Introduction
When staff turnover is high, it's a sign that something is wrong with your company. However, there are lots of reasons why your staff might leave – some bad, some good. If you want to keep your team happy and engaged, then it's important that you address the issues at play.
Staff turnover can be positive (good leavers)
There are a variety of reasons why people leave the company however. There's the good leaver, who leaves for a better opportunity elsewhere. The bad leaver, who leaves because he or she doesn't like you/your boss/your company culture/etc. And then there are those who simply move on to something else in their lives—they may have been promoted internally, they might've gotten an offer from another company that they couldn't refuse, or they could've decided to start their own business.
The last category is perhaps the most interesting one to consider when thinking about staff turnover: these are employees who have left in order to pursue some new endeavor (often one related to your industry). They may not have quit in anger or unhappiness; instead, they might have simply decided that their current position wasn’t what they wanted anymore and had no other options available within your organization.
Staff turnover can be negative (bad leavers)
Good leavers are not always a problem. However, bad leavers can be a huge drain on the organisation. These are people who leave because they don't like their manager or the company. These types of staff members tend to be vocal about their experience within your workplace and may even have negative opinions about it—which means that you're at risk of losing other employees as well.
Bad leavers may also be vocal about their poor experience at your organisation externally—this can hurt your brand's reputation, which makes it harder to attract new talent down the road. Additionally, these negative experiences often result in lawsuits over non-compete agreements and other employment issues that could cost you money.
People quit a manager, not a company
Listening to your staff and responding to their feedback is crucial. When someone quits, it's important to ask yourself why they left. Did something happen that you didn't know about? Did your employee feel like they weren't being heard or supported?
Most people don't quit because of the company; they quit because of their manager. And it's important that we don't ignore issues within our departments, so we can correct them before they become big problems. If you notice something going wrong with one of your team members, be assertive and ask them if there's any way you can help them solve whatever problem is causing this frustration in the workplace. If a person isn't being productive or isn't meeting expectations, it might be time for them to go—and letting someone go doesn't have to feel like a failure on either side of the table (even if it feels like one at first).
Competitive pay and benefits
One of the best ways to keep your staff is through competitive pay and benefits. Paying a living wage is an obvious, but often overlooked, way to retain workers. However, it can be more complicated than that. You also need to consider what type of benefits are important to employees—benefits like vacation time, Kiwisaver matching, health insurance and other perks will vary depending on your industry or company size. A study by PwC found that 77% of millennials would leave their jobs if they didn't receive these types of workplace perks.
Employees should feel appreciated for what they do as well as rewarded for loyalty—especially in industries with high turnover rates where so many people are looking for work at any given time. You might even consider offering bonuses based on tenure such as "gold" status after five years with the company (in addition to regular raises).
Employee engagement
Employee engagement is the emotional commitment to the organisation and its goals. It’s also a measure of how motivated and connected employees feel to their workplace and their work. When employees are engaged, they tend to be more productive, perform better at their jobs, and stay with the company longer than those who aren’t engaged.
Engagement can be low because of any number of factors: poor leadership; lack of communication; lack of recognition; or having no clear vision for the future. The good news is that you can increase employee engagement by paying attention to what they are syaing, and actively addressing the concerns.
Listen to your staff
If you want to improve staff morale and decrease the number of people leaving your company, it's important to listen to what your employees are saying. This means paying attention when they tell you that they're unhappy or frustrated, and taking steps to address their concerns.
It's also crucial that you ask them what they think about their jobs; how well the job fits with their skills, interests and experience; and if there are any changes they'd like made. You can also ask them if there are things you can do better as an employer in general such as communication or working conditions.
If employees feel like they have a voice at work then they'll likely be more engaged by what goes on around them which will lead them being happier overall with their jobs.
Offer opportunities for growth
Offering opportunities for growth is one way to keep your employees happy and engaged. You can do this by providing them with a chance to try new things, encouraging them to take on new responsibilities and giving them the tools they need to succeed. Make sure that they know what is expected of them and give them the resources they need (both money-wise and time-wise).
Offer work life balance
Work life balance is important for employees and can be achieved by offering flexible working hours and locations, as well as days. Employees that are able to strike a healthy balance between their personal lives and the office will feel happier with the company they work for, which will increase productivity, retention rates and overall employee satisfaction. While this may seem like an obvious benefit of flexible working arrangements, many companies fail to grasp how valuable it really is in terms of retaining talent.
Conclusion
The key to reducing staff turnover is keeping the right people and ensuring they are happy. You need to make sure that your company culture is one that employees want to be a part of. It's important that your company offers competitive benefits and salaries so people are happy with their compensation package; it also helps if there are opportunities for career growth or flexibility in scheduling work hours so they feel like they have control over what happens at work each day. Finally, it's vital that managers listen when employees share concerns about their job satisfaction because those conversations should lead directly into addressing issues at hand.
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