Reduce Turnover With These Ideas

Employee turnover can be costly and time-consuming for any business, particularly for human resources managers who may feel like they have a constant state of hiring. Taking time to vet job candidates, place job positions correctly and hire recruiters increases productivity costs and reduces revenue.

Hiring the right person the first time and increasing salaries helps to retain workers on a basic level. However, minor perks and office activities may lower your turnover rate more than you expect. Innovative ideas that lead to better employee satisfaction can mean people stay with your firm longer.

One in five American companies allow pets at work, including tech giant Google. A survey by American Pet Products claims 46 million employees work longer hours with their pets at the office, 50 million people believe pets at work help to bond with coworkers and 55 million Americans think pets lead to more workplace creativity. Improve employee turnover simply by becoming a pet-friendly company.

Use referral hiring more often. When someone refers an employee to the company based on previous contact, chances are the person referring the potential candidate already has a personal relationship with the future employee. People who already know each other tend to get along better, which fosters teamwork at the office and reduces employee turnover. Referral hiring also lowers the time it takes to bring someone on board. A study conducted by ERE.net showed that 45 percent of employees hired this way stayed with a company more than two years, compared to just 20 percent hired through job boards.

Make the work day more like a game to keep things more fun at the office. Gamification, or turning non-game activities into game-like simulations, may reduce employee turnover and increase engagement. Leaderboards, competitions and teamwork encourage workers to think creatively, get more done and accomplish company goals. Do not forget to incentivize employees for reaching goals.

Import food to the office. Even smaller companies can afford to bring healthy foods or snacks to the workplace occasionally, because employees who have access to free meals that are good for them are healthier, work better and remain in good moods throughout the day. Reducing employee turnover is all about creating an environment where people actually enjoy coming to work every day, and people who find food at work tend to remain instead of looking for work elsewhere.

Flexible work arrangements lead to greater job satisfaction and less turnover because workers have more freedom. Employees feel that a flexible company is watching out for their best interests, and workers will reciprocate. Flexibility includes better time-off policies, working-from-home options and better family-leave arrangements.

A low turnover rate does not necessarily mean your company's culture is the reason employees stay longer. A poor economy, lack of better jobs elsewhere or employee laziness may lead to lower turnover. When turnover is low, it is a perfect time to examine your company's hiring and retention practices to see what you can improve.

Employee turnover occurs no matter what, and there is no remedy that alleviates the stress of workers who leave the company. Changing the company culture, often in ways that cost very little money, can reduce hiring expenses, help your company to retain more workers and raise profits.

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