30th March 2016
You don’t really want to lose employees, do you? Whether you have a well-established business or a growing SME, you probably have enough things to worry about right now, let alone employee retention. However it’s this kind of attitude that could see your business suffer.
Did you know, it costs around £30k to replace a single employee?[1] That’s a hefty dent in your cash pot if 3 or more employees decide to leave in a short space of time. So if you don’t want to lose your top dogs, read on to find out just how easy it can be to lose talented employees:
Provide Zero Growth Opportunities
What is your business appraisal system like? Do you even have one? A poorly managed or non-existent performance management scheme can severely impact staff morale and motivation. Not giving your employees an opportunity to discuss their progress, review their career development, and put themselves forward for a raise means they will probably leave to get their needs met elsewhere. Most workers aspire to see their career flourish. If you want good employees to stay in your company, make sure you cater to them.
Foster a Negative Working Environment
What is the working environment like for your employees? Do you have a positive, productive and supportive culture running through your business, or is there a negative atmosphere that won’t shift? If it’s the latter, new employees won’t stay long. A negative working environment can be stressful, and significantly impacts morale, well-being and emotional health. If your business environment needs an overhaul, consider making simple changes and review procedures and the way things work. You’d be surprised how small changes can create a more positive environment, and encourage better team work.
Manage Payroll Poorly
A sure-fire way to guarantee unhappy employees is failing to pay them accurately and on time. If your payroll isn’t being managed correctly, simple mistakes can turn into big disasters – putting your business at risk of upsetting staff and forcing them to leave, not to mention increasing the likelihood of penalties from HMRC. Get your payroll sorted once and for all – if you can’t keep up with legislation think about outsourcing, or review internal systems and ease the strain by implementing good HMRC in-house payroll software.
Overwork & Overwhelm Your Staff
If you’re a business owner trying to retain a talented bunch of employees and use their skills to maximum, overworking them is not the way to do it. Research suggests 40% of today’s workers feel overworked, pressured and pushed to the point of anxiety and poor health. This impacts their productivity and efficiency, which can stall progress and slow business growth.
Ensuring your staff have the latest technology and tools to hand can help to streamline highly administrative tasks and make their lives easier. This is particularly important when it comes to payroll. Outsourcing your payroll can free up valuable time for your HR department, especially if you opt for a fully managed solution. If you want to keep control in-house, you can use a front end software and give the administrative burden to a payroll provider.
Poor Management
You often hear that “people don’t leave jobs; they leave managers.” Have you ever considered that it may be due to poor management that seemingly happy, and high achieving, employees have left your business? The manager is the first point of contact with employees, and if the relationship isn’t a good one, it’s unlikely your employees will stick around for long. Often this strained relationship comes down to poor management practices. Take time to review how your managers treat your employees and the practices they follow. Managers should be respectful, willing to listen and take action when required. They are teachers and coaches, not bosses.
[1] https://www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/recruitment/it-costs-over-30k-to-replace-a-staff-member/50677
