Why You Should Worry About the Staff That Stay, Not The Staff That Leave

Is your business experiencing a high staff turnover? While it may be easy to assume that any problems are leaving with the departing staff, this is generally not the case.

In fact, if you have staff dropping like flies, it’s possible low morale is an issue in your business. And when staff are quitting due to low morale, this can further decrease the spirit of your remaining staff. This downward spiral of increasingly high turnover and lower morale is something every business wants to avoid.

High employee turnover costs more than staff morale; it can be financially costly for your business, too. The expense of new inductions can take a toll on your bottom line – especially if it’s becoming a regular practice. Not to mention the productivity lost due to low motivation.

Follow these tips to improve staff morale and reduce employee turnover for a happier, healthier business.

High employee turnover reflects on low morale and lack of motivation.

Effectiveness of Employee Cross-Training as a Motivational Technique, Vidya Gawali 2009

Confronting the Issue

Is your recent high staff turnover the pink elephant in the room? Avoiding the topic won’t help. In fact, it may make your remaining employees think you don’t care about your staff. The best way to address the issue is to tackle it head-on.

Encourage Communication

You may be surprised at just how much is going on behind the scenes among your staff. Opening channels for communication is a great way to encourage your employees to share their experiences and concerns. Chances are they’ll have some valuable insight to share to help you understand what’s working and what isn’t.

Whether it’s a group meeting, one-on-one discussions, or an anonymous online forum, opening a dialogue with your staff to provide honest feedback is the first step to addressing those underlying issues.

Address Negative Factors

Once you’ve received the information you need, you can start to take note of what’s causing dissatisfaction, and work toward addressing these negative influences to prevent further voluntary terminations.

By prioritising employee morale, employers acknowledge the importance of staff contributions on a personal and professional level.

How Positive Employee Morale Benefits Your Business, Forbes 2017

Maintaining Staff Morale

It can be easy to get caught up in the stress and busyness of managing a business – but that’s no excuse for not checking in with your staff. Happy staff are productive staff, and employee motivation starts with morale.

Recognise and Reward Outstanding Performance

If someone is going above and beyond, tell them. If someone has nailed a pitch or delivered high-quality work, let them know you appreciate it.

It’s important for your employees to know their efforts are acknowledged and appreciated, so start adding some kudos to your all-staff emails or Friday meetings to end on a positive note and motivate your staff to keep it up.

Encourage a Work/Life Balance

Working your employees to the bone won’t get you anywhere – nor will a culture that glorifies overtime. While productivity may be strong in the short-term, it won’t be long before quality slips and morale diminishes.

Encourage a work/life balance by delegating fair workload schedules and hiring help when it’s needed.

Learn how to encourage workplace flexibility and lead by example with these tips from Chandler Macleod.

A survey conducted by Chandler Macleod in 2017 found that leaders are often not aware of their employees’ concerns.