Employee turnover is painfully expensive, disruptive to the productivity of your team, and sometimes even detrimental to your company culture.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that on average, across all industries, the average annual turnover rate in the United States ranges from 12 to 15 percent every year. To put it into context, a company of 100 people will most likely lose 15 employees this year. Managing the departure and replacement of someone new every month would be a strain on daily operations, which is why establishing employee retention systems throughout your company is a crucial investment to both your short and long term success.
How to Calculate Your Company’s Employee Turnover Rate
You can’t manage what you can’t measure, right? Understanding your company’s unique employee turnover rate is critical to know if the employee retention systems you build are having an impact.
Calculate your employee turnover rate for last year by dividing the number of employees who left last year by the average number of employees at your company. Here’s how to put the formula into action if you had an average of 150 employees and 18 of them quit last year: 18/150 = 0.12 = 12%.
6 Employee Retention Systems You Can Invest in Today
While employee turnover is no doubt inevitable, there are plenty of ways to prevent a wave of people quitting and avoid the constant reassigning of new hires to roles that just can’t seem to stick. Consider these employee retention systems both as tools to elevate the employee experience at your company and pillars of your culture that demonstrate just how much you value the people who support your mission day in and day out.
Career Pathing
If employees can’t foresee a future at your company, they’ll leave. Collaborative career pathing pairs managers and employees to build out a long-term plan for an employee’s growth, development, and career trajectory according to the employee’s interests and the company’s objectives. Here’s how you can implement collaborative career pathing at your company.
Reverse Mentoring
Rather than asking managers to advise employees, reverse mentoring empowers employees to pitch their ideas and provide feedback on everything from team processes and company policies to product enhancements and special projects. This practice will not only help you boost employee satisfaction, but you’ll also invest in the right initiatives that will have the greatest impact on your staff. Learn how you can create a culture that thrives on reverse mentoring.
Parent-Minded Policies
Working parents are on-duty 24/7, so thinking about how your company can ensure their personal wellness and professional growth is important if you aim to retain them. Policies that enable parents to more easily accommodate last-minute schedule changes and care for themselves while balancing work responsibilities can result in better outcomes for everyone. Check out 8 ways you can support the parents who dedicate their careers to the success of your business.
On-the-Clock Social Programs
Establishing programs that encourage employees to feel personally connected with your company is a retention strategy that’s contagious in a good way. When you offer social perks to employees at the office, they’re more likely to band together and participate as a team, which results in an increased ROI to the program from the start. Not sure where to begin? Take a temperature check by sending out a survey to see which types of programs they’d be most likely to leverage or check out the big benefits that a wellness or volunteer program can offer.
Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
Fostering an inclusive, equitable work environment is not only key to retaining your employees, but also to the growth of your business. In addition to increasing employee satisfaction and attracting prospective candidates, recent studies show that diverse teams are more innovative, and in turn, more likely to boost your bottom line. Read up on the statistics that are causing more and more companies to consider a culture shift toward diversity, along with how you can cultivate diversity and inclusion in your office today.
Employee Referral Program
Your employees would enjoy the opportunity to spend their days working with talented friends, family members, and former colleagues, so standing up an employee referral program is easier than you think. Not to mention, your company’s recruiters will rejoice at the overflowing pipeline they’ll develop just by encouraging employees to let them know who they think would make the perfect fit for your open positions. Invite your employees to shape the future of your office community. Here’s how you can start an employee referral program that makes everyone happy.