Reduce Employee Turnover through Meaningful Engagement Strategies:

Employee turnover is one of the costliest issues organizations face. A Gallup article states that US businesses lose over $1 trillion (trillion) dollars each year because of employee turnover.

It’s not only about hiring, retraining, and the time spent getting new hires up to speed. The cost of turnover includes losing valuable, innovative talent – your problem solvers and creative force that drive the business. Organizations are bleeding money, yet such a costly problem is almost completely avoidable.

Through meaningful employee engagement activities, strategies, and programs, your organization can reduce turnover and attract new talent. Be the place where people want to work.

Here are 5 tips on how to reduce employee turnover:

1. It starts with management. Engagement is usually a management issue. Yes. People quit their managers. Frontline workers often only have access to their direct manager. Middle managers play a critical role in keeping employees engaged. Diagnose management problems early on, ideally with an engagement survey. Support new managers and provide continued education opportunities for all managers to access leadership training, coaching, and other important soft skills workshops.

2. Don’t wait for the exit interview. Feedback and communication should be multi-directional, candid, consistent, and actionable. Ask the right questions to get honest feedback (How can we make meetings more effective? What can I do to make your job easier? What resources would improve your job?) Set aside one-on-one time with employees to check in. Be on time. Be prepared. Take notes. Listen to what your employees have to say.

3. Establish development and growth opportunities. Managers should know, early on, what the professional and personal goals are of each of their employees and how the work they are assigned can help support that growth. Prioritize employee development. Provide employees with opportunities to attend workshops and conferences. Work across departments to have employees learn about other aspects of the organization. Provide opportunities for employees to meet with senior management.

4. Act on employee feedback. If employees are taking the time to give feedback and constructive criticism and nothing happens, next time they’re presented with an opportunity to give feedback, they’ll probably pass. Take action. Engage HR in helping turn feedback into actions. Better yet, meet with teams to develop action plans to tackle issues in the organization. Then work with communications to communicate the actions that will be or have been taken. (See point number 2).

5. Compensation counts. Your compensation plan must be up-to-date and address the needs of your employees. What motivates your team: Access to an early childcare program or partnership with a sports facility? Remote work opportunities (prepare for this because people are happy at home)? Flexible scheduling? Understand the diverse cultural needs of your employees. Communicate salaries, compensation, and bonuses with employees. Finally, compensation must be competitive with the market and the region. People have bills to pay.

When your organization prioritizes its most valuable asset – human talent – and comes up with meaningful engagement activities, strategies, and ideas to engage collaborators, you will reduce turnover and attract new talent. This turns into savings, productivity, and profit.

Engagement matters.