5 Ways to Reduce Your Turnover Rate

When it comes to reducing your turnover rate, numbers speak volumes.

If your most valuable employees are departing quicker than birds flying south for the winter, you need to get to the root of the problem.

Whether it’s poor work culture, an undeveloped hiring process or unfair pay, a high turnover rate has long term consequences for your business.

In this digital world, screening a company before applying has become the norm.

The last thing you want is past employees putting in a negative word on your company

With reputable job recruitment sites like Indeed and Glassdoor, it’s easy to screen a company for reviews before applying.

The last thing you want is an accumulation of negative reviews written by past employees.

For the well-being of your company and your employees, it’s extremely important to reduce your turnover rate.

Here are some tips you can put into practice:

1. Understand the Root Cause.

Why do your employees quit? Getting to the “why” can work wonders in reducing your turnover rate.

One popular method is Exit Interviews.

Conducting exit interviews with departed employees to find out why they are leaving can reveal some bits of information.

Yet, they might not always get to the root cause for two reasons: not wanting to burn bridges or being afraid to reveal the whole truth.

Fortunately, it’s possible to get to some degree of truth by turning to your current employees.

For example, you can implement a communication strategy that focuses on employee feedback loops which is a “reciprocal form of improving communication in the workplace, in which both parties must be fully engaged.“

By being an active listener and encouraging your employees to express what’s on their mind you’ll find it easier to identify the issues that need to be addressed.

2. Prioritize Your Most Urgent Problems.

Now that you have a better idea of the main reason(s) behind the resignation of your former employees, you need to prioritize problem-solving.

If you wait too long, it will affect not only your turnover rate but also your recruitment. Remember that no matter what your industry is, bad gossip spreads!

A recent study shows that when it comes to accepting a job offer, 57% of job candidates are influenced by salary and benefits.

So make sure you recognize the value behind a prospective employee by offering a competitive salary with benefits that adapt to their needs.

If absenteeism is a bigger issue, why not offer a flexible work schedule?

Or better yet, allow your employees to build their own schedule based on their availabilities?

After all, offering them a healthy work/life balance will only increase their motivation and productivity in the workplace.

3. Recognize Your Employees’ Efforts.

Words go a long way in making or breaking someone’s day. Sometimes, a compliment towards an employee is all it takes to make their day brighter.

Whatever value your employees bring, they need to be recognized for their efforts from time to time.

Let’s get one thing clear though: employee recognition doesn’t need to happen on a daily basis. Acknowledging the work they put in (especially during difficult times) can foster a positive rapport.

The next time an employee puts in more hours or exceeds expectations on a project, send a few kind words their way.

You might be surprised just how receptive they are in receiving the compliment.

4. Offer Training.

When an employee doesn’t feel challenged enough in their role, boredom comes knocking at their door.

To kick boredom out, you can offer your employee(s) the opportunity to learn a new skill within their field.

Whether it’s online or in-person, broadening an employee’s skill set works wonders in boosting their motivation and sense of purpose in their role.

Additionally, levelling up their skill set offers new opportunities to train junior level employees within their roles.

5. Improve the Hiring Process.

“Hope for the best, expect the worst”, right? Wrong!

As much as we can’t control outcomes, we can prevent the worst from happening by being prepared.

To reduce your turnover rate,  go back to the starting point: the hiring process.

Establishing expected tasks and skillset required for a role is essential in filtering the right candidates.

When it comes to skillset, words are cheap and we all know “showing” vs “telling” goes a long way in discovering a candidate’s value.

Having a candidate bring a portfolio of their work or following up on a requested reference works wonders to validate their skill set.

The recruitment process can be time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.

Conclusion

Reducing turnover rate isn’t just about improving numbers. Instead, focus on ways you can improve your workforce by making your employees feel like valuable assets to your team.

Whether that be through active listening, encouraging them to learn new skills or simply paying them a compliment when they need it most, a little goes a long way.

In a nutshell: stay human with your employees.