One of the key challenges for any business, regardless of its sector of operations, is to attempt to reduce employee churn. Employee churn is the name given when a staff member leaves an organization to pursue another form of employment or seek a new career. It is commonly measured by comparing the proportion of employees that leave the organization in a given period.
While it is an accepted part of business that employees may leave to pursue other career options, the levels of employee churn should be kept as low as possible in any organization. This is because it results in higher recruitment costs to replace the staff members, along with the need to train new starters so that they can perform effectively in the workplace.
Put simply, high levels of employee churn can add additional costs to a business and make it less competitive in the long term. In this article, three ways in which employee churn can be reduced will be discussed.
Offer healthcare benefits cards
In recent years there has been a growing recognition that employees want more than just a regular source of income in their employment. Offering a comprehensive employee benefits package for new starters and existing staff can be an excellent way to retain employees and minimize future recruitment costs. One key part of this overall package is for businesses to offer their staff a healthcare benefits card that can be used when purchasing healthcare products or services such as optician’s fees or dental care. This type of card offers incentives for staff to use certain providers, and you can click here to look at the benefits comparison of different types of this card. All employees place high importance on their healthcare needs and those of their families, so providing this type of benefit can be an extremely attractive proposition for many staff members.
Bespoke training and mentoring
Another key way to retain your most talented staff members is to offer them training packages and forms of one-to-one mentoring that allow them to reach their own career and learning goals. In fact, it is now widely recognized that the millennial generation puts a value on mentoring and training that goes above that of previous generations. Millennials seek feedback on a regular basis so that they can improve their working practices. When it is considered that the millennial generation will form the largest proportion of the worldwide workforce over the coming years, it is important to offer them training and mentoring solutions that allow them to develop their careers and reach their goals.
Recruit internally for top positions
Many companies look to external candidates when recruiting for some of the top positions in their organization. They do this to benefit from a wider pool of suitable candidates and to ensure that they hire an expert in the specific field of work. While this practice is understandable, it can also have a negative impact on the motivation and retention of existing staff members. Put simply, if an organization hires externally for key positions, it is demonstrating that there are not sufficient internal promotion opportunities for existing staff and that long-term career options may be limited. It can be far more beneficial to combine high-quality training and career development programs with internal recruiting for top jobs. By doing this, an organization will develop its own selection of candidates for future senior positions and retain more staff.
