How to reduce employee turnover in a booming jobs market
Reduce employee turnover
This year’s CIPD Good Work Index, a survey of more than 6,000 UK workers, found that one in five workers (20%) say it’s likely they will quit their current role in the next 12 months.
The good news is it’s not all about pay, so how can you maximise your chances of holding on to your employees?
Pay and conditions
With household budgets squeezed and salaries on job advertisements rising, it’s no surprise that better pay and benefits are a major motivator to leave a job. So first look at how you can improve pay and conditions for your people.
Well-benchmarked, competitive salaries and pay reviews are important, but if those are a real stretch for your company, people are also looking for increased job satisfaction and better work life balance, so there are other things employers can look at to stay competitive.
Offer flexible working
We’ve all tested remote and hybrid working in recent years, so you’ll know how this can work for your company.
But take another look at how your current office/homeworking setup is working for you and your staff now. Look at how you can be flexible with hours as well as location. Eliminating a commute is often a quick win with employees and offering flexibility that works for them will improve employee wellbeing. But talk to your staff individually as their preferences will differ. The best way to make clear the guidance you come up with is to get your flexible working guidance written down in a policy.
The Government is consulting on making flexible working a default from day one its focus is on ‘freeing employers and employees alike from the default 9-to-5 model to recruit and retain the talent they need.’
Prioritise work-life balance
A work-life balance struggle can quickly lead employees to start looking for another role. giving people time off, and importantly respecting that time off, is crucial. Leaders should stress that work-life balance is a company-wide priority and ensure that their line managers are on board to make this part of the company culture.
Improve communication
Employees are more invested in a company when they feel like they have a voice and a real understanding of what’s going on in the business. As well as regular one-to-ones with staff, an occasional employee survey with anonymous replies is a great way to get a general sense of how your team are feeling at work, pick up on any needs or concerns (remember poor leadership is a factor for many job moves), and make sure you don’t get out of touch with the reality of your company culture.
Improve onboarding
33% of new employees quit in their first 90 days according to Psychology Today. So get in place a set process to make sure you’re leaving positive first impressions. Better and longer onboarding will also lead to a faster time to productivity. Try pairing new starters with buddies and check in regularly to see how things are going.
Improve performance reviews
Unproductive or infrequent performance reviews can leave an employee feeling criticised or unmotivated. Make yours a collaborative and continuous process that improves the relationship between the employee and manager. Set goals and agree measurable actions to achieve them.
Develop opportunities to grow
LinkedIn found that employees stay 41% longer at companies that are focused on hiring internally compared to those that aren’t. The opportunities to offer internal promotion in smaller companies might be limited, but where you can, offer training and development so that employees have the means to progress in their career.
Want some expert help?
For an obligation-free chat about how you can reduce employee turnover, get in touch.
With our People Documentation Package we’ll get your people policies, contracts and staff handbook all in place.
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