5 Proven Turnover Reduction Strategies Every HR Should Know
Employee turnover is a major challenge for many businesses in today’s competitive and dynamic market. About 47 million people quit their jobs in 2020, amidst the pandemic and the Great Resignation. [1] And in 2022, 4.2 million workers in the US have left their jobs. That’s not all, over 61% of the US workforce is thinking about handing in their resignations in 2023. [2]
This can clearly cost a real damage to businesses like:
Loss of productivity and efficiency
Loss of customer satisfaction and loyalty
Loss of institutional knowledge and expertise
Increased costs of recruitment, training and onboarding
Decreased morale and engagement of remaining employees
Reduced reputation and employer brand
Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to focus on improving their retention metrics and implementing effective strategies to reduce turnover. In this article, we will discuss five proven turnover reduction strategies that you may not have heard of before, and why they are important for your business success.
Why It’s Important to Retain Employees
Benefits of Retaining Employees
Retaining employees can help companies avoid the negative effects of turnover and achieve positive outcomes of retention. Some of the benefits are:
Increased employee loyalty: Loyal employees are more committed to the company and less likely to leave for competitors or other opportunities.
Decreased hiring costs: Hiring new employees can be expensive and time-consuming. By retaining existing employees, companies can save these costs and invest them in other areas.
Highly skilled workforce: Employees who stay with the company can develop their skills and expertise through continuous learning and experience. They can also share their knowledge and mentor new hires, which can improve the overall quality and performance of the workforce.
Fewer transitions and employment gaps: When employees leave, they create vacancies that need to be filled quickly to avoid disruptions in operations and customer service. By retaining employees, companies can minimize these transitions and gaps, and ensure a smooth and consistent workflow.
Enhanced customer satisfaction and retention: Satisfied employees provide better service and care to their customers. They are more likely to be friendly, helpful, responsive and proactive. They are also more likely to build long-term relationships and trust with their customers. High employee turnover can lead to poor customer service and dissatisfaction, which can result in losing customers.
Improved collaboration and teamwork: Employees who work together for a long time can develop strong bonds and rapport with each other. They can also understand each other’s strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and styles better. This can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of teamwork, as well as the creativity and innovation of solutions. Retaining employees can help to preserve the culture and values of the company, which can foster a sense of belonging and unity among the staff.
Higher employee engagement: Engaged employees are passionate, enthusiastic, and motivated about their work. They are more likely to perform well, take initiative, seek feedback and improvement opportunities, and contribute positively to the company’s success. They are also less likely to be absent or late, or to engage in counterproductive behaviors. Retaining employees enables companies to increase their employee engagement levels, which can have a positive impact on their bottom line.
1. Create a Strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
An EVP is a set of benefits and rewards that an employer offers to its employees in exchange for their contribution and performance. It includes tangible aspects such as compensation, benefits, career development and recognition, as well as intangible aspects such as culture, values, purpose and work environment. It helps attract and retain talent by communicating what makes your company unique and desirable as an employer.
To create a strong EVP, you need to understand your employees’ needs, preferences and expectations, and align them with your business goals and vision. You also need to communicate your EVP clearly and consistently across all channels and touchpoints and deliver on your promises.
2. Provide Flexible Work Options
Flexible work options are arrangements that allow employees to have more control over when, where and how they work. They can include flexible hours, remote work, compressed workweek, job sharing, part-time work and more. Flexible work options can help companies reduce turnover by enhancing employees’ work-life balance, autonomy, satisfaction and productivity.
They can also help to accommodate the diverse needs and preferences of different generations, life stages and personal situations. To be able to provide flexible work options, you need to:
Provide flexible work options
Establish clear policies and guidelines
Ensure effective communication and collaboration tools
Foster trust and accountability
Measure outcomes rather than inputs
3. Invest in Employee Development
Employee development is the process of providing employees with opportunities to learn new skills, acquire new knowledge, expand their roles and responsibilities, and advance their careers. Employee development can help to reduce turnover by increasing employees’ motivation, engagement, performance and loyalty. It can also help prepare employees for future challenges and changes and build a talent pipeline for your business.
Investing in employee development requires you to:
Conduct regular performance reviews and feedback sessions
Identify employees’ strengths, interests and goals
Offer various learning modalities such as coaching, mentoring, training courses, online resources etc.
Support employees’ career progression
4. Build a Positive Culture
Culture is the set of shared values, beliefs, norms and behaviors that define how people interact within an organization. Culture can have a significant impact on employees’ attitudes, emotions and behaviors towards their work and their employer. With a positive culture, you can reduce turnover by creating a sense of belonging, alignment and purpose among employees. You can also foster collaboration, innovation, diversity and inclusion within your business.
To build a positive culture, you need to:
Define your core values and vision
Model them through your leadership style
Reinforce them through your policies, practices and recognition programs
Celebrate them through your stories and events
5. Leverage Employee Feedback
Employee feedback is the information that employees provide about their experiences, opinions and suggestions regarding their work and their employer. Employee feedback enables you to identify and address issues and concerns that affect employees’ satisfaction and retention. As a result, your turnover rate will be reduced. Moreover, it can also help you improve your processes, products and services, and enhance your decision-making and problem-solving.
Employee feedback is a valuable source of information and insight that can help you improve your workplace culture and performance. To leverage employee feedback, you need to:
Collect it regularly through various methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, exit interviews etc.
Reduce Turnover with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
One of the ways to reduce turnover and improve retention is to use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in your hiring process. An ATS is a software tool that helps you manage your recruitment activities, such as posting jobs, screening resumes, scheduling interviews, sending offer letters and more. When it comes to reducing turnover, an ATS can help you by:
Attracting the right candidates: An ATS can help you create and distribute attractive and informative job ads that showcase your EVP and culture. It can also help you reach a wider and more diverse pool of talent through various channels, such as job boards, social media, career sites.
Hiring candidates faster: An ATS can help you streamline and automate your hiring process, reducing the time and effort involved in each step. It can also help you communicate with candidates promptly and consistently, keeping them engaged and informed throughout the process.
Onboarding candidates smoothly: An ATS can help you prepare and deliver a comprehensive and personalized onboarding program for your new hires. It can also help you collect and store all the necessary documents and information from your new hires, such as contracts, tax forms, bank details etc.
By using an ATS, you can ensure that you hire the best candidates for your company, who are not only qualified and skilled, but also aligned with your vision and values. You can also ensure that you provide them with a positive and memorable candidate experience, which can influence their decision to join and stay with your company.
And with one of the most reliable ATS systems on the market like Manatal, you can even further boost your turnover reduction strategies with innovative features like:
Social media recruiting: You’ll be able to create and share engaging social media posts that showcase your employer brand and attract talent. You can also track the performance of your posts and measure their impact on your hiring outcomes.
Analytics and reporting: Manatal provides you with powerful analytics and reporting tools that help you monitor and improve your hiring performance and retention metrics. In addition to that, you can generate and export customized reports and dashboards that suit your needs and preferences.
Learn more about Manatal by starting its 14-day free trial today and discover how this cloud-based recruitment solution can help reinforce your employee retention strategy within a few clicks.
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