Employee Turnover: What Affects It and How to Fix It?

May 24 2021 - Employee turnover is the percentage of employees that leave your business over a period of time. A high employee turnover rate signals a problem within your business that you should address immediately. Continuously losing employees is not only counterproductive, but it costs your business tens of thousands of dollars a year each time an employee leaves, no matter the reason.

Believe it or not, there are telltale signs that an employee is going to quit. These include lower productivity, being less of a team player, and less interest in building relationships. Employees who are about to quit will also tell their coworkers about their unhappiness with the company and why they’re quitting, so it’s important to keep the line of communication between you and your employees open.

Here are a few reasons why your employees might be quitting and how you can fix it.

They’re Overworked

Employees that feel like they’re overworked and often take work home will eventually feel the need to quit their jobs to gain back control of their lives. Having too much work on their plate paired with employers’ high expectations is not motivating and leads to higher stress levels and burnout.

In the US, where workers get fewer days off than their European neighbors, burnout rates are high. You can walk through any office and find at least a few employees who are feeling it on any given day. Employees who feel burned out will begin searching for new opportunities at companies that may value the work-life balance more than yours.

How Can You Fix It?

You can help reduce stress and decrease turnover from employee burnout by being proactive and making sure that work is distributed evenly across your company. If you see that one person is doing more work than another, make sure that you take some work off of that person’s plate. While you may not want to hire an additional pair of hands, it may be necessary to reduce your turnover rate and keep your employees from quitting.

If you don’t know whether or not your employees are overworked, you should consider asking them directly. You can use anonymous surveys to make sure that no one feels as if they’re being targeted.

Nepotism and Differences in How People Are Treated

You should treat all of your employees equally, no matter what their position is and regardless of if they’re your family member or friend. When one person is treated differently, it’s only a matter of time before workers start to notice and get angry. You can’t allow one employee to make their own flexible schedule if no one else has that privilege and expect that it won’t infuriate employees who have more responsibilities at home.

Inequalities can go beyond playing favorites and can turn into workplace discrimination if you don’t start treating all of your employees fairly.

How Can You Fix It?

Make it a priority to treat all of your employees the same no matter what. That means that if some of your employees are required to report to work at 9 AM, so should all of your employees. If your current policies aren’t being enforced properly, it’s time to start enforcing them or risk losing a quality workforce.

Unfair Pay and Few Benefits

Your employees are constantly striving to make more money. If your workplace offers low salaries and hesitates to give raises to top performers, your employees will always be on the lookout for another job that requires the same skill set but pays more.

Similarly, employees will leave their job for another that offers better benefits. By offering unique employee benefits, you can entice new hires and keep your current employees satisfied and engaged.

If your organization doesn’t provide good benefits like health insurance and retirement plans, you could lose highly qualified employees to companies that do. Not only that, but a good benefits package demonstrates that the employer cares about the employee.

How Can You Fix It?

Replacing employees is expensive, so you’re better off giving your workers the raises they deserve and improving the benefits you offer. Some companies are even going so far as to offer pet insurance and onsite childcare to retain their valuable employees. If you’re not going to give them the benefits they need to survive and keep their cost of living reasonable, then they will leave for a better job and a better relationship with another employer.

Toxic Culture

Company culture means a lot to employees. After all, they spend eight or more hours in the same place and with the same people five days a week. Workplace culture matters to your employees can directly affect their happiness with their job. When workers enjoy the culture, they’re happier, which makes them more productive. When they dislike the culture, they’re unhappy, unmotivated, and looking for another job.

A toxic culture can be anything from a boss who is a bully to treating those with lower salaries poorly simply because they’re not higher up in the hierarchy. It can also be as simple as a manager asking their employee to perform tasks related to the boss’ personal life and not the duties they were hired to perform.

How Can You Fix It?

Take a look around and see if your employees seem happy. If you believe your culture can be improved (and it probably can), ask your employees how they’d like to see those changes made. You can also ask them to anonymously fill out a survey to express their concerns and let anyone who is unhappy and finds the culture toxic speak out.

No Room for Growth

If an employee has been working a job for a long time without getting a raise or promotion, they may soon realize that there’s no opportunity for growth. Your employees want to develop professionally, learn new skills, and of course, make more money. If that’s not possible for them, they will begin looking for jobs and employers that offer the growth they crave.

How Can You Fix It?

If you want to improve employee retention, you’ll have to invest in your employees and offer career development, whatever that may be. Show your employees that you care about their needs and offer them opportunities that offer growth within your company.

Wrapping Up

Losing an employee can deal a serious blow to your company. Not only will it cost your business money when you have a high turnover rate, but it can impact your company’s work culture and environment, which can impact the rest of your team. Understanding reasons why employees are quitting can help you identify possible solutions. With these tips on fixing employee turnover, you’ll be able to attract and retain top-tier talent.

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