Employee lifespan at a company can vary. It is just a fact that employees will leave a job for one reason or another, many times through no fault of the company’s. Yes, you will have the employee who spends their whole working life at the same company, but even workers with the ‘perfect’ job will likely find something better in time. It is only natural that people want better than they have, or to improve upon their situation. No business is immune to employee turnaround. You cannot eliminate it, or predict it, but you can ease its effect on your company. The trick is to give your employees every reason to stay.
What is Employee Attrition?
Employee attrition is the loss of employees through any means, including quitting, being fired, and retirement. Both people and companies change. People and companies that do not change are doomed to be left behind, doomed to fail. People’s change in priorities and life choices sometimes do not mesh with those of their employer’s. But, there are ways you can ease the adverse effects of employee attrition.
How can you ease it?
Even the best employer/employee relationships come to an end. Market fluctuations can result in layoffs, or a company might have to downsize. Aside from being able to predict the market or the choices of your employees, there is little to nothing you can do to eliminate employee attrition. But making your employees’ time at your company as pleasant as possible can help. Provide them with every opportunity to improve their time there, help them align their priorities with those of the company’s, and help them see their place of work as a not so unbearable a place to come every day. The happier the employee, the further they are from leaving.
One possible way this can be addressed is as early as the recruitment and hiring phases for employees. This is where your company’s relationship with potential employees begins. Obviously, not every applicant is successful. But, there are times when interviewees who made it to the final stages of the interview process might become eligible for future job vacancies. This means that even if you do not hire a person, it will be necessary to keep their application or resume on file to keep your company’s options open. Be honest with them. Telling them they did not get the job as well as your company’s plans (instead of merely telling them you will keep their application on file) will tell them that your company has integrity.
Another way to keep the employees as happy as possible is by keeping them interested in the job. Companies have tried to do this in many ways, but they all boil down to building a community. Help them see that their fellow employees and employer are more than people with whom they work. Provide time employees can mingle and get to know each other. A prime example of this is the holiday party.
You can also sponsor a potluck, to which they can bring food, eat, and mingle. If a specific time cannot be established, or people cannot make it, they can still participate by simply bringing in dishes to share with people working throughout the day. Even though the latter does not give them face time with fellow employees, the food can be a great conversation starter.
The happier the employee, the longer they will stay with a company. But, every company experiences employee attrition. Even employees with the perfect job and employers with the perfect employee will change. It is only natural that people want better than they have, or to improve upon their situation. Even though you cannot predict or control how an employee feels or a company will be affected by any number of variables, you can give employees every reason to stay, easing the adverse effects of their inevitable departure
