Many factors affect staff turnover – but while some, like retirement, are inevitable, others are within your control, say employee wellbeing experts Loopin.
Lack of growth
Lack of opportunities for progression can make employees feel like their hard work and commitment aren’t being recognised.
Promoting internally rather than hiring externally is one way to show positivity. Make sure that staff have clarity on how they need to perform to make this possible; for example, a checklist of targets over a realistic timeframe. Alternatively, offer training courses so that staff to stay up to date with relevant skills and trends.
No feedback
Regular 1-1s are an excellent opportunity for employees to address areas where they are struggling.
As an employer, it’s not your role to provide top-down performance feedback, assess the company’s performance, or evaluate project status in a 1-1. The employee needs to take centre stage so you can find out more about their goals and ambitions, concerns and pain points.
Micromanagement
Micromanagement drives employees away. It limits creativity and implies you don’t trust people to make their own decisions.
Micromanagement can lead to burnout, affecting company productivity and performance in the long run, and it’s very likely that employees will look to join a company offering a more supportive form of management.
It can feel daunting to let go of projects but delegating to your team will help them feel valued, trusted and more confident. During the task, you can evaluate their skills and provide timely feedback.
Managing expectations instead of tasks is essential to zone out of micromanagement. Make sure you have laid out a clear plan and goals beforehand.
Inflexible working
Flexible working is becoming increasingly recognised as a valuable tool to retain staff, particularly for those who have to rely on unpredictable public transport, as well as parents of school-age children or carers. Allowing employees to set their own schedules helps them achieve a healthier work-life balance.
Select your core working hours and then let employees decide their start and finish times – so long as these fit in with the needs and expectations of your business, of course. Hybrid working is also an attractive factor for people who want to manage their time more efficiently.
Overwork
There’ll be times when employees are given additional responsibilities, particularly during redundancy phases or the fulfilment of a big contract.
It’s important to monitor individual workloads and find ways to protect your staff from burnout and stress. Otherwise, people are much more likely to look for a role offering a better work-life balance.
On the other hand, employees must have enough work and fully understand their contribution to the make-up of the organisation’s overall mission, vision, and success.
This is another area where regular 1-1s are particularly useful, so that you can alter workloads based on individual feedback.
A wellbeing strategy is also key to understand how employees feel. It’s crucial to offer early support to anyone feeling stressed, burnt out, or disengaged in relation to their workload.
Feeling undervalued & unappreciated
Free lunches and table football are great, but they barely scratch the surface when it comes to creating a culture where employees feel appreciated, cared for, and understood. If employees feel their work is not valued and their contributions go unnoticed, they are more likely to lack motivation and look elsewhere for a more rewarding, enjoyable role.
Making an effort to understand your employees’ concerns, values, needs, and hopes for the future will help retain your top talent.
It’s vital that employers consider the reasons for high employee turnover, particularly if they are due to preventable factors. This requires spotting tell-tale signs early and having a true understanding of employee concerns.
High staff turnover affects efficiency and is very costly, so looking after your employees means that you’re looking after your company too.
Loopin AI predictive people software helps businesses forecast risks for burnout, engagement, productivity & turnover.
