In an economy with declining economic conditions, some consulting firms may shift from growth to survival mode, placing clients’ needs and people behind.
According to a report released by The Barton Partnership, more than a third (36%) of industry and consulting professionals intend to seek a new position during the next year.
In their next positions, consultants said they are looking for better salaries, more challenges and a better culture in the company.
Small and mid-size consulting firms must employ multiple strategies in order to ensure employee satisfaction, including creating an enjoyable working environment, offering professional development opportunities and meeting individual employee needs.
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What is Employee Turnover?
Turnover rate refers to the rate at which employees leave and must be replaced with new staff.
Employee turnover refers to the rate at which employees leave an organization and must be replaced, usually over an annual period. It’s expressed as a percentage. Turnover has an enormously negative effect on organizational performance.
What causes Employee Turnover?
- Burnout
Consulting services often overwork themselves, leading to overutilization. This becomes especially evident during peak seasons when niche-skilled resources become more scarce and schedules get stretched out more frequently than they would like. Overallocation/utilization can eventually cause stress and burnout leading to attrition among consultants and ultimately loss of talent in the form of attrition rates.
- No career advancement opportunities
Each consultant has individual goals and aspirations that they strive to fulfill through developing new skills and diversifying their careers. When there are no sufficient growth opportunities within an organization, employees may opt to leave it and find another employer offering better career advancement paths – this phenomenon is known as attrition.
- Lack of compensation packages
When companies fail to offer competitive salary scales and market standard compensation packages, consultants may become dissatisfied. Furthermore, discrepancies between pay for similar roles may cause even greater discontent, potentially prompting professionals to leave for another firm that offers greater financial growth potential.
- Failed management
Failing to establish effective leadership can create an unhappy work environment and break trust between management and employees. Micromanagement methods, such as frequent updates or not trusting teamwork can demotivate employees further. Eventually consultants may leave unexpectedly leading to attrition within your company.
How Consulting Business Can Tackle Employee Turnover?
When organizations fail to have a vibrant, intentional employee recognition program in place, the impact – including an increase in employee turnover – is large and far-reaching, not to mention expensive.
Businesses without an effective employee recognition program run the risk of experiencing high employee turnover and incurring other costly consequences.
Encourage positive workplace culture
Establish a culture of inclusivity, transparency, and support where all employees feel valued. Encourage employees to communicate freely and provide their input as feedback.
Consultants tend to leave consulting firms because of a perceived (or actual) lack of career development opportunities. Communication remains important even though such opportunities exist. In your recruitment marketing, present the opportunity in a positive light.
Offering competitive wages and benefits to your staff will allow for higher productivity levels.
Reward and acknowledge employees
One of the best ways to lower employee turnover is to demonstrate your appreciation and value them as individuals. Implement a comprehensive employee recognition program using technology to expand and extend recognition throughout your organization.
Employee recognition enhances work environments by creating more human connections in organizations, driving results through the capture, amplification and propagation of public recognition moments within an organization.
Loyal employees will respond well if you offer specific and social recognition backed up with tangible rewards.
Ensure you have adequate coverage
Consultants make mistakes as they are also human. Consultants are exposed to unique risks and liabilities, which can impact their operations as well as financial stability. Unintentional incidents may arise when giving advice to businesses every day.
The right insurance can provide peace of mind, and protect you financially, if you provide services such as management consulting or marketing consulting.
Foster work-life balance
Consultants face many unique challenges which require full focus and energy. These could include working on multiple projects at once while traveling frequently to meet with different clients and stakeholders.
A Boston College Center for Work & Family study found that 76% managers and 80% employees believe flexible schedules have positive effects on employee retention, with many companies now acknowledging this benefit.
Encourage flexible working hours and remote work arrangements. Respect the boundaries between personal and work time; employees should be able to fully disconnect during non-working hours.
Professional development
Investing in the growth of your employees through workshops, courses and training programs that increase knowledge and abilities is a smart way to invest.
A lack of development opportunities could actually increase turnover rates significantly. If you don’t invest in your employees and offer them clear career development paths, you are failing them and should consider other employers who offer these opportunities for professional growth.
Employee recognition program
Employee recognition makes work more human. It drives results through the capture, amplification, and reverberation of public recognition moments throughout an organization.
Employee recognition enhances work environments by amplifying public recognition moments throughout an organization and amplifying them publicly.
Employee loyalty will increase when you offer specific, social recognition that’s supported with tangible rewards.
Provide tailored support
An effective career development programme should not be one-size-fits-all; each individual’s development varies. Junior consultants, for instance, may need more or less assistance at different points in their careers (for instance after receiving a promotion). Furthermore, some people prefer being taught at certain times during the day while others might learn by going about their daily business responsibilities. Utilize technology and various techniques to tailor development according to each individual.
These strategies can assist small and midsized consulting firms in creating an environment that fosters employee engagement, happiness and retention. To ensure their effectiveness over time, it is vital that these strategies be regularly evaluated and adjusted as feedback comes in.
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