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Any founder or entrepreneur knows that one of the most stressful issues they face is employee turnover. Factoring in the cost of hiring, training, and mentoring workers only to have them depart for other jobs is a significant waste of resources — both financial and time-wise.
Though a certain amount of turnover is unavoidable and must be factored into the cost of doing business, there are ways to minimize losses from departing employees. According to human resources expert Kelly Kubicek, CEO of Fulcrum HR Consulting, routing and automating training is one, but devising ways to keep employees at your company for extended periods is a superior strategy.
Kubicek has made her name through high-level projects such as payroll system overhauls for state governments and publishing thought-provoking HR articles through Forbes Council, the invite-only business consortium she belongs to.
Her style involves a human-first, empathetic approach to staffing and boasts legions of return clients and five-star reviews. Fulcrum HR Consulting specializes in HR consulting, HR and recruiting outsourcing, leadership development, and employee education that provides clients the time-saving tools that heighten productivity, increase retention, attract top-level talent, and maximize ROI.
“Employees usually quit their jobs because they are unhappy with their work or their work relationships,” she said, “Here are my top seven ways you can help employees succeed in their jobs and achieve their career objectives to improve satisfaction and reduce turnover.”
Improve Communication
Kubicek suggests increasing communication and keeping employees apprised of what’s happening with the business, so there are no surprises. When employees understand the reasoning behind your decisions, they can better understand the business implications and your thought processes and be more likely to stay with you.
She also suggests sharing a reasonable amount about company financial results with every employee each month that coordinates to their performance metrics. This is so that every worker knows what’s going well and what needs to be improved. “When possible, solicit ideas from employees before you make decisions to allow them to contribute to your business strategy,” she advised.
Set Priorities and Manage Expectations
Take the time to understand everything your employees are working on, even those in entry-level positions. Instead of having them guess which assignments are most important, most timely, and why, help them to determine their daily, weekly, and monthly priorities through assigning tasks with deadlines.
Teaching them how to manage your and others’ expectations when there’s more work than can be accomplished in a given timeframe will reduce stress levels in your organization.
Offer Project Overviews
Every company goes through busy periods, whether it’s the holidays at a retail business or tax season at an accounting firm. Sometimes employees have to work long hours to get the job done. Thankfully, most are willing to put in the extra effort if they can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Ensure that employees know when the end of a project is likely to arrive and that work will return to a more reasonable and predictable schedule. If you can, offer a small bonus or a few extra days off after the completion of high-stress periods.
Always Engage Employees.
“Just because you’re in charge doesn’t mean you have to make all the decisions. For example, if there’s an employee relations issue, a rumor that some employees are unhappy, or a complaint that people have, form a team of employees to develop solutions to the problems,” said Kubicek.
In this way, she explained, you can change a complaint into constructive action, and employees will feel heard and have personal ownership of the solution.
Make it Personal and Professional
After a stressful period or big project, make sure to thank your employees. “Invest in spending time with your team to celebrate your accomplishments. Ask them if they’d like an office lunch or a team outing to acknowledge them while spending uninterrupted time together.” Said Kubicek.
It’s also beneficial to take a moment at your office lunch to start a conversation with teams about what’s going on in their lives and the lives of their families. Kubicek recommends “break the ice” games like “What do you meme?” to get employees comfortable.
The people that work for you will appreciate your interest, and you’ll better understand what’s important to them and what drives their motivation — as well as add insight if they are dealing with issues outside of the office.
Be Respectful of Their Time
The people that work for you are professionals that deserve your respect; otherwise, why would you have hired them? Make sure they feel appreciated by being on time for meetings, working through agendas efficiently, and only canceling and rescheduling events when necessary.
Make Smart Hires
When an employee leaves — especially one in a vital role — you might feel rushed to replace them. However, hiring the wrong person quickly only increases the likelihood that you will be in the same position in a few months.
Work with your HR team to understand the desired competencies and behaviors necessary for the role to be its most effective.
It is important that you understand which personality types are best suited for the roles your team is hiring for and utilize a candidate assessment platform to optimize your talent pool.
Make doubly sure that a candidate understands the duties and expectations of the job, the company culture, and the environment. Always answer their queries in detail to provide both parties with the information necessary to make the right decision. Once you have made a decision to hire a candidate, move quickly and make a formal offer within 48 hours of your interview.
By taking these seven pieces of advice to heart, you’ll see fewer employee resignations in no time.
About Kelly Kubicek
Kelly Kubicek, CEO of Fulcrum HR Consulting, is on a mission to make HR more transparent. Fulcrum HR Consulting boasts vast HR experience, including accomplishments such as consolidating the entirety of over 9000 Nebraska state employees in one system in under 12 months and extensive work in Human Capital efforts. To discover how to uplevel your HR Process visit www.fulcrumhrconsulting.com
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