Did you know that around 4.5 million employees quit their jobs each month in the US alone?
Corporate culture is changing. Employees no longer stay in one role for 20 years. Instead, they move from one company to the next a lot more frequently.
High employee turnover can be a killer for any business. It can affect productivity, morale, and your brand image. Not to mention, employee turnover can be an expensive process.
This is why it’s paramount that organizations comprehend why employees are leaving and be proactive in avoiding this. We’ll cover this all in the guide below.
We’ll also cover why it’s so important to build a community around your organization to deal with this shift in employee behaviour.
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But first, let’s establish why focusing on employee retention is so important.
Why You Should Focus On Retaining Employees
Employee Retention Saves Money
High employee turnover means more recruiting, hiring, and training of new employees, which can be expensive. It also takes time before a new employee settles and starts adding value to the organization.
By retaining existing employees, you avoid this expense and inconvenience.
Builds A Strong Brand Reputation
If a business holds onto its employees for a long time, then it gives the persona that they’re doing something right.
Employee retention is a positive sign for any brand – which is key to helping businesses attract top talent.
Retain Knowledge And Expertise
Experienced employees who have been with your company for a while may hold valuable knowledge and skills that support your business. They might have taken on extra responsibilities over time that don’t necessarily fall within their job specification.
Replacing employees like this is tricky as you might not find someone who meets the brief. Keeping them in the business, however, ensures this knowledge is kept and shared amongst team members.
Greater Productivity
A high rate of hiring and onboarding new employees adds disruptions to your workplace. By retaining employees, you can achieve a more consistent and productive workforce.
Improved Company Culture
Happy employees = productive employees.
Retaining employees can help develop a more positive company culture and office environment. This is because employees who are incentivized and feel “taken care of” are more likely to work hard.
Building a Community Network for Your Business
It’s a fact that employees are leaving businesses more often than they used to. While you can’t always combat this and reduce employee churn, you can turn a loss into an opportunity.
One of the best ways to do this is to build an alumni community that will help you understand the trend and stay connected with those who leave.
Doing so will help you put anti-attrition strategies in place for the remaining employees. Keeping in touch with past employees will help both your organization and your alum to enjoy mutual benefits.
For your company, the benefit is improved employer branding, business growth, and the possibility of re-hires – which can save you money and bring back new skillsets that your alumni have acquired since leaving your organization.
So, taking the approach of building a solid community for your business won’t necessarily prevent employees from leaving, but it will help you deal with this new shift in a more beneficial way. This is one of the most valuable methods any business can take on to become more resilient in our ever-changing work environment.
Using a community-building platform like Aluminati is key to developing highly engaged online communities around your brand.
Why Your Employees Keep Leaving You
Now that you know why it’s important to hold onto your employees, your business should try to identify all of the possible areas that could result in employees leaving. Here are five common reasons why employees leave.
1. They’re Looking For A Greater Challenge
It is not uncommon for employees to hit a ceiling after being with an organization for a while.
This may be because they’ve been in their role for so long that they have perfected their tasks and responsibilities, or it could be because they’re not learning new skills or applying themselves in new ways.
These are triggers that could cause the employee to look for new opportunities.
How do you avoid this from happening? By constantly focusing on employee development and innovation. Encourage your team to go on courses to learn about the latest trends in the industry, or attend riveting conferences to network and grow their knowledge.
These are just some of how to motivate your employees.
2. Employees Want More Money
One of the most common reasons employees leave businesses is because they’re looking for a higher salary. Employees may develop more vital skills while working for your business, as well as take on additional responsibilities over time. This could cause them to feel they deserve a higher salary.
It is important to keep up to date with market salary trends to ensure that your staff members are being fairly compensated.
3. They’re Looking For A Better Work Relationship
Unhealthy work relationships or environments can cause employees to look for new jobs. No one wants to drive/commute to work dreading the day ahead due to tension in the workplace.
Even if your business offers great salaries and benefits, bad workplace relationships can leave employees unhappy (and maybe even unproductive).
