Employee Turnover - What role do you play?

Talent is your biggest asset, treat your employees well and they will be engaged and productive, the alternative is demotivated employees who will eventually leave. While you can’t eliminate turnover churn, smart employers adopt strategies to keep their best talent.

When good employees leave there are a multitude of costs: disruption to business operations, productivity stinks to say the least, morale suffers and colleagues struggle with increased workloads. Add in recruitment, training and onboarding costs which can make for a difficult and expensive transition. No rocket science here, the best solution is to keep your workers happy so they don't leave, but to do this, you have to understand first why your valuable employees are leaving.

Of course there are lots of reasons people leave an organisation; lack of clear direction, unrealistic work load, lack of recognition and undervaluing employee contribution, broken commitments, dissatisfaction with renumeration, lack of flexibility and career advancement opportunities and poor corporate culture.

Research shows high employee retention rates depend on leaders who develop genuine relationships with their people through trust and transparency. I agree Wendy Duarte Duckrey, Vice President of Recruiting at JPMorgan Chase who says "Most people don't quit their jobs; they quit their managers.” Deciding to leave a job is not something employees do lightly and if they do so, there must be a good reason. In order to keep the most talented people, its time to do some self reflection and realise what you are doing wrong!!

Lack of transparent leadership from the top coupled with a poor broader company culture has a substantive effect on retention. I know I appreciate a work environment where management is accessible, communication is transparent and direction is clear where leaders can be respected and approachable and where this has not bee the case I have often voted with my feet - and exited the the organisation.

Now more than ever employers need to retain their talented people, while it is easy to blame external factors, as a leader now is the time to get out the mirror - and have a good hard look at the impact you are having on the employee turnover rates.

Please reach out on kate@broadleyhr.com.au or 0437 982 812 to discuss any of your future needs, as we would be delighted to partner with you in 2021.