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Leadership Lesson

Fix Employee Attrition: It’s Not as Difficult as You Think

Fix Employee Attrition: It's Not as Difficult as You Think

Employee retention is the most important topic for managers and management in 2022.

INTRODUCTION

Post-COVID, companies are reporting extreme rates of attrition. According to one of the most extensive surveys of the global workforce, one in five workers plans to quit their jobs in 2022. Of course, some of those happen because of demand and supply and the force multiplier of salaries. But 90% of the other attritions are fixable and can be fixed with a focus on a few areas.

Each company has a different way of retaining employees. For example, some companies pay well but don’t give freedom and flexibility; some give freedom but don’t pay well; some respect their employees but don’t provide training or tools needed for success; some provide training and tools but do not give freedom/flexibility, etc.

In short, there are many moving parts because of which an employee can feel demotivated. Here are the ten areas that can address 90% of the scenarios.

  1. Have role clarity for each member of your team
  2. Respect the individual irrespective of their job/ level
  3. Skill each team member for role and success
  4. Shift to remote working/ flexible work arrangements
  5. Provide requisite tools to succeed
  6. Build a culture of trust and positivity
  7. Give employees adequate freedom
  8. Have formal reviews monthly/ quarterly
  9. Help them build their career plan
  10. Build positivity and abundance

EACH MEMBER OF YOUR TEAM

Role clarity is the foundation of a successful team. It helps each member understand their role in the group, what they are responsible for, and what their teammates are doing. When they have role clarity, there are clear expectations about how to do their job and where they fit into the bigger picture. This reduces stress, leads to better communication, and helps avoid misunderstandings or confusion among team members.

It also means providing clear guidance on who’s responsible for what tasks so there aren’t any surprises when an employee has a question about their responsibilities at work—or if they need help with anything.

RESPECT THE INDIVIDUAL IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR JOB/ LEVEL

Everyone is a human being. Each human being expects respect. Each of those in your company – the ones with less education or experience than others, those on a different pay scale, those who do their jobs differently than others—are all human beings with feelings and emotions like you and me!

For us as leaders to create an environment where employees want to stay, we must stop seeing people solely as job titles or salary levels. Instead, we look at each employee as an individual with their unique background and personality traits that make up who they are as an employee (and as a person).

It will become easier for us to keep them engaged and retain them long-term as necessary. The key here is respecting employees irrespective of their role/job title within the organization; showing them that they matter regardless of whether they’re “at the top” or “at the bottom” should be something we emphasize continually for this approach to work properly.

SKILL EACH TEAM MEMBER FOR BOTH ROLE AND SUCCESS

To stay competitive, you need to focus on building the skills of each of your team members. Skills are the foundation of a career; without them, an employee cannot succeed at their job – here or anywhere. And unable to do their job well leads to stress and frustration.

Skills can be broken down into two categories: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills can be taught in a workshop or through on-the-job training. These include technical training such as computer operation or job functions like managing a restaurant or performing surgery.

On the other hand, soft skills are those learned through coaching and often require practice to become effective in the workplace. Examples include communication skills (both written and verbal), teamwork, problem-solving ability, and adaptability.

SHIFT TO REMOTE WORKING/ FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS

Research shows that remote workers can be two to four times more effective than office-based employees. Employees are more productive. Employees are happier. According to a recent study at Winona State University[1], “employees who work remotely report having significantly higher job satisfaction and engagement than in-office employees.”

Employees are more engaged with their work tasks and company overall (because of increased happiness). They also report feeling less stress about juggling their responsibilities as parents/family members/spouses when they can take care of these things at home. Employees have better work-life balance

PROVIDE REQUISITE ‘TOOLS’ TO SUCCEED

Tools are vital to helping your employees succeed in their roles, careers, and lives. These can include:

  • Providing training on how to do their jobs well
  • Giving feedback, so they know what they’re doing right or wrong
  • Mentoring or coaching that helps them meet their goal

BUILD A CULTURE OF TRUST AND POSITIVITY

Trust is the foundation of every relationship. If people don’t trust each other, they can’t work together effectively. If you want employees to communicate openly and honestly, everyone needs to feel that their voices are heard.

The best way to foster trust is through effective management. That means making time for coaching sessions, offering constructive criticism without being critical, and not holding employees back from reaching their goals because they’re “not ready.”

Focus on positivity rather than negativity; focus on solutions rather than problems; celebrate successes instead of dwelling on failures.

GIVE EMPLOYEES ADEQUATE FREEDOM

When you give employees the freedom to make their own decisions, they’ll feel more ownership over their work. They’ll also appreciate that you trust them with the ability to accomplish tasks without oversight.

Giving your workers opportunities for growth is one of the most important things you can do as a leader (and it’s especially effective when it involves letting them fail). For example, you might try giving employees projects requiring them to take on new roles or responsibilities or simply giving them autonomy in performing their jobs. This gives people ownership over what they’re doing, improving how well they do it—thus reducing attrition rates!

HAVE FORMAL REVIEWS MONTHLY/ QUARTERLY

It would help if you had formal reviews with your employees at least once a month. Good managers will do this, but many don’t. You can also use quarterly reviews to check in on progress or give feedback on how things are going.

The purpose of the review is not just to grade them but to share information and express appreciation for what they’re doing well while offering suggestions for improvement. This also helps you understand their strengths, weaknesses, and goals as individuals so that you can help them grow as employees and leaders within your organization (more about this later).

Reviews should be done by managers both individually and collectively: one-on-one with each employee; in team meetings with everyone present; or even during board meetings if there’s enough time allocated for such discussions

HELP THEM BUILD THEIR CAREER PLAN

  • Help them build a career plan. Help your employees understand what they need to do to develop their careers and how you can support them. Ask them to define their brand, and identify the skills they need to build and areas where they want to grow professionally.
  • Could you explain what you expect from them? Make sure that your employees have a clear understanding of what is expected of them at work, how they will be evaluated on their performance, and how this tie into the larger goals of the organization.

BUILD POSITIVITY AND ABUNDANCE

Positivity, abundance, and gratitude are the unspoken foundations of a workplace environment that will keep employees feeling valued and stimulated. To ensure your team stays happy, fostering a positive mindset in all aspects of your business is essential. While there will always be adverse events in the current dynamic world,  there is still room for hope and positivity within your organization. People want to feel appreciated and supported by their coworkers and their jobs to be fun!

Celebrate accomplishments often—and make sure everyone knows about them! Even though employee attrition may seem inevitable at times because of external factors like increased pay,  there are things you can do as a manager to reduce these problems before they get out of hand.

CONCLUSION

It is essential to understand that these steps are not an end, but a means to develop an organizational culture where employees will feel empowered and want to stay with your company. The key takeaway is that employee attrition can be avoided if organizations recognize their role in creating a positive work environment for their employees.


[1] https://openriver.winona.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1069&context=leadershipeducationcapstones

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