As an employer, hiring manager, or HR professional you know that good employees are hard to find. But once you’re found the right person, it’s often hard to retain those employees.
The fact is there are always going to be employees who have a “grass is greener” mentality and jump from job to job. For example, a recent study revealed that 21% of millennials say they’ve changed jobs within the past year, which is more than three times the number of non-millennials who report the same. And more employees are staying less than two years before moving onto another job.
That’s why the current high annual turnover rate has become a pain point for companies – especially those trying to regain strength caused by COVID-19 disruptions.
Given that it’s a jobseeker’s market, HR executives and hiring managers should plan for the inevitable by looking at departures as a potential source of momentum and inspiration for the organization. Employers who seize the opportunity to make improvements – rather than dwell on employee turnover as a failure – are the ones coming out on top.
So here are five tips to help your organization actually benefit from employee turnover:
1. Review Hiring and Onboarding Processes
If you find yourself consistently losing employees, you might be hiring the wrong people. Work to change your hiring and onboarding processes to ensure that you interview candidates who truly fit in the job description and your culture. This could mean anything from recruiting in new and different places to instituting group interviews, to following up on their references.
2. Explore PotentialOrganizational Issues
If there’s an organizational problem that led to the departure, it needs to be addressed quickly, or it’ll lead to more employees quitting. Discuss the problems openly with the team. Do it in person and do it with a sense of humility and camaraderie. If the departure is simply because of a difference in where the employee was headed and where the company was going, let the team know that.
3. Turn a Negative into a Positive
Sometimes a departure boils down to a situation where it was the wrong fit. The good news is that a departing employee provides an employer with the opportunity to evaluate the position and hire a candidate better suited to where the company is headed. This is an opportunity to improve the team by improving the level of the individual team members.
4. Is your Compensation Competitive?
If you want the best, you’ll need to offer the best. For the most part, you get what you pay for when it comes to talent. And in these times of workers – especially millennials – open to hopping from job to job, it’s important to evaluate your offer package and compensation strategy on a yearly basis. You’ll want to do this not only to attract the best talent in the industry – but to keep them.
5. Keep your Employees Happy
No matter the age level, employees want to feel that they’re being recognized and appreciated. Both go a long way toward keeping your staff happy vs. searching for a new gig. Depending on the organizational culture, finding ways to unwind, socialize with other departments, and have some fun can help keep workers motivated. And of course, a simple “Thank you, you’re doing a great job,” also goes a long way!
Lanmark Staffing provides over 40 years of combined human resources, recruiting, temporary placement, sales and management, and temp-to-hire services. Visit our website and learn how our team of local, experienced professionals can help you find the right employee for the job.