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10 Steps To Fixing High Employee Turnover

Forbes Coaches Council
POST WRITTEN BY
Expert Panel, Forbes Coaches Council

At the core of every prospering business is a happy and fulfilled team of people who are committed to carrying out the company mission and ensuring its success. When you create an environment in which your employees can thrive, they often feel more motivated to help your business thrive as well.

But what happens when your employees seem to be leaving one after another? High employee turnover can not only take up time and resources, but can also negatively impact your company culture. The following Forbes Coaches Council leaders offer their expert tips on how to solve this problem.

Photos courtesy of the individual members.

1. Offer A Neutral Ear

Turnover is costly! It's time to bring in a neutral ear for exit interviews and focus groups to uncover the problem. You need to demonstrate the willingness to hear what the underlying problems are, and to tackle them, whatever and wherever in the organization they might be. - Brian Gorman, TransformingLives.Coach

2. Use Engagement Surveys

The most important thing a leader can do to prevent high turnover is to use engagement surveys to let people anonymously give their feedback to management and then act on it. When employees feel their voice is being heard and their opinion matters, they feel part of the tribe. Keep your tribe loyal by giving them a way to express their frustrations and suggestions. - John Livesay, The Pitch Whisperer

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3. Audit And Adjust Your Hiring Strategy

Look back to the beginning of your employees' life-cycle and audit each phase of your hiring process. Ask yourself and your team: Are we sourcing and hiring candidates who have the requisite skills and motivation? Are we finding who fits into our company's culture? Are new hires aware of the challenges they will experience in their role? Set people up for success at the start so they don't leave. - Loren Margolis, Training & Leadership Success LLC

4. Tell And Show Commitment

First and foremost, a leader should clearly communicate about her recognition of the turnover problem, her vision for the team and her commitment to work on it. Next, demonstrate it by talking to as many employees at different levels across functions as possible. Then dedicate resources to gather more data, analyze them, come up with both a short-term and long-term action plan and execute them. - Amy Nguyen, Happiness Infinity LLC

5. Dig Into The Data

The most important thing to do is NOT make gut-based assumptions. There are so many reasons that correlate to high turnover. Don't assume it's the managers or their inability to select talent. Dig into some data and figure out when and where the turnover rate took a nosedive. What happened during that time? Validate the findings with the employees and involve them in making course corrections. - Kelah Raymond, HR Defined

6. Make Sure Your Vision Is Meaningful

As a leader, it is your responsibility to see more and see ahead of your team! But it is essential that what you see inspires your organization and doesn’t just lead to good bottom-line results. To create an inspiring vision, you need to take into account your team and your clients. Make sure your vision shows they can trust you, you can help them and that you genuinely care. - Peter Jansen, Radio Latino Inc

7. Take A Look At Your Leadership

Start with the managers. Review every managerial position, because people leave managers, not companies. Not every manager is good at managing people; you must find the right fit in order to right the ship. Are your managers influencing, inspiring and leading the people they manage? If so, are you creating opportunities for them to be trained and coached to become even better managers? - Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience

8. Check Your Company Culture

It may be time to take a look at the company’s culture. How are you running the business? Are you communicating how much you value your team? Are employees engaged and getting the support they need? If any of these are a no, that could be the problem. Employees need to feel motivated, valued and fulfilled to be happy at the company, and company culture is the biggest factor in those efforts. - Andy Bailey, Petra Coach

9. Show You Care

Employees who feel appreciated are more resilient, engaged and less likely to leave. Here are some ways to appreciate your employees: 1. Listen, I mean really listen. 2. Acknowledge them. Tell them what you see in them that they may not see in themselves. 3. Let them play to their strengths. People who get to use their strengths are six times more likely to be engaged according to Gallup. - Kimberly Roush, All-Star Executive Coaching

10. Communicate Purpose And Value

High turnover is an indicator that employees do not feel connected to the organization. Leaders can immediately start engaging employees and let them know how they have a role in the purpose of the organization by communicating their value in emails, meetings and conversations. Establishing an emotional connection with employees can help pull the business together and create a lasting bond. - Jonathan Silk, Bridge 3 LLC

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