This is why it’s so important for managers to show employees just how much they value them. Team building exercises are also key, as well as maintaining a healthy company culture.
3. They Want More Flexibility
Work environments have changed a lot over the last couple of years. Employees these days value things like remote work or flexible working hours far more than they used to.
If your business still offers or is migrating back to a traditional in-office work environment, then employees might start looking towards the many other jobs that offer greater levels of flexibility.
4. Looking For Career Growth
Nobody wants to get stuck in their career. If employees feel as though there is a lack of growth opportunities for them in your organization, they are likely to start looking elsewhere.
Having room to grow in your career provides a sense of fulfilment, excitement, and commitment. So, make sure that deserving employees have growth opportunities if you want to stop them from leaving you.
How To Combat Employees Leaving Your Business
The reasons listed above are just a few of the most common causes of why employees choose to leave their jobs. However, any organization that isn’t actively trying to create positive employee experiences may find high rates of employees leaving.
To help you boost retention and turn around a bad situation, here are some of the top tactics you can use to combat employees leaving your business.
Engage With Your Alumni Community
If you’re not already engaging with your organization’s alumni and retaining alumni relations, it’s time to get on board.
As mentioned earlier, tapping into your alumni network can be incredibly valuable to your organization. They can act as brand ambassadors for your company, and they can help you bring in new business (directly or through referrals).
Your alumni are also an excellent talent pool that you can look towards for rehiring (which can save your business a lot of time and money).
Not only will this help you improve the way you make new hires, but it can also help you develop a more positive workplace culture and brand – which can help you retain your existing employees.
Be Seen As A Brand That Cares About Its Staff
This involves actively showing your staff that you value them and their careers. Take the time to connect with individual employees, discuss their career goals, and try to ensure everyone is on a career path that they’re happy with (and that will benefit the company obviously).
Again, engaging with alumni and offering a strong alumni support program will also show that your business cares about the people it employs.
Offer Promotions And Career Growth Opportunities
Prioritize promoting existing employees over hiring new ones. This can help employees feel like there is a succession plan for them – which boosts retention, morale, and productivity.
Career growth opportunities can also exist beyond promotions. You could invest in employee training, courses, and anything else that can help employees learn new skills and advance in their careers. This shows that you’re invested in your employee’s futures and that there is a healthy career trajectory for them.
If that doesn’t convince you, take note that statistics show that you can increase your retention rate by almost 60% when proving e-learning training opportunities.
Offer The Right Benefits Packages
Of course, you won’t be able to hold onto your employees for long if they aren’t getting enough from your business.
Many businesses might not have the budget for significant salary increases. However, you can always offer additional benefits to compensate and create job satisfaction.
This may include extended paid time off, flexible working environments, or more traditional benefits like private healthcare or gym memberships.
Send out comprehensive surveys to understand what kind of benefits would entice your team members. This is a surefire way to boost employee retention and overall employee engagement.
Invest In A Solid Onboarding Process
Did you know that 69% of employees are likely to stay at a company for at least 3 years if they have positive and valuable onboarding experience?
So, make sure that the relevant manager is involved in the onboarding program, make sure that the employee is introduced nicely into the team, and provide them with all the knowledge they need about the organization, their respective team, and of course, their role.
A gentle, inclusive approach may just be the difference in retaining key employees.
Conclusion
33% of an employee’s annual salary is the average price of replacing a member of your organization.
The world is changing and employees don’t have the same kind of long-term employment habits that they used to. While you can’t always prevent employees from leaving your business, you can improve the way your business runs and interacts with staff to ensure that you provide the optimal working environment.
Focus on engaging with your alumni, save money by rehiring boomerang employees, and be seen as a brand that cares about its staff. These are all effective ways to combat employee turnover.
Most important, focus on building a solid community network around your business to combat the trend of employees changing jobs a lot more frequently. Using a platform like Aluminati is essential for pulling this off.
Book a demo to see how Aluminati can transform your business.
