Dealing with high employee turnover

The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a lot of volatility, uncertainty and complexity for many organisations. It is safe to say that organisations had no choice but to re-evaluate their purpose, strategies, business models and organisational cultures in order to survive during and post the pandemic. The survival of these organisations also relied on their employees and their level of engagement and commitment. For most organisations, the unfortunate took place, where they found themselves faced with high staff turnover rates.  

A 40% staff turnover rate reported in South Africa in the year 2021, resulted from employee resignations

A 40% staff turnover rate reported in South Africa in the year 2021, resulted from employee resignations. A number of reasons were cited, but the most prevalent themes were employees re-evaluating their current roles, their personal purpose and how that was aligned to that of the organisation they worked for. Adding to that was the benefit of work-life integration that resulted from the remote or hybrid working models that were implemented as a result of the pandemic. 

Although the above-mentioned reasons are cited, we cannot ignore that there are other reasons to be considered, and that some of these were there even prior to the pandemic.

The causes of high employee turnover and how to remedy them

Misalignment between individual purpose and the organisation's purpose 

How often do you hear the phrase "I don't know why it is done that way, I just work here."? It is often taken lightly, but if carefully evaluated, this can be translated into "I don't know how I fit into the bigger picture". This behaviour can be attributed to employees struggling to "see" themselves and the value the add to the vision of the organisation. 

What to do about it? 
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There are various ways in which organisations can ensure that their employees' personal purposes are aligned with those of the organisations they work for: 
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• Communicate the organisation's purpose (what does the organisation stand for, how does it contribute to the environment or the well-being of others) as early as the recruitment process - in doing this, potential employees can assess for themselves whether or not the organisation's purpose is aligned with theirs. 
• Create opportunities for internal mobility - making internal mobility an easy process within an organisation creates a platform for employees to explore and grow into various roles within the organisation, without leaving the organisation and seeking these opportunities outside. 
• Create a safe environment for employees to showcase their other talents not related to their core role. E.g. An employee with excellent facilitation skills might be in a role of a CFO but opportunities can be created where they facilitate a session on behalf of another team. In doing this, employees will feel that their talents are integrated within the organisation, and used for the greater good of the organisation. 

Unhealthy / toxic working cultures 

There is certainly a correlation between an organisation's culture, the happiness of its employees and the organisation's ability to retain them. No organisation starts with an objective to create a toxic working culture, but due to various factors, and over a period of time, if not constantly evaluated,  the culture of an organisation can quickly become toxic.

What to do about it?

Here are some ways in which the health of your organisation's culture can be improved:
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• Constantly evaluate the satisfaction and happiness of your employees. Conducting a pulse survey to  get feedback from your employees is one way to get the process started. 
• Encourage open and transparent communication between employees and management, and amongst employees. 
• Create action items from the employee feedback, have a plan in place to implement them and ensure accountability and delivery of the commitments. 
• Much as collating feedback from employees is important, it is equally important to provide the employees feedback and updates on initiatives and plans geared towards improving the organisation's culture. 

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​Lack of flexibility  / autonomy 

With the pandemic came the option for many employees to work remotely and for some to work anywhere in the world. With this came a better way to integrate work and personal life without compromising either. Some organisations later re-evaluated remote working and demanded that all employees become office based, which was of course not taken well by some employees and thus resulted in the higher number of resignations.

What to do about it? 

Below are some of the ways in which organisations can afford their employees the flexibility they need:
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• Evaluate the possibility and effectiveness of a fully remote or hybrid working model. This evaluation needs to be conducted based on the role requirements, i.e. Can this role be performed remotely or is it an office based role or both?
• With hybrid / flexible working models, employees feel that they can integrate their work and home life. Although a role evaluation is recommended when deciding on a working model, the organisation also needs to consider personal circumstances of employees and how these can be integrated into the proposed way of working. 
• Be willing to change in an effort to retain your employees. Granted, an office based setup was the norm, but having explored remote working or a hybrid model in some cases, these ways of working can become the new normal. 

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Career development and growth 
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With the need to align personal purpose to an organisation's purpose is also a need for employees to grow and develop in their careers. Failure to create career advancement opportunities for your employees will certainly result in a loss of some of your talented employees. 

What to do about it? 
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• Make career discussions a norm. Organisations tend to focus mainly on performance at the end of the year, whilst neglecting career discussions. This can be improved by ensuring that your managers are developed and equipped to hold effective career discussions and to enable employees to make the outcome of those discussions a reality. ​
• Create open and transparent communication on the processes to be followed. E.g. Promotions are usually announced in organisations, however most employees are hardly  aware that there is a potential for promotions due to these processes not being transparent. 
• Invest in your employees  - investment is not necessarily from a monetary perspective only. Sure it is important to develop your employees through training, however there are other mechanisms that can be explored such as creating a formal mentorship programme through which employees can be developed.

Retaining employees is not an easy task. There are a lot of factors at play, and without truly evaluating the causes of your high employee turnover, your organisation may find itself without the talent needed to achieve its vision. Gestaldt Consultants are well equipped and available to assist your organisation to change this narrative.  

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