Back in the day, it was common to work for the same company for several decades or longer. These days, however, workers are practically expected to jump ship every couple of years, and when the job market is booming, company-hopping becomes even more widespread. In many ways, this is a good thing for employees, who get to enjoy pursuing new opportunities and perpetually keeping their options open. For employers, however, it's often a point of frustration.
Many companies today struggle with high employee turnover, and while some degree of it is unavoidable, the results can be troubling. Here are three ways your business might suffer if a growing number of workers start moving on.
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1. You'll spend more money sourcing and onboarding talent
It costs money to hire recruiters, and it takes time to vet resumes, conduct interviews, and train new hires to get up to speed. The higher your employee turnover is, the more resources you'll need to expend in an effort to stay adequately staffed. That can impede other business goals, and put a strain on managers and other internal folks who inevitably need to take part in that process.
2. Employee morale will take a hit
It's not easy for workers to see their peers take off left and right. If your company experiences an uptick in employee turnover, those left behind might quickly grow despondent and demotivated. Worse yet, they might draw inspiration from their departed colleagues and decide to go elsewhere themselves.
3. Overall output will decline, gutting your bottom line
Generally speaking, new hires perform less efficiently than seasoned ones. That decrease in output can hurt your bottom line, making it harder for you to sink financial resources into replacing the people you've lost. And that's a vicious cycle you don't want to kick off.
Preventing employee turnover
Clearly, there's a lot to be gained by retaining talent in an otherwise competitive, fickle market. If you're looking to prevent or reduce employee turnover, start by rethinking your compensation strategy and improving on your workplace benefits. Focusing on perks that aren't very common might give your employees an added reason to stay put.
Next, rethink your company culture. Do the managers you employ encourage collaboration and teamwork? Are employees treated well and respected? A positive work environment is something most employees would hesitate to give up, so a few tweaks in that area might help you retain more of your staff.
Additionally, get on board with the idea of giving employees more leeway as to when and where they work. These days, workers crave flexible schedules, and allowing yours to set their own hours or do their jobs from home could be just the thing that keeps them on your payroll.
Finally, get into the habit of soliciting employee feedback on a regular basis. This way, you'll be made aware of any pain points your workers are grappling with, and you'll be better-positioned to address them before they drive people away.
A large amount of employee turnover is something your business most likely can't afford. Rather than resign yourself to that inevitability, make an effort to keep your workers where they are. It's a far better bet than spinning your wheels to replace them after the fact.
