We all understand that losing a member of staff can cause added stress with recruitment costs, lack of cover and loss of knowledge. It is good practice to have a plan in place to try and retain your staff so that you do not lose them.
You should try and understand why the employee leaves. The reasons might simply be a more attractive job elsewhere or a change of lifestyle, in which case you may not be able to do anything about it. However, many people leave their jobs because they are dissatisfied with their current situation.
Employees tend to leave their jobs because of:
- A lack of training and development opportunities.
- Poor salary and/or benefits.
- Dissatisfaction with management.
- Not being appreciated.
- Commuting time.
- Lack of work/life balance.
One way of finding out why an employee is leaving is to conduct an exit interview, but please do bear in mind that an employee may tone down their reasons for leaving or come up with an entirely different reason as they will be concerned about obtaining a reference. It is worth advising them that whatever they say will not have an impact on their reference and you would appreciate their honesty.
It has been recognised that employers who undertake or have the below in place, generally have improved their turnover rate:
- Ensure that employees being recruited and current employees understand what their role entails and manage expectations on career development opportunities.
- Effective appraisals.
- Strong diversity and inclusion policies.
- A good work/life balance – flexible working.
Make your employees feel valued and proud of the work that they do. Develop a work culture that encourages diversity and creativity and put in place effective policies that promote flexible working, where possible.
