Retention over Replacement
It might seem counter productive for a business that offers help with hiring to offer advice that keeping your internal staff happy is by far better than hiring new, however, we truly believe in the importance of healthy workplaces and want our clients to be places that our new hires want to stay long term.
In a day and age when your employees have easy access to job postings and might even be targeted and offered jobs online when they are not actively looking, employers should be dialed in to keeping their employees engaged so they are not “one bad day away” from leaving.
In a recent report from Gallup, they emphasize that turnover is expensive for organizations. “Gallup estimates that replacing leaders and managers costs around 200% of their salary, replacing employees in technical roles costs 80% of their salary, and replacing frontline workers costs 40% of their salary, excluding unmeasured losses in morale and knowledge.” When an employee leaves it also has a ripple effect on the other staff, causing uncertainty and insecurity, loss of expertise, teamwork and friendships.
Gallup has outlined a few key factors to retain your employees. One is the importance of engagement from the manager. “Nearly half (45%) of voluntary leavers report that neither a manager nor another leader proactively discussed their job satisfaction, performance or future with the organization with them in the three months before leaving.” Managers play a pivotal role in re-engaging employees and preventing turnover. Ongoing, meaningful conversations are essential to developing and retaining top talent.
The most common response from employees who have left their jobs was that their exit could have been prevented by providing additional compensation or benefits. Do not wait until your employee has another job offer to give them a salary increase to entice them to stay. Meeting employment standards are the bare minimum; stat pay, overtime pay, and minimum wage are not enough to satisfy your requirements as an employer. Regular performance and compensation reviews with opportunity for growth will increase your employee’s satisfaction and therefore, performance.
However, it goes beyond money. Gallup finds that “70% of preventable leavers reported actions more directly related to how they are managed daily such as creating more positive personal interactions with their manager (21%), addressing frustrating organizational issues (13%), creating opportunities for career advancement (11%) or improving staffing or workload concerns (9%)”.
We must not underestimate the power of recognition. The key takeaway from Gallup’s research is that employees who receive high-quality recognition are less likely to leave their jobs.
They’ve identified 5 Pillars to focus on when conducting recognition.
Fulfills employees’ recognition expectations
Authentic
Personalized
Equitable
Embedded in your organization’s culture
“Employees who receive recognition that meets at least four pillars are nine times as likely to be engaged as employees whose recognition experiences do not fulfill any of the five pillars. And meeting all five pillars can have a transformational impact on key outcomes like engagement and turnover.”
But that’s not all. Another factor found in retention is if your employees feel they have a friend at work. In a study done out of 15 million workers, only 30% responded that they have a best friend at work. These 30% were better employees and more likely to stay at their jobs. So, some degree of socializing at work is not a distraction, but a powerful factor in increasing productivity, wellbeing and engagement.
When thinking about your employees, realize that you are not doing them a favour by employing them, but appreciate them as an integral link in your business operations and success. Treat them fairly and generously, as people with unique needs and valuable ways of contributing. We all spend a lot of time at work, let’s do our part to make it a great place to be for all. With that, if you have a vibrant, growing workplace, and/or your employees have been there so long it’s time to retire, we’d be happy to help you with your next hire.