Workplace turnover is increasing, and the employee-driven marketplace calls for CEOs and managers to focus more effort on employee retention. A study conducted by Work Institute estimates U.S. voluntary turnover will hit 35% by 2023, placing companies in continuous and enormous risk. The Work Institute conservatively estimates that the cost to lose a U.S. worker is $15,000. Generalizing this cost to U.S. voluntary turnover in 2018, U.S. employers have lost $617 billion to employee turnover. $469 billion in turnover costs were controllable (fully 76.8% of all turnover) if employers aligned interventions with retention requirements. (2019 Retention Report: Trends, Reasons and A Call to Action).
It is more efficient to retain your productive employee than to recruit, train and orient a replacement employee of the same quality. Employee job satisfaction and employee engagement are key for increasing your retention rate.
According to SHRM's Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement: The Doors of Opportunity are Open research report (http://shrm.org), employees identified these five factors as the leading contributors to job satisfaction:
1. Respectful treatment of all employees at all levels;
2.Compensation/pay;
3.Trust between employees and senior management;
4.Job security; and
5.Opportunities to use their skills and abilities at work.
There are prevntable measures employers can implement. Employers should manage employee retention to retain talented and motivated employees who truly want to be a part of the company and who are focused on contributing to the organization's overall success.
One thing employers can do to increase retention and employee satisfaction is implement a process to conduct Stay Interview Questions with their productive/valuable employees to understand why they stay and what might cause them to leave. Ask standard, structured questions in a casual and conversational manner. Advise them that you would like to have an informal conversation to:
* Talk with them about the reasons they stay with your company so you understand what you might be able to do to make this a great place to work for them.
* Find out how the job is going so you can do your best to support them, particularly with any issues they may be experiencing
Ask Them
What do you look forward to when you come to work each day?
What do you like most or least about working here?
What keeps you working here?
If you could change something about your job, what would that be?
What would make your job more satisfying?
How do you like to be recognized?
What talents are not being used in your current role?
What would you like to learn here?
What motivates (or demotivates) you?
What can I do to best support you?
What can I do more of or less of as your manager?
What might tempt you to leave?
LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN… It’s so important to listen and gather ideas from the employee about how you and your organization can retain him or her.
Make sure to summarize the key reasons the employee gave for staying or potentially leaving the organization, and work with the employee and the employees manager to develop a stay plan.
Thank the employee for sharing their thoughts with you and advise them that the company is committed to doing what it can to make this a great place for them to work.
Managing for employee retention involves strategic actions to keep employees motivated and focused so they elect to remain employed and fully productive for the benefit of the organization. Contact Rothmeyer Rothmeyer Corp. today to help you with creating a comprehensive employee retention program that can play a vital role in both attracting and retaining key employees, as well as in reducing turnover and its related costs.