The Australian Human Resource Institute last year released their AHRI Pulse Survey in which nearly half of the respondents, believed that turnover in their organisation was too high and the top two reasons for people leaving an organisation are, lack of promotional opportunity and poor relationship with their manager.
I have read a lot of surveys over the years and retention rates do move up and down but one thing remains a constant, the cost of replacing staff is a real business cost. It impacts your budget, your time and creates a loss of vital knowledge.
To help with your employee retention I would like to share two articles I have read recently that I think offer a number of ideas you can implement.
The first is 7 employee retention strategies your company must have from Bill Conerly in Forbes. In his article Bill suggests the following strategies;
- Track retention.
- Train first level supervisors.
- Hire right in the first place.
- Offer employees a path to greater pay, recognition and responsibility.
- Look for ways to increase flexibility in work conditions
- Look for stressors and train leaders on how to help employees in stressful positions.
- Re-evaluate your benefits package.
The second article is 3 ways to increase employee retention from Carol Roth. Carol also mentions work place flexibility and reducing stress. However it is Carol’s third point I feel is interesting and important. And that is, give your employees your attention. A study by John Izzo, found that the number one reason employees don’t take more initiative at work is that their leaders fail to get their input before making decisions.
I encourage you to read both of these articles if you are interested in employee retention. I am also interested to hear if you have retention strategies that have worked for you and your organisation. If you have any questions please contact me paul@paulgreening.com
