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Employee Retention Problems? These 5 Things May Be the Cause

Employee Retention

One morning, you walk into work to receive a resignation notice from one of your best employees. Worst of all, this is not your only loss; just a few weeks ago two other team members decided to leave. What’s going on?

If you run a business or organisation that employs staff, a wave of departures can be disconcerting and even financially worrisome. It is normal for there to be occasional resignations, or employees that move on due to life changes, career shifts, or other reasons, but a rash of employees leaving signals a problem. If you’re having trouble hanging onto good workers, or if your turnover rate is alarmingly high, you may need to take a closer look at the causes. Consider these five scenarios:

 

  1. Your employees don’t feel their time is respected.

Employees thrive when they are in a workplace where they feel their time is truly respected. Constantly scheduling early meetings on Monday mornings? Pushing your team to stay late or work on weekends? Praising employees who “work through lunch?” It’s tempting to be productive and ask for hard work from your staff, but practices like the previous examples can turn an otherwise pleasant job situation into a stressful one. Be sure you’re respecting your employees’ right to a moderate workday, and that you’re not forcing them to constantly juggle or adjust their schedules to suit your needs.

 

  1. Your employees aren’t being (positively) challenged.

Often, issues with employee retention can be a problem of individuals failing to be challenged by the work they do. Most people enjoy tasks that stretch them creatively and intellectually. It’s rewarding to solve a problem or to handle something fresh and difficult. Take a look at the projects your team is working on. Could they be doing more meaningful work? Perhaps there is a way to incorporate more individuality and idea-generating into their tasks. Avoid letting employees stagnate, and instead aim to find new ways to challenge and delight them. After all, growth improves us all.

 

  1. They feel invisible.

Most employees desire recognition—even if they don’t crave the spotlight. It’s of the utmost importance that you as a manager or employer take time to individually recognise the efforts of every single employee. When employees feel invisible, the quality of their work suffers, because they don’t feel as though they matter. This can quickly spiral into an employee who looks elsewhere for work. To avoid losing your talented team members, it might be wise to consider how you can better show recognition and appreciation. Potential options include one-on-one positive evaluation sessions, contests, rewards, social activities, or even simply an executive effort to build a more personalised, team-oriented community.

 

  1. Your business isn’t keeping up with the times.

Maybe things aren’t all bad in your workplace, but elsewhere, the grass is greener. As an employer, you need to remain competitive and keep up with the times. Do you know the benefits and advantages your competitors offer their employees? What are the current employee engagement trends? Is it a flexible schedule, in-office gym, or dress-down Fridays? Find out what other companies are doing, and make sure your offers can hold court. Otherwise, you may arrive Monday morning to discover your dissatisfied staff have all jumped ship.

 

  1. The workplace feels disjointed or chaotic.

Sometimes employee retention problems can be a wake-up call. If there is no specific cause to be discerned, it may be that the overall workplace systems are the issue. When your business runs smoothly, has a clear staff hierarchy, system of processes, etc., employees tend to feel more at ease and more professionally satisfied. Yet a chaotic, disorganised workplace sends employees packing. It’s not enjoyable to work in a place where there are no set systems for invoicing, ordering, and dealing with customers, or where there is constant confusion about how the office pecking order is organised. Evaluate your workplace from top to bottom to see if everything is in prime condition.

 

Still having trouble retaining employees? We can help. On Line Recruitment and Labour Hire are the employment experts you need. With our 7500+ member candidate database, we’ve got the best talent ready to come work for you. Our recruitment services just may find you the perfect fit for a new team member…and along the way, we can help you better discover how to keep the ones you have.