By Lisa McCann
Employee turnover affects every organization, across all industries and your company is no exception! Some industries are more prone to facing higher rates of turnover based on the types of roles they hire for or where they are located. With the recent economic improvements in the job market and the entrance of a new generation into the workforce, retail turnover rates have seen a steady rise over the last few years. How are you dealing with these factors?
Of course employee turnover directly affects your workforce staffing needs and employee morale, but are truly aware of the huge financial costs impacting your organization? Here are the top 5 reasons why retailers see employee turnover occurring in their organizations:
Inadequate training: Employees who feel they have not received adequate onboarding and training when they joined the organization as less likely to be satisfied in their roles. Feeling underprepared and lacking the support they need is holding them back from succeeding in their current roles. A good training program will give employees the key tools to grow in their current role and prepare them for future grow with the company. Introducing mentoring, training and development programs shows your organization values and is willing to invest in your talent. If you’re attracting great talent why wouldn’t you want to develop and retain them over time?
Lack of advancement opportunities: Employees who feel they lack the ability to grow with the organization will only stick around for so long. This is mainly caused by there being limited or zero advancement opportunities for employees to work towards. This can create a lack of motivation and decreased morale for employees who want to advance their career but feel there job is limiting that ability. Additionally, this can create fear within employees regarding job security and will ultimately drive them to look outside your organization for new opportunities. Would you stay at an organization if there was no room to grow? Most likely the answer is no.
Employees felt they were not integrated into the team: Feeling part of a team is something we can all relate to, and working for an organization is no different. Employees often leave organizations because they feel their contributions and achievements are either undervalued or not recognized. Allowing an employee to feel a connection between their efforts and the business’ success will help keep them engaged and feeling a part of the team. A great way to have employees integrated into the team is to incorporate collaboration between different teams and roles, this can help increase job satisfaction and give more variety in a workday.
Problems with work hours: A lack of flexibility in working hours has been known to cause employees to look elsewhere for new opportunities. Allowing employees the flexibility they need in their schedules will help reduce sick days, no shows and resignation. A work life balance is a topic we hear more about each day. If this is an area that your employees place a high value on, engrain that into your culture and let them feel it is an area you promote and see as important.
Poor treatment by managers: Working with a manager who treats you poorly or fails to support your working needs will ultimately affect your performance. Employees value routine and structure, managers need to understand that their actions have a direct effect on the type of work their employees will produce. Building a strong relationship with your employees where you can openly communicate and share ideas is key. A poor working environment will only cause employees to continually turnover. This is why having best fit managers in place who can grow, engage and retain employees is so important.
Here are some key questions to think about in regards to retaining your employees:
- Does my organization have Career Development Programs in place?
- How engaged is my current workforce and how do I measure this?
- Are my employees a great fit for the organization’s culture?
- What percentage of my workforce would I consider a “Best Fit”?
Lisa McCann is the Corporate Marketing Manager at Vancouver-based recruitment company, MindField Group.
