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Fixing high turnover rates in your company

Topics: Retention
As you probably know and most likely have witnessed first hand, there’s the kind of turnover that has you secretly celebrating on the way back to your office and the type that you just hate to see happen. When you find yourself in the position of the latter all too often, it may be time to evaluate what no one likes to think about but what everyone feels the affects of: high turnover in your company. It’s costly, time consuming, decreases productivity, can affect morale and overall, is bad news for your organization. When you reach the point where it’s no longer a question of if someone you really need will move on to greener pastures but instead a matter of when and who is next, it’s time to make changes.

The high and the low, the good and the bad

In order to know that turnover has become a problem, you must first understand not only what is considered average but also what types of turnover to be concerned about. Most consider a healthy turnover rate to be at or below 15 percent, with no concern warranted with a percentage of that amount. In fact, a certain degree of turnover is not only normal but also healthy for an organization. This is because good turnover means that employees are desirable, failure to meet expectation isn’t simply overlooked and better-equipped employees can be brought in to fill the position of someone who wasn’t advancing the company. The bad turnover, however, is a completely different story and must be controlled in order to operate efficiently and without blowing through budgets.

Stop the trend of high turnover with these three strategies:

Keep it real

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Getting the right person for the position starts with being open, honest and upfront about the position, how it fits in the organization and the expectations. Ensure that the job description you share is representative of the position, the company’s management style and the culture of the organization. The truth will eventually come out, so save the time and trouble or replacing an employee down the road by starting off on the right foot.

Value their presence

When employees are treated as just another cog in the wheel, they feel it. It’s important to show them they matter by recognizing good work, being respectful of their time, providing growth opportunities and more. It’s not enough to pay a good salary. It requires you to think about how each employee specifically fits in the organization and how that affects their long-term career.

Foster a culture of teamwork

Regardless of whether or not the work your company does must be done individually or within a group, fostering a culture of teamwork is one of the most powerful things you can do. It helps co-workers and supervisor to develop friendly relationships, which is one of the most significant components of recognition, encourages brainstorming and voicing ideas and gets everyone pulling in the same direction rather than an every-man-for-himself culture.

What other improvements have you made in your organization to improve turnover rates? Let us know in the comments section below.

Get the full story on turnover with this complete guide from PayScale: Turnover, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Jessica Miller-Merrell
Read more from Jessica

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