It Pays to Reduce Staff Turnover

out in the cold

An engaged workforce will commit to the cause, work harder and save you money in the long run.

Good Business Message

An engaged workforce will commit to the cause, work harder and save you money in the long run.

Staff turnover, employee churn, revolving door syndrome… whatever you call it, it pays to minimise it. Ok, so there are always going to be some people that come and go, or even some for whom an exit would be a positive event for everyone else; but on the whole keeping hold of staff is a good business idea. The key to retaining staff? Well, aside from the basics of paying your people a responsible wage and treating them like respected humans, engaging your workforce in stimulating activities is likely to make them feel connected to your company and demonstrate increased job performance.

Staff turnover - girl leaving with bagsApparently, Australia has quite a high level of engagement as far as international comparisons go, with an ‘engaged versus disengaged’ ratio of around 1.5 to 1, but is that really good? According to a Gallup study from 2013 (summarised nicely here), 16% of Australian workers are actively disengaged (read as purposefully being a menace around the workplace), 24% are engaged, and the rest are just going through the motions. Now compare the average Australian ‘engaged versus disengaged’ ratio to that of Google, with a monstrous ratio of 9.57:1, or to some sort of theoretical ideal of 8:1, and it appears there is some cause for concern.

All is not lost, however, as we have reported before, simple activities like volunteering opportunities, thoughtful workplace giving, and effective training programs are among the many ways a business can give their employees what they want. What’s more, the business case for investing in employees’ happiness  is most certainly a positive one. Of course, the magnitude of this case depends on who you listen to, but although some stats from this popular post on LinkedIn may be a bit speculative, even the bottom end costs – $12000 for a low level employee – are formidable!

The conclusion then… look after your staff and keep them engaged, and they will repay you with commitment and ultimately cash.

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