Why now’s the time to think about turnover (no, really)
November 25, 2009 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Hiring, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Retention and turnover
Sure, employees are clinging to the jobs they have, and you probably have few worries about people baling any time soon. Under those circumstances, most companies aren’t worried about turnover. And those companies are about to get blindsided.
That’s the word from HR consultant Right Management, which posed the following question to 904 workers across the country:
“Do you plan to pursue new job opportunities as the economy improves in 2010?”
The responses:
- 60% — Yes, I intend to leave
- 21% — Maybe; I’m networking
- 6% — Not likely, but I’ve updated my resume, and
- 13% — No, I intend to stay
Douglas Matthews, Right Management’s COO, said the poll was evidence that “while employers may have taken the necessary steps to remain viable, it appears many employees have felt neglected in the process. The result is a disengaged and disgruntled workforce.”
What will it take to keep these folks around? Career advancement opportunities, work/life balance programs (think flex scheduling) and “working for an innovative company culture,” according to Matthews.
Are your workers “disengaged and disgruntled”? Are you doing anything extra to boost morale — and retention — these days? Let us know in the comments section below.
Tags: retention, right management, turnover
December 1st, 2009 at 11:52 am
No we are not doing anything extra. Does anybody have any low budget ideas for a construction company with around 100 employees? Flex scheduling is not an option.
December 1st, 2009 at 3:31 pm
I would suggest offering something that won’t cost you a penny. Make sure the owner, supervisors, and coworkers (internal customers) know how to recognize your employees. Sometimes it’s as simple as saying thanks or asking if they need any help. Common courtesy and appreciating effort can go a long way in rewarding most employees. Good luck!
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:17 am
Vivian, I agree with Nire. Showing employees you care about them and appreciate their efforts goes a long way. There are some other things you can do that don’t cost a lot of money. Try a monthly pizza party during lunch break. It can be tied to a goal acheived or just as a way of saying thanks and the cost is minimal. Make sure management attends! Create a program that ties safety and attendance together. We used a program called ASAP (Attendance and Safety Always Pay). For every week we went without a lost time accident we had a weekly drawing for $125 the following week. If the name drawn had perfect attendance for the same week (previous week) they received $125. If they didn’t have perfect attendance the money carried over into the following week. The total cost for a year was $6,500, a small price to pay for creating more safety awareness, reduced abseentism, reduced workers comp, etc. It worked at our company. Be creative, ask for input from others. You’ll be surprised how little things that don’t cost a lot go a long way towards creating increased job satisfaction. Best of luck!
December 7th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Vivian, another thought is donuts weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. We have a company dinner about every 3 months. Before the recession it was every 2 months. Hamburger and brats and sweet corn, chicken, chili and chicken noodle soup, and a potluck Christmas dinner with some employees contributing $ for someone to cook and shred pork for bbq pork sandwichs. I would agree with Nire and SteveK, common courtsey, respect, and a ‘hi, how are you’ goes a very long ways. I hope it helps!
December 7th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I agree with all of the above. We actually do a grocery shopping every monday to supply our staff with food for lunch every day. Of course we are a smaller company with a full kitchen and this does not work for larger companies. We also saw that a lot of emplyees were requesting Dec 24th and Dec 31st as a vacation day or half day so we decided to make each of those days an additional paid holiday so they could have extra time with their family. We are also very flexible for staff with children who would like to attend school functions or kids sport events. The staff will work extra on other days or arrive early to make sure their work is completed. We give out some small cash incentives ($50-$100) at times to show our appreciation for all of their hard work and dedication and even though we went thru some radical pay cuts I have not seen any drop in morale due to the other incentives and special considerations for the employees and their families. Everyone was willing to work thru these tough economic times together as a team.