On average, a company will lose about 13 percent of its workforce every year.
It’s normal for employees to quit their jobs from time to time (voluntary turnover), and as an employer, you can let go of some of your workers for various reasons (involuntary turnover). Most of the time, you’ll replace them without any worry.
However, when several workers are voluntarily leaving your organization, the consequences can be devastating. High employee turnover will hurt business productivity and increase your operating costs.
You cannot afford to keep losing your employees. To remedy the situation, though, you must establish why they’re leaving in the first place.
Read on for a lowdown on some of the common causes of high staff turnover.
1. Toxic Company Culture
In 2022, toxic workplace culture was the leading cause of employee resignations. According to one survey, 25 percent of employees resigned citing toxic company culture. Another 33 percent were considering quitting.
Numbers don’t lie. If employees are quitting your company en masse, it’s likely that your company has a toxic culture. The main causes of a toxic culture include a lack of adequate employee support, poor workplace flexibility, and little tolerance for employee mistakes.
Healing a toxic culture isn’t a day’s job, just as its development doesn’t happen overnight. Start by having a candid conversation with your employees and gather their views on the changes they’d like to see. Above all, create policies that promote employee support, fairness, diversity, and transparency.
2. Uncompetitive Compensation
The cost of living across the U.S. has been on a gradual rise over the past decade, and workers are feeling the pinch. Having a job that pays well above the living wage goes a long way.
If your organization isn’t paying salaries that are competitive in the industry, you aren’t doing your efforts to maintain a low employee turnover rate any favors. Your employees are always on the hunt for a better-paying job. They’ll jump ship as soon as an opportunity is available.
While it’s understandable that your business might be struggling financially as well, you have to find creative ways to support your employees. For example, if you can’t afford to give them an immediate raise, you can allow them to work remotely at least part of the time. Remote work can reduce their expenses.
3. Lack of Recognition
We love to be recognized. It’s human nature.
In the workplace, recognition helps employees feel valued and visible. As a result, they’re more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and less likely to be looking for the nearest exit. This guide on how to maintain employee satisfaction will give you more strategies.
Organizations that don’t have an employee rewards and recognition program typically record poor employee retention. If your company is in that group, it’s time to start doing things differently. Design and implement a recognition program and you’ll see fewer employees quitting.
High Employee Turnover Is Bad for Business
It takes a lot of effort to assemble a high-quality team of employees. However, simple mistakes like failing to recognize and reward them can undo your hard work and result in high employee turnover. Don’t let that happen.
Keep tabs on the business section of our blog for more workplace advice.
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