According to research of 1000 UK respondents, the main reason employees leave their position after less than a year is due to bad management. Although, the research undertaken by Citation also discovered that 18-44 year olds are more likely to flee within the first year than those aged 45+.
This got us thinking, what can you be doing as a business to keep that staff turnover down?
Table of Contents
Look Into Management
As the stats indicate, bad management is one of the main reasons UK employees leave their positions. This can be a difficult issue to fix as it affects current and maybe long-term staff members so trying to find a solution may require a strategy.
Firstly, take some time to look into the training that the new starters are receiving; this could be the problem, which means it is a much simpler conversation.
When looking into training you may find that there’s bad record management which indicates that enough time isn’t being spent on the new employees.
Taking the time to look into the reasons for bad management may highlight simple fixes and make awkward conversations easier.
Company Structure
Don’t just look at the line manager, more often than not they are working with what they have and if the hierarchy aren’t providing ample resources, rewarding staff or encouraging positive relationships then the manager can only do so much. Therefore, it may be time to look at your company structure.
Think about who knows who? Do the directors and CEO’s know their employees? If the answer is no, then there’s obviously a divide within the business and this can lead to department divides too. Those areas that have a stronger connection to directors and CEO’s will find their role as senior to other teams which can result in conflict and a lack of respect.
It may be time for a company party, to lighten the workload and encourage engagement with other teams, but make it relaxed, as no one likes forced fun!
Check Your Attitude
Of course, there’s always the possibility that the manager is overworked and has a bad attitude. Bad attitudes are contagious and working alongside this can be frustrating and will have negative effects. In some cases, managers may be unapproachable which leads to mistakes and carelessness.
Remember there are two types of managers; those who are good at managing people and those who are good at managing tasks. Don’t make the mistake of hiring a task manager who has no people skills. In an ideal world, all managers would be both people and task managers, but unfortunately this isn’t always the case.
There you have it, a few starting points for maintaining your new employees but essentially taking care of them. Understand that this is their job and not their sole reason for life and that by having the right people in management is how you retain staff and keep them happy.