by Geoff Hardy

Created on: August 29, 2011

Having a stable workforce with low staff turnover can bring major benefits to any organization. The benefits include having a workforce with high degrees of experience and knowledge of their roles, increased teamwork and morale. Many of the costs incurred by organizations with high staff turnover are minimised; including the costs of recruiting and training new staff.

As a result, having low staff turnover is often seen as a key goal for many organizations and time is set aside by senior executives to develop strategies to reduce staff attrition. The level of staff turnover, in such organizations, then becomes a key measure that is reported on a regular basis to senior executives.

Here are some things any organization can do to reduce staff turnover:

1. Examine the way staff are recruited and selected. If inappropriate recruitment and selection processes are in place, the wrong people will be placed into roles. Higher staff turnover is then likely as staff feel uncomfortable and look for opportunities that better match their skills or aspirations

2. Consider starting new staff on temporary contracts before placing them into permanent roles. This practice means that staff have a chance to work in the company before accepting a permanent contract. It also means that the organizations has the opportunity to see the staff member at work before giving them a permanent contract of employment

3. Conduct an annual staff survey across the organization. Staff surveys can be a good way of highlighting areas of weaknesses; including issues with working conditions, communication, line management and staff development. The key to any staff survey is that actions are taken on areas highlighted as being below par

4. Complete 'exit' interviews with staff who hand in their notice. Exit interviews should be used to find out why staff are leaving the company. The interview should be completed shortly before a staff member leaves the company. The results should be acted upon by senior management to put right areas of weakness highlighted

5. Carry out regular checks on how salary levels compare with competitors. Paying lower salary levels than local competitors will mean that some staff are tempted to leave the organization. The Human Resource team should check local salary levels on a regular basis to see how the organization compares and whether action needs to, or can, take place.

6. Ensure the training and development opportunities within the organization are strong. Training and development are key areas to the motivation of many staff members and organizations that follow best practice are more likely to retain staff.

Staff turnover is a key measure for any organization and those with high levels of staff turnover are likely to be at a competitive disadvantage compared with competitors who perform better. There are a number of steps that an organization can take to reduce staff turnover. However, each step requires follow-up to ensure areas identified as weak are acted upon.

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