High staff turnover can be devastating to our organization. Even more if we are a startup and it has been difficult for us to get our dream team. Specifically, in the IT sector we top the rotation list with an average of approximately 13%, according to a study carried out by LinkedIn.
In this post I wanted to make a small introduction to some of the consequences of turnover in organizations and aspects to take into account to minimize it.
The consequences of turnover
I’ve been hit where it hurts the most
Among the main impacts of turnover is the waste of time and money. The more people leave our organization, the more staff, effort and resources it will take to find new candidates.
Even further, it takes at least 8 months for a new member to fit the organization and reach full performance.
If we take into account the economic cost of these two aspects, we’ll see that it is not negligible at all. Among recruitment, interviews and adaptation to the team, we will find ourselves in almost 1 year of invested effort.
The snowball
On the other hand, that people leave our organization is also a serious hit to morale. In our day-to-day we bond and build relationships with our co-workers, and it isn’t fun to see them go. And if the work climate already had some problems, the rotation only makes it worse.
In fact, a snowball effect may occur: some people leave, morale drops, the work climate deteriorates, more people leave, morale drops even more, etc.
What my clients feel
Your customer experience is your employee experience. A sentence with great potential. What it means is that how the members of our organization feel translates to how they interact, directly or indirectly, with our clients. From a customer service person, who interacts directly with them, to a developer who builds a better or worse product for them.
At its core, turnover reflects work climate problems that, if not resolved, will also affect our clients’ trust and satisfaction.
And, what can we do?
The perfect fit
Luckily, there are a few things that, if we pay attention to them, can help us keep rotation at bay. The first of these is the fit between people and the organization.
There is a widespread belief that anyone should fit into any organization. But that’s not true. Each person has their own way of being, principles and personal goals. And the same thing happens to organizations: they have their own culture, their mission and their vision.
And this can result in certain people only fitting into certain organizations. And it’s perfectly normal. There is nothing wrong with that. I’d rather say that it’s the opposite. Let’s focus on the best candidates, those who are really aligned with our organization. That they share it’s vision and ways of working. This way we’ll obtain the best results. They will be more comfortable and more productive and we will have to invest less in personnel turnover.
Proud of our work
We all like to feel satisfied and fulfilled knowing that we’ve done a great job. Focusing only on optimizing costs and neglecting minimum quality standards in the offered services can end up taking its toll.
On the other hand, no one wants to work tired, stressed or burdened. This is one of the main causes of turnover. Let’s ensure a sustainable work pace over time. It is normal to have workload peaks, but let’s avoid unnecessary overexertion. And many times we impose deadlines or efforts that are too ambitious and that will end up damaging the work climate.
And finally, let’s celebrate the achievements! It’s always nice to get our effort and achieved goals recognized. Let’s not just focus on what needs to be improved (as there will always be things to improve). Let’s put forward what we have achieved and then look for new ways to do it better.
Growing up together
And, as last suggestion to pay attention to keep talent within our organization: let’s ensure great personal and professional development for people.
And by development I don’t mean “going up the hierarchy.” This goes much further. Nobody likes to be completely stagnant. We all seek, to a greater or lesser extent, some diversity in our lives to reduce monotony.
Let’s find a way to make daily work offer new challenges and foster creativity and innovation. Let’s find out what every person you would like to do. What they would like to learn. What motivates them the most. And let’s transform that information into a training plan adapted to each person. This way we will ensure that this search for growth can go hand in hand with our organization, and that people really want to stay in it.
Summing up
We’ve seen that people turnover can be devastating, both economically and productively. But the good news is that we can keep it at bay with a little effort and paying attention to details such as the fit of people with the organization’s culture, satisfaction with the work done and personal and professional development.
Of course, each person and organization is different. I’ve discussed some of the main reasons for turnover and possible improvements to take into account, but this doesn’t prevent us from paying attention to other aspects of our organization.
And, as always, feel free to share your experiences and points of view with the community! It’s the best way to learn together. Also, if you want me to deep into a particular topic, let me know and I’ll be pleased to do so.
