How to Improve a High Turnover of Staff

Thorough employee orientation can reduce staff turnover.

High employee turnover affects employee morale and your bottom line. Finding replacements for employees and training them costs money and employee hours and makes it more difficult for your business to run smoothly. The employees who stay may feel insecure, and it's hard to form a cohesive team if team members are always leaving. Hiring the right employees and finding ways to keep them can help reduce staff turnover and help your business run more efficiently.

Instructions

1. Define the requirements for the job, not only in terms of the skills needed, but the type of person who will work best in your office. Interview with these requirements in mind. Hiring someone whose personality and skills are a good fit is one way to reduce turnover.

2. Fit your compensation and benefits to industry standards. If you offer low pay and poor benefits, workers are more likely to leave as soon as a better offer comes along. You may save money initially by paying low wages, but you'll spend more in the long run constantly searching for and retraining new people.

3. Spend more time orienting new employees to the workplace and their job duties. Pair them with a mentor and check in with them frequently during the first weeks on the job. Provide plenty of information about the job and what is expected of them and be available to answer questions.

4. Look for ways to improve the work environment. People stay at jobs they like, with good working conditions. Benefits like good coffee in the break room, convenient parking, commuter passes, flexible schedules and a pleasant work space can make your company stand out in comparison with others in your field.

5. Recognize employee achievements and praise good job performance. An email or memo praising a job well done, employee recognition awards and even thank-you notes cost little but can go a long way toward making employees feel valued.

6. Offer challenges and opportunities for advancement. Keep employees engaged by allowing them to learn new skills and providing opportunities for them to be promoted from within the company.

References

• Kansas State University: Orientation Reduces Staff Turnover Rates
• The Wall Street Journal: How to Reduce Employee Turnover