Employees leave their jobs for a variety of reasons. Either they feel underpaid, overworked, or simply just lost that initial energy to work for your company. Regardless, employee turnover can be costly and frustrating for companies, big and small.
If your business is suffering from high turnover rates, work them out by following these steps:
Step 1: Conduct pre-employment tests.
Employees who are assigned in positions that are too difficult for them or whose skills are not maximized are likely to feel discouraged and resign. Similarly, employers have no choice but to let go of employees exhibiting poor performance.
Pre-employment skills testing ensures you don’t hire underskilled or overqualified workers. Aptitude and personality tests will reduce costs and time spent training employees who may be ill-equipped for the position.
Step 2: Offer competitive salaries and benefits.
Salary is a determining factor when looking for a job. Today’s applicants also favor companies that offer exclusive benefits and perks. These may include standard benefits like healthcare and insurance to unusual ones, including work-from-home options, gym memberships, and flexible work schedules.
Ensure the salary is competitive for the role and location. Assess the compensation package offered by your competitors so you can adjust your rates accordingly. Alternatively, you could let employees choose benefits packages based on their needs. For instance, you could cover fuel costs or education plans for candidates with children. That will save you money since it ensures you’re paying for benefits that employees are guaranteed to use.
Continuously improving your salary and benefits package will not only attract quality hires but also boost employee retention.
Step 3: Develop a seamless onboarding process.
Leaving new hires to their own devices is the worst possible way to welcome them to your team. You can’t expect them to perform well if they don’t understand your processes and how their roles fit in with the rest of the workforce.
Onboarding is an excellent opportunity to educate new team members on your company values and protocols. It’s also the time to set expectations and show them what success looks like in your organization. With little context, new hires are likely to resort to guesswork, which leads to poor performance and frustration on both employer and employee.
An effective onboarding process makes it easier for your new hires to settle and adjust to their new roles. That, in turn, can increase satisfaction and reduce turnover.
Step 4: Practice fair workload distribution
Exhausting your employees isn’t exactly motivating. Overworked employees are at higher risk of burnout and higher-stress levels. It can reduce morale and make them want to leave.
Avoid this issue by ensuring the workload is split relatively between each team. Tasks should be assigned to people who possess the required skills and knowledge. Keep in mind that some jobs are harder and take longer to do than others, so set realistic deadlines accordingly. Collect insights from team members regarding workload distribution and adjust your strategies based on their feedback.
Balancing workload will not only prevent burnout but also improve overall productivity.
Reducing turnover rates can have long-term benefits for the entire company, from saving on hiring costs to elevating your company’s reputation. That, in turn, makes it easier for you to attract and employ high-performing candidates.
