively, share that good behavior with others as an example of what helps combat burnout.
Conflict
Experiencing conflict with coworkers or managers is a deal breaker for many employees. No one wants to work in an environment where tensions run high due to negative communication, lack of communication, incompatible work styles, or differences in personalities.
This issue can be addressed by encouraging open discussions regarding workplace relationships. As an HR manager or business owner, you are in a position to make sure employees feel comfortable sharing any feedback, both good and bad.
This can often mean setting up one-on-one time to discuss any issues employees may be facing and coming up with a communication strategy to work through those issues. Remember that there needs to be open dialogue, an assumption of positive intent, and recognition that conflict is normal. Dealing well with conflict can help you move forward with the ability to focus on the needs of the business and build positive working relationships.
Culture Fit
While no one should expect to be best friends with all of their coworkers, it can be miserable when you don’t fit well with the company culture. It may take some time for a new employee to adjust to the work environment and culture, but there are ways to ensure a potential employee is a good overall fit before they’re offered the job.
If your company has been seeing high turnover due to culture fit, then the hiring process needs to be more tailored to company culture from the beginning. Give interviewees an immersive interview experience by taking them on a tour of the office, introducing them to the employees they will potentially be working with, and asking them questions that will showcase the job expectations.
In general, you should be able to gather enough information during the hiring process to get an idea of how well a potential employee would fit in with the rest of the team.
Not Being Heard
We all want to feel like we are contributing to a company and that our work matters. Employees who don’t feel like their ideas are being heard are more likely to be dissatisfied with their job.
In order to remedy the situation and ensure employees don’t leave their job due to lack of recognition, the company should encourage teamwork and collaboration. This ties back in to fostering a positive company culture. Encouraging collaborative discussion or group brainstorming sessions can ensure everyone has an opportunity to offer new ideas and share their input.
There’s No Room for Growth
When an employee doesn’t feel challenged or creatively fulfilled in their position, they may start to look for other jobs. And if they are a talented and high performing member of your team, this is the last thing you want to happen. You should have employees that feel positive about their work experience and see your company as a place where they can level-up in their career.
To prevent some of your best employees from leaving, consider offering opportunities for professional development. Ensure that your company budget allows for employees to take a certain amount of workshops or classes per year. And be sure that they are given stretch assignments that allow them to use their new skills and knowledge.
If employees aren’t feeling challenged, that could also mean they’re ready to be promoted. Use this as an opportunity to give them new tasks that would prepare them for the next step in their career.
Talk with an HR Consultant
I’m Denise Liebetrau, a Human Resources Consultant with over 20 years of experience in HR. I started Prosper Consulting to help growing businesses, executives, and HR teams design great pay programs and keep talented employees focused on delivering the right business results. Schedule a free strategy call with me today!