Employee turnover is an unfortunate certainty in the business world. Whether due to the “nature of the industry” or circumstances well within your control, it’s something every employer will have to go through at one time or another. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to prevent your company from losing your best employees. Here are two of the top reason for employee turnover, and how they can be prevented.
No Room for Growth / Lack of Challenges
After a certain amount of time has a passed in a certain role, it’s only natural to set your sights on bigger and better things. For employers, ensuring that those bigger and better things are within their company is essential to not just bringing on the best possible talent, but keeping them in the long term. This is especially the case for entry-level employees who see their role as merely the first rung on the ladder to success; without a solid growth plan or opportunities to take on new challenges in place, losing these employees to other companies with better opportunities is a real cause for concern.
So how do you prevent employee turnover as a direct result of limited or no room for growth? The first step is to clearly outline the path their current roles at the time of hire, especially if you know for a fact that there won’t be any room for growth in the immediate future. While most employees, regardless of their skill level and the role in which they start, are usually aware that they have to put in their time before advancing up the corporate ladder, it’s best to always be as clear as possible regarding the potential for growth within the company.
This growth is closely related to a lack of stimulation. While most new employees are eager to hit the ground running with the enthusiasm typically reserved for a first draft pick in the NFL, eventually they’ll become bored. This invariably leads to slacking off and, much to the chagrin of employer and employee alike, termination. It’s bad news all around, but there are ways around it. The best employers – that is, those that have dedicated, long-term employees – are aware of how their employees feel about their current role, and keep an open dialogue going concerning their wants and needs.
Once you’ve established that an employee is no longer stimulated or challenged in their current role, offer to shake things up a bit. Ask them if they want to take on some duties normally reserved for colleagues in advanced roles, or offer them the opportunity to train in advance of a position opening up down the line. Even if you can’t offer these things (though you really should try!), the simple fact that you’re aware of your employees concerns is one of the best ways to ensure that you care about them and the work they do, and thus want them around for the long haul.
Inadequate Payment / Perks
Let’s face it: Competitive compensation and perks are two of the key reasons many seemingly happy and satisfied employees will leave a company. Talk of increasing the minimum wage is at an all-time high, gas prices are back on the rise, and the cost of living is skyrocketing in major cities. The best way to stop employees from leaving due to poor pay is to compensate them well at the start. Not only will this attract the top quality talent, it will help ensure they put forth 110% percent. To that end, you should also clearly articulate the potential for growth (see above) within the company, as well as the evaluation process.
Good pay and the potential for growth is all well and good, but that means nothing if the work-life balance weighs heavily in work’s favor. The rise of the Millennial generation has seen the rise of far more liberal, laid back, and generous benefits packages. As such, perks beyond high compensation are a great way to mitigate either a lack of pay increase or a slightly lower starting pay. This can include things such as an on-site gym, day care, the opportunity to work from home, and in recent years, an open vacation policy.
In the end, every employer will have to overcome hurdles that could result in losing quality employees. It’s an inevitability, but with the right tools and the foresight to know what it takes to keep employees happy, the common causes for employee turnover can be a little less so.
