October 28, 2017 High employee turnover isn’t great for any business because finding replacements for staff members who have left can be expensive and time consuming. In most cases, having a high staff turnover rate is down to bad management within a company.
As staff turnover can be costly, keeping hold of the employees you already have is essential to keeping the business running smoothly, but how exactly do you do it?
Here are a list ways to prevent the reasons employees leave.
- Be flexible with your employees
- Encourage a good balance between work and life
- Provide opportunities for growth
- Organise company fun days
- Fulfill employees job expectations
- Engage your team
Below we explore these points in more depth.
1. Be Flexible With Your Employees
Working five days a week, generally from 9 till 5, whilst fitting in important things such as doctor’s appointments or children being off sick can be a struggle. Employers who are strict on juggling work and everyday life will lose employees quickly. Allowing employees the flexibility to work from home, or away from their desks if they feel like they will be more productive elsewhere, will give employees that sense of freedom and that their employers trust them to do the work out of the office and at hours that suit them.
Giving employees freedom makes them feel empowered and that they will want to prove to you that they appreciate the flexibility by producing good work. Being too strict can cause employees to walk away.
2. Encourage a Good Balance Between Work and Life
Following on from the point above, work should not interfere with everyday life as then you can’t differentiate between the two and stress becomes a factor. As a manager, you should never overwork your staff members for a long time with no respite or reward, as they will grow to dislike their job and result in them leaving.
Getting the right balance can be hard as some employees will try and work through their workload without letting on they are struggling. Here are a few signs to look out for and if you spot any then you need to take action. If an employee seems to be irritable, doesn’t seem to have a lot of energy and possibly complains about feeling tired or ill you should take action immediately as this person isn’t dealing with the workload given.
Changing your managing style to create a workplace of happy employees could start with communicating more with them and making them feel comfortable to talk to you, therefore if an employee is feeling overworked they will feel happy enough to talk to you instead of just handing in their notice.
3. Provide Opportunities for Growth
People are attracted to companies and stay within jobs where there is an opportunity for them to work their way up the ladder within their area of work. By allowing employees to grow, whether that is by offering training to develop their skills, promoting a hard working employee or just bumping up their pay, will encourage employees to work hard and stay committed to their job.
At the end of the day, employees won’t want to stay in a job where nothing changes and they aren’t given the opportunity to work hard and be rewarded for the effort they put in on a day to day basis.
4. Organise Company Fun Days
Treating your company as a whole can be extremely beneficial as it’s something for employees to look forward to and allows them to let their hair down a little. Coming up with days out or even playing a few games within the office can boost employee morale and encourage staff members to work hard to show their managers that they appreciate what they do for them. Like stated above, employees like to be rewarded for the hard work they have put in.
Fun days out as a company might seem to cost a lot but it is worth it in the long run. Employees will want to stay at a company that appreciates them. If staff never get to have a bit of fun and morale in the office is always low it will cost more money to replace employees who have left than it will have done to take them on a day out.
You could even show employees you appreciate them by bringing in snacks to make a breakfast with. Simple tactics like this get employees socialising and it is something a little bit different.
5. Fulfill Employees Job Expectations
Finding the right employees for you business can be difficult, but keeping hold of good employees can be difficult as well. If an employee is new they will be expecting to take over the tasks that were advertised and discussed within the interview process.
For many managers, changing an employee’s job spec is common, however, if someone wanted the job for a specific responsibility and they end up doing something completely different they won’t stick around.
People can swap and change around within a company, this allows them to find what they are good at. Having that freedom to do this is great, but for some employees they want to do a certain role and being made to do something else, may make them feel like they aren’t good enough to do what they want to do.
6. Engage Your Team
Having staff that are enthusiastic about work is great for any business the key is getting your employees to that stage. By making employees feel like a cog in the system, and that without them it wouldn’t run properly, will make them feel appreciated and enthusiastic to work hard.
If employees feel like they are replaceable or that their job role is insignificant will make them leave and find a place where they do feel appreciated.
A member of staff leaving is never good for any business but it is down to you as a manager to make everyone in your team feels appreciated and that the job you have employed them to do is worthwhile. By ensuring you aren’t a bad manager and keep up morale within the office space, employees will want to stay therefore your staff turnover rate will be lower. It is down to you to look after your employees.
Your Office Environment Can Influence Employee Morale and Happiness
In today’s workplace, employees have certain demands from the environment they spend 40 hours a week in.
