It is possible that many companies think early turnover is just “the cost of doing business.” My recent work with the U.S. Census Bureau makes clear that there are fewer new workers coming our way, so I think it is time that we get a lot smarter about who we hire and how we retain them. Here are four ideas that I promise will work because if you don’t address it now, turnover may just cost you your business.
Relying too heavily on survey vendor data can lead to misleading conclusions on your employee engagement numbers and benchmark comparisons. Instead, focus on tracking performance against your own historical metrics. It’s also essential to highlight the financial impact of turnover in clear terms—dollars, not just percentages—driving leadership toward real, actionable solutions.
Recently I’ve seen two examples of organizations essentially saying that increased turnover is unavoidable and then proposed work-around plans with no proven track records. In fact these voices are saying that entire industries, supply chain management and nursing, have no fix for turnover and they should waive a white flag of surrender.
Who is taking the lead to initiate reporting and accountability for nursing home employee turnover? Our U.S. government. Imagine what we could learn if all healthcare companies reported turnover data.
This is a startling statement from the normally conservative Wall Street Journal. The pandemic has been the universal game-changer such that American’s work habits and work values changed in ways comparable to having experienced a war.
“The things that destroy love and marriage often disguise themselves as unimportant. They’re not bombs and gunshots. They’re pinpricks. They’re paper cuts.” The common thinking about why employees quit is usually pay, benefits, career paths, and other broad one-size-fits-all expressions. The reality though is that many employees are quitting their jobs today because of the hundreds of paper cuts by their direct supervisors.
My professional passion for cutting turnover began decades ago with my CEO saying words that HR professionals, dread: “Turnover is high so HR, go fix it.” Looking back, I knew then that I had learned a lesson mostly unknown across HR circles.
The highly-respected Gallagher 2023 Workforce Trends Report survey of 4,000+ organizations says that employee retention remains priority #1. Not only did 66% of HR executives say so, but more than half of operations executives did as well. So businesses who must get product out the door now see turnover as their main obstacle, just as nurse turnover drives patient-care shortcomings and ever-increasing agency costs.
When employees seek support regarding any of their daily employee needs, their supervisor is their go-to source. First-line supervisors drive no less than 50% of turnover and 70% of engagement. Research and data support that if the boss is seen as trustworthy, the number of reasons to leave diminish significantly, including leaving for pay.
In a Forbes article, a manager shares the story of losing a top employee unexpectedly. The question arises as to why this happened, but by the time it's asked, it's already too late. This scenario is all too familiar for many managers who have experienced employees leaving without warning.