How to Lower Staff Turnover

Staff turnover can be a major distraction for the manager. While the departure of certain employees can bring a welcome sigh of relief to the supervisor, a revolving door of employees can lead to general instability within the organization. When many people are walking out the door, something is going wrong, and it must be addressed. Seeking out, hiring, and training new employees is expensive and time-consuming and it must be done all over again if the employee doesn't work out or they themselves decide to leave. Therefore, managers must be ready to address staff turnover. Here are a few thoughts on strategies and techniques.

Assess motivation

One key thing a manager must do is figure out what motivates their employees. Unfortunately, some managers simply don't care what their employees want and just assume they should be grateful to have jobs. Other managers misunderstand their employees and assume that whatever motivates the manager must be the same thing that motivates the employee. Each person is different, and while a supervisor can't give each employee their "heart's desire", they can at least try to figure out what drives that particular person and adjust accordingly.

Survey says...

If people aren't willing to share their opinions openly for fear of retribution, it may be appropriate to administer an anonymous survey. Some employees may suspect that nothing is truly anonymous but others may see it as an opportunity to share what they are "really" feeling about the organization. Reading these sorts of surveys can be tough for a manager because there may be criticism on all sorts of levels. However, it is a crucial exercise for the organization that truly wants to improve by listening to their employees.

Get people involved

Another way to help with turnover is to get more people involved in processes and decision-making. Again, this can make things more complicated and sometimes employees don't have a lot of great things to contribute. However, sometimes managers struggle with their staff because they hold tightly to organizational control. This makes their employees feel isolated and "out of the loop." The staff may feel like they are simply cogs in the machine and not valued employees. Therefore, dialogue and involvement may be a part of lowering staff turnover.

Make things fun

Work is still work and it can't be all fun and games. However, the workplace doesn't have to be the "center of the boredom universe" either. Sometimes managers have to throw a party, take people out to lunch, bring in some doughnuts, or just take a break to do something fun. Again, this doesn't mean the manager has to surrender the office and never be productive again, but it does mean that people sometimes have to relax and unwind a bit.

Pay attention

Finally, the quality manager is the person that pays attention to their employees. All of these ideas may work just fine but they are not guaranteed to create success. Everyone in the office is different, and understanding the "chemistry" of the employees is the biggest challenge for a manager. That means that the effective supervisor will pay attention, listen attentively, and be ready to make adjustments. The biggest obstacle for some managers is their own ego. Only when they set their ego aside will they have a chance to lower staff turnover.