How to tackle staff turnover

Losing employees is never a good thing, especially during periods of talent shortages. That’s why stamping out turnover and boosting retention is crucial.

The state of employee turnover was discussed by Cendex in its 2023 Labour Turnover Report. According to the research, one in seven employees resigned in the past year, as the voluntary labour turnover hit 13.8 per cent.

The public and non-profit sectors were the worst hit by resignations. There were a variety of challenges causing this, but the top headaches for businesses were:

• Keeping salaries competitive in the job market.
• Managing hybrid working preferences and working environment.
• Providing employee progression opportunities.
• Managing wellbeing issues, including stress, burnout and work/life balance challenges.

In the current volatile job market, retention should be a paramount concern. While it is easier said than done, organisations can ensure they’re doing the most to keep workers around by maintaining happiness and engagement.

Cendex highlighted some of the top areas being used to boost employee retention:

1. Review exit interviews/leavers data (69.7 per cent)
2. Employee benefits (68 per cent)
3. Pay, reward or recognition (66.9 per cent)
4. Employee wellbeing initiatives (65.7 per cent)
5. Onboarding processes (65.1 per cent)
6. Line manager training (62.3 per cent)
7. Review engagement surveys (60.6 per cent)
8. Hybrid or flexible working options (60.6 per cent)

Many of these areas can be implemented with little money or training. Taking a step back to review processes and supporting workers through these sorts of initiatives can help alleviate turnover by maximising retention.

Conducting an employee turnover data analysis can be a great way to identify issues within businesses. According to AIHR, it’s a “process that involves collecting data, analysing, and reporting HR data to help understand a company’s turnover rate. Employee turnover data analysis helps you break turnover data down and get insights into what turnover looks like in your company.”

The three main areas you can determine through this analysis are:

1. The number and rate of employees that leave.
2. The financial impact turnover has on your organisation.
3. The turnover risk among your existing employees.

This can be used to create retention strategies and keep skilled workers around. So, how can organisations best conduct an employee turnover data analysis? AIHR said the eight key steps are:

1. Gather your data and tools.
2. Distinguish between voluntary and involuntary turnover.
3. Split the data into subcategories (intersectionality).
4. Enrich data by speaking to those who leave.
5. Find the root of the problem.
6. Look into the cost of turnover.
7. Prepare an employee turnover report.
8. Take action.

Jack Campbell

Jack is the editor at HR Leader.