Turnover is something that undeniably affects many businesses — enterprises struggle with being able to find a talented pool of people for hiring, and getting these people to stick with the program, instilling some kind of order and long-term stability in company operations. By contrast, high turnover threatens that stability, with increased costs, a lot more uncertainty, and sometimes even interruptions to production or service delivery.

So, how do you do battle with turnover? One aspect is understanding why people are tempted to head for the revolving door after spending just a short time in your workplace.

Not Always About Money

One thing that business managers and owners must understand is that turnover doesn’t always happen because of issues with compensation. It’s absolutely true that people need to be compensated well in order to stay, but people aren’t always leaving just because they don’t get enough money. The workplace environment plays a crucial role, so administrators have to be on the lookout for evidence of a hostile, uncomfortable or unfriendly workplace, to make sure that people aren’t leaving because of internal problems that have been shoved under the rug.

Opportunities

The old way of thinking about business was that the person’s ‘opportunity’ was to have a job to draw a paycheck, but that way of thinking is disappearing. Businesses that offer opportunities for professional development, for management, and that give workers tools and resources they need to do their jobs well are several steps ahead of others when it comes to combating turnover, increasing employee retention, and building a better and happier office. Companies that invest in things like conference travel, assistive technologies, and above all, general support and respect for hard-working employees will often see improvement in long-term employee retention.

Drive and Innovation

Another big tip is to pull out of a micromanaging strategy that may be depressing both morale and productivity.

More and more, people just want to be able to do their jobs, which, in most cases, they are good at. They don’t want someone looking over their shoulder with the rulebook. And when this happens, a lot of them will eventually make a break for it. Take proactive steps to keep micromanagement under control, and to allow for the kinds of employee creativity and initiative that are so often tied to success.

Exit Interviews — Find Out Why!

Another very important component of dealing with turnover is to hold exit interviews, so that human resources can provide some business intelligence. There’s a reason why the term “business intelligence” is so frequently thrown around these days – and data is a most valuable asset to businesses for more than one reason. Data supports better sales by knowing customers better, but it also supports less turnover by knowing what’s in the employees’ heads. It’s often necessary to do this kind of investigative work to find out why people are leaving.

By being proactive, supporting a good business culture, and dealing fairly with employees, a company can start to deal with a troublesome turnover pattern, and build a better future for both itself and its individual staffers. For more on hiring and other aspects of business operations, take a look at what Full Steam Staffing provides to local Ontario, California businesses.