Two Ways to Reduce Turnover in Your Office

Turnover can be detrimental to a company – especially if the turnover never seems to stop. There are several effective ways to reduce turnover, and they all involve various management skills. So if your company suffers from high turnover rates, these two tips will help you address the issues and reduce their negative impacts.

Keep an Eye Out for Burnout

Employee burnout is a sign of a few things: poor management, too heavy of a workload, and underappreciation – and these are just a few! As a manager, it is vital to keep an eye out for overworked employees. Some signs of employee burnout are decreased productivity, lowered enthusiasm, more frequent absences or late arrival, and isolation.

If you take the time to monitor these in your employees, and you address them when they start becoming an issue, then your employees will be grateful that you cared enough to tell them “it’s okay to take a break.” But addressing the issue is not the same as resolving it. Simply telling an employee “I noticed your productivity is down this month,” will not fix the problem. Ask the employee what they think is causing the problem, then find a solution together.

Other ways to get a hold of employee burnout are being supportive, giving consistent feedback, monitoring employees’ workloads, allowing water-cooler talk, increasing compensation, and listening to your employees.

Communicate

Your employees don’t need to know everything that’s going on in the company, but if it’s relevant to them and their day to day work, it’s best to keep them in the know. Employees like to be kept in the loop; if they aren’t performing well, let them know! Don’t wait until they’re on very thin ice to tell them their work performance needs to improve. Be upfront with them, don’t mince words to spare feelings, and be honest and professional.

To grow professionally, employees need feedback. If they did really well as the leader of a project, let them know! If they are lacking in some areas, they need to know that too. Feedback is essential to employee growth. This includes acknowledging their accomplishments. It’s reassuring to know their efforts have been noticed and appreciated; it will also encourage them to continue working hard and improving their skillset.

Don’t expect your employees to read your mind. If you want something from them, tell them! It is always a safer bet to fully inform your employees of what you want and when you want it than to assume they know exactly what you want. This way, there is no confusion on either end; your employees will be thankful for it.

If you’re working on projects, don’t forget to tell your employees – when appropriate. If you’re spending your time preparing a big change and then suddenly make that change without giving your employees a heads up, it won’t only frustrate and annoy them, but it will also make them question how much you trust them.

Effective communication and monitoring employee burnout are just the stepping stones to reducing turnover. They can also eliminate other problems your company may be facing! High turnover rates aren’t good for business, so listen to your colleagues and address problems instead of hoping they just go away.