Turnover is highly inefficient. Having employees coming and going constantly can be difficult for organizations to maintain consistency. By reviewing the top reasons for turnover, we can improve retention.
To keep employees, we must first understand why they're leaving. According to Linkedin, based on its 500 million professional, these are industry sectors with the highest turnover.
|
1 |
Technology (Software) |
13.2% |
|
2 |
Retail |
13.0% |
|
3 |
Media |
11.4% |
|
4 |
Professional |
11.4% |
|
5 |
Government |
11.2% |
|
6 |
Financial |
11.2% |
|
7 |
Telecommunications |
10.8% |
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, these are industry sectors with the highest turnover.
|
1 |
Leisure and Hospitality |
76.7% |
|
2 |
Business services |
63.3% |
|
3 |
Retail trade |
58.3% |
|
4 |
Construction |
58.0% |
|
5 |
Mining and logging |
55.5% |
|
6 |
Transportation and Warehousing |
44.2% |
|
7 |
Manufacturing nondurable |
38.8% |
1. Job expectation
A serious source of stress for many employees derive from not knowing what they should be doing. It can also mean that employee thinks they are doing their job but the supervisor a says they’re doing wrong.
Expectation – Current situation = Stress
Another serious source of stress comes from when the job required is different than what they applied and hired for. During the recruitment process, it can be tempting to only show the positive side of a job. You certainly want to make the job appealing but the job description must stay at the realm of the actual job. Otherwise, the expectation of the job is different than the situation of the job itself and it creates stress.
Having an accurate job description leads to retention. Accurate job description means the training process and job itself reflects clearly to the job description advertised to make the hire. When you talk to a candidate for the first time, be clear about both the ups and downs of the job and make sure the employee knows exactly what they are expected to do.
Most importantly, reaffirm after they have begun working.
2. Relationship with supervisor
Hierarchy is often determined by responsibility. Supervisor holds the responsibility and the employee performs the actual work. When the supervisor is unable to communicate with their employee, it pushes the employee to quit. One bad supervisor can have serious consequences on the job satisfaction of your best employee.
Systems and processes must be designed to encourage supervisor and employees to feel like they’re a team. A team means that performance evaluation of supervisor and employees are tied to each other.
Supervisors must be trained for how to provide coaching, how to discuss the plan of corrective actions, how to handle conflict and focusing on work itself and not the personality of the employee.
Encourage two-way feedback. Provide time and opportunity to talk to one another and build a relationship. Create a culture to be transparent and to speak each other’s mind rather than making assumptions about each other.
3. Personality match to a job
You can train people to develop skills they need to be successful at their job. However, it is important that you look for the right personality fit during the hiring process.
When making the job description, think about the people who are performing well in that position and see if there are any common character traits and look for that characteristics while you’re hiring including the ability to multitask and stress tolerance.
A candidate certainly could have all the right skills for the job and do well at it. But the character match will certainly see a long run.
Take advantage of personality questionnaires and job simulations during the interview process. For example, Netflix customer service department allows the applicants to try out the job and provide feedback on the iPad. Hiring manager reviews the collected data and makes the decision.
4. Work environment
It’s important to create a work environment that your employees will actually want to be part of. Externally you want to make sure the work environment is in good shape. First, cover the basics such as general sanitary cleanliness and smell. Then make sure the tools and equipment given to the employee are in working order. Besides these physical things, having a structured company is weight heavier. Having policy and procedures that are easy to understand and everyone follows demonstrate structure.
Systems and processes ensure all levels of work environment are met. When work environment things are in working order, you can begin to proactively think to develop a strong culture where employees are happy and effective.
5. Efficiency in communication
Communication means having everyone on the same page. Expectations and goals must be clearly communicated from top to bottom. When leaders don’t properly fill employees on new regulations or processes, employees will make assumptions and provide wrong information to their staff or clients.
Providing wrong information or assumption is worse than no information because it guides people in the wrong direction and waste resources and creates inefficiency. This can be frustrating and causes employees to feel disengaged and unmotivated.
Having a clear line of communication is key. A clear line of communication is always a two-way street. The employee is free to repeat back what they heard in their own words to affirm that they are on the same page and also free to give feedback or voice concern to upper management.
This can be challenging for a larger organization. In this event, turn to an app for internal communication that can help employees share thoughts and ideas with others.
6. Recognition
The number one reason for burnout is when an employee’s hard work is unnoticed. If the employee believes it doesn’t matter how hard they work, then they will start giving less and the state of mind shifts to how little they can give to get by.
If employees cut corners, the organization loses consistency and customers suffer. When customer’s needs are not met, business crumbles.
Developing systems and process in place to evaluate performance provides a clear map for an employee to get to their destination. When they arrive at their destination, they can be given a new map to challenge themselves.
Not all jobs and positions can be easily fit into systems and processes. However, making the effort is half the battle. Look for new ways to recognize your employees for their task. In some cases, even small acknowledgments can go a long way. A simple thank you or good job during a meeting can leave an employee feeling good about the work they’ve done.
For larger accomplishments, monetary rewards, promotion or change of job title, extra time off or perks certainly encourages the employee to keep up the good work and more.
7. Growth opportunity
Employee’s growth has to be aligned with the company’s growth. Whenever someone enters a new job, advancement, at least a raise of compensation is in their mind. When employees feel as if they’re a short-term employee by the eyes of management, they won’t stay long. If they feel the organization is not invested in their growth, they won’t be investing in the company either. Employee’s growth has to be aligned with the company’s growth. Develop a clear path to higher positions and make sure employees know that they need to accomplish in order to get there.
Conclusion
Depending on geographical areas and industry sectors, the order of turnover reason changes and different reason make it to the list instead of the aforementioned. Having a low turnover rate and efficiency in hiring is the most important aspect of Timpl because efficiency allows Timpl to be profitable and clients to be efficient in their training and hiring. Most importantly, placing the right people in the right place is highly productive for the long run. Ask Timpl how we can improve your turnover rates.