Returning to work after the festive break in the dark cold days of January is not normally what most people look forward to! The new year also gives people the push to think about what they want to change and that can lead to the search for a new job. Whilst some staff turnover is inevitable and, in some cases, a good thing, too much of it can be disruptive and costly for organisations. For employers this might be a good time of year to think about actions they should take to build a retention strategy.
Unfortunately, organisations tend to focus on this when it is too late and good staff have already found new jobs. However, this only needs to happen once, and this should be the catalyst to developing a robust retention strategy. In my blog this month I give you my thoughts on how to build a plan that works for you and I also share some of the actions you may decide to take.
Step 1: Understand the Issue
In order to build a retention strategy, it is helpful to gather data about the staff turnover, this is likely to focus on both numbers and “stories”. So for the numbers part we can focus on:
Once you have the data you must match this up with “the stores” this takes longer to gather but the reasons why employee’s leave will give you valuable information on the actions you can take to reduce turnover. You will get this data from exit interviews, focus groups and feedback from your management team.
Step 2: Gain Buy-in to Reduce Turnover
If staff turnover is too high it is likely to put pressure on existing team members, give managers more work to do in relation to recruitment and training, increase cost due to recruitment costs and time spent on the process and also ultimately impact on your customer service. These reasons should form the basis for your business case for focusing on reducing turnover and they should be translated into a business case which is relevant to your organisation.
Step 3: Take Relevant Action
It is not possible to move directly to step 3 and fly off and take lots of action to reduce turnover without first taking time to understand the issue. This will only result in spending time and money on actions that may not be relevant to your organisation. So, the actions you take need to be specific to your business. With that in mind though I have noted some common reasons people leave and I have given a high level overview of the actions you can take.
Review Pay: Staff are unlikely to move to a job which is paid less so this will be a factor in moving jobs. To ensure that it is not the primary factor though organisation should carry out an annual salary benchmarking exercise. This can be done by investing in an industry specific salary survey or it can be done more informally by linking in with recruitment agencies and gathering information from your network. It is important to keep this under review, however, in my experience staff turnover is never normally only down to money.
Progression: A well-structured and effective succession planning process is important, and in some larger organisation this can be achieved. In smaller organisation there may not always be an opportunity for promotion so consider how you plug this gap and still manage your talent. Think creatively about development opportunities, secondments, links with other organisation to share talent. Most importantly link in with the person to understand what is important to them in terms of career progression and assess how you can nurture and develop them in your organisation.
Culture: I think that this is the one that is most difficult to define and get your head around.
What even is it? How do you define it? Who is in charge of it? Is it right or does it need to change? Working on these questions will help you to work out if you think you have this right. Looking at the “stories” around why people leave will also give you an insight into whether you have an issue with workplace culture. Building in a trial shift or a visit to the workplace is a good way for applicants to work out if they are going to enjoy working in an organisation. Setting up meetings with key contacts and putting a buddy in place in the induction process can also help. Whatever you do though don’t just leave this to chance and hope that a healthy workplace culture will be evolve – especially as your organisation grows!
I hope that my blog on staff retention has helped to get you started on how this might work in your organisation. For further help in the development of a plan for your organisation please get in touch.
Alison
[email protected]
Unfortunately, organisations tend to focus on this when it is too late and good staff have already found new jobs. However, this only needs to happen once, and this should be the catalyst to developing a robust retention strategy. In my blog this month I give you my thoughts on how to build a plan that works for you and I also share some of the actions you may decide to take.
Step 1: Understand the Issue
In order to build a retention strategy, it is helpful to gather data about the staff turnover, this is likely to focus on both numbers and “stories”. So for the numbers part we can focus on:
- The number of staff leaving
- Which areas of the business they are leaving from
- How long have they worked for you before they leave
- Are there any trends in terms of similarity over those how leave – i.e. are they younger, older, etc.
Once you have the data you must match this up with “the stores” this takes longer to gather but the reasons why employee’s leave will give you valuable information on the actions you can take to reduce turnover. You will get this data from exit interviews, focus groups and feedback from your management team.
Step 2: Gain Buy-in to Reduce Turnover
If staff turnover is too high it is likely to put pressure on existing team members, give managers more work to do in relation to recruitment and training, increase cost due to recruitment costs and time spent on the process and also ultimately impact on your customer service. These reasons should form the basis for your business case for focusing on reducing turnover and they should be translated into a business case which is relevant to your organisation.
Step 3: Take Relevant Action
It is not possible to move directly to step 3 and fly off and take lots of action to reduce turnover without first taking time to understand the issue. This will only result in spending time and money on actions that may not be relevant to your organisation. So, the actions you take need to be specific to your business. With that in mind though I have noted some common reasons people leave and I have given a high level overview of the actions you can take.
Review Pay: Staff are unlikely to move to a job which is paid less so this will be a factor in moving jobs. To ensure that it is not the primary factor though organisation should carry out an annual salary benchmarking exercise. This can be done by investing in an industry specific salary survey or it can be done more informally by linking in with recruitment agencies and gathering information from your network. It is important to keep this under review, however, in my experience staff turnover is never normally only down to money.
Progression: A well-structured and effective succession planning process is important, and in some larger organisation this can be achieved. In smaller organisation there may not always be an opportunity for promotion so consider how you plug this gap and still manage your talent. Think creatively about development opportunities, secondments, links with other organisation to share talent. Most importantly link in with the person to understand what is important to them in terms of career progression and assess how you can nurture and develop them in your organisation.
Culture: I think that this is the one that is most difficult to define and get your head around.
What even is it? How do you define it? Who is in charge of it? Is it right or does it need to change? Working on these questions will help you to work out if you think you have this right. Looking at the “stories” around why people leave will also give you an insight into whether you have an issue with workplace culture. Building in a trial shift or a visit to the workplace is a good way for applicants to work out if they are going to enjoy working in an organisation. Setting up meetings with key contacts and putting a buddy in place in the induction process can also help. Whatever you do though don’t just leave this to chance and hope that a healthy workplace culture will be evolve – especially as your organisation grows!
I hope that my blog on staff retention has helped to get you started on how this might work in your organisation. For further help in the development of a plan for your organisation please get in touch.
Alison
[email protected]
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