What is employee turnover?

Good talent is hard to find and even harder to keep.  High turnover is expensive, time-consuming and frustrating – especially when you have invested time training people.

If your company is experiencing high turnover, it’s a sign of some internal issues that are causing talented people to look for opportunities elsewhere.

Employee turnover is the number of employees who leave an organisation during a given time period. It includes both those who leave voluntarily and those who are laid off. Your turnover rate gives you insight into employee experience and uncovers workplace opportunities or areas of improvement so you can make the right changes.

The only way of finding out why your employees are leaving is to ask them and take responsibility to prevent it. Leaders or HR need to conduct stay interviews and exit surveys regularly. Here are 3 findings that indicate why people may be leaving your organisation:

• 37% of employees leave their organisation due to a lack of career growth

• 28% of departed employees left their organisation due to pay 

• 27% of employees left their organization because they felt undervalued or underappreciated for their work. 

What is the impact of employee engagement?

Employee engagement and turnover are strongly linked. Companies that report low engagement levels are more likely to have a higher turnover than companies that have higher engagement levels. If you want to find out what your engagement levels are, conduct your own employee engagement survey.

Why should you work on your employee engagement?

According to Gallup’s latest poll, only one-third of employees are truly engaged in their jobs.  Unfortunately for employers, engagement has a direct impact on productivity, profitability and loyalty – if your team is disengaged, then it could lead to higher turnover rates.

• 56% of engaged employees and 61% of disengaged employees have received a job offer within the past 6 months. 

• Only 11% of engaged employees have been interviewed elsewhere within the past 6 months compared to 28% of disengaged employees.

• Over one-third of disengaged employees are actively applying for new jobs, compared to only 5% of engaged employees.

• 90% of engaged employees intend on working at their organisation for the next year, compared to only 47% of disengaged employees.             

Research by Quantum Workplace suggests that although engaged and disengaged employees are being recruited at similar levels, engaged employees have different turnover intentions and behaviours. 

With these statistics, shifting a focus on employee engagement can significantly support your retention strategy. Leaders, companies and HR need to listen to employees so the right changes can be made.

When it comes to improving a strategy, communication is key. Leaders need to be able to communicate with employees in an open and honest way and vice versa. When communication is strong and effective, employees are better able to relay their perceptions about employee engagement and experience. 

What would people consider a good reason for leaving your organisation?

• 69% of employees would leave their organisation for better pay

Pay is the number one factor that prompts employee turnover. Without a competitive value proposition, employees will leave to join organisations that pay them what they’re worth. Without offering competitive salaries, you risk losing your top performers. 

• 38% of employees would leave their organisation for a promotion or career development opportunity

Without a promotion, career development or learning opportunities, it can be difficult for employees to see a future with your company. Implementing a career development program in your organisation will not only help grow it quicker but will also encourage employees to stay with you for longer as they have a path to success planned out with you. 

• 21% of employees would leave their organisation for better benefits

The competition for company benefits is fierce. Stay up to date with what other companies are offering so you can stay in line with industry standards or offer better. 

• 18% of employees would leave their organisation for more flexibility in working hours or location. 

The world’s experience with Coronavirus has forced most companies to work remotely in some capacity. If you know your team can work remotely, allow them to choose how they work best. Be flexible and understanding. If you’re not, another company will be. 

Statistics that give insights into turnover prevention

• Only 39% of employees were recognised for their contributions in the three months prior to their last job departure. 

It is essential to always give positive recognition for great work, as without it, people feel unappreciated, demotivated and unengaged. Read our blog on how to make employee appreciation more meaningful. 

Consider how to make employee appreciation more meaningful.

• Only 25% of employees had a growth discussion with someone in the organisation in the 3 months leading up to their last job departure. 

This highlights, once again, the importance of people seeing a future with your company. Talk about goal setting, achievements and growth in every meeting so you can support your employees in the direction they want to go. 

To increase the retention of your employees, you need to work on implementing a continuous employee engagement strategy. Interviews, recognition, and future planning with your employees can all strengthen your ability to retain great talent.