MANY companies are finding it increasingly difficult to retain their workforce. Turnover has become a serious problem in today’s corporate environment.

The employment culture is changing as more employees are demanding more and more balance between work and personal/family life; it is not uncommon to see people changing jobs every now and then to have better career opportunities and pay packages.

Turnover costs for many businesses are very high, resulting in a huge impact on the financial aspect of an organisation. Turnover costs include recruitment costs, job positions, advertising and training costs, increase in workloads and overtime expenses before the replacement, refurbishment and restoration of the organisation operations.

It is also difficult to take on the responsibility of the job position, because the company is short on staff, and productivity is reduced resulting in an overall reduction in profits and growth. You can get a clear idea of how serious this can be. This is why hiring the right people initially is extremely important. It is rather ideal if the candidates and the employees share the same vision as the company and have a will to follow and grow with the company.

Another way to reduce employee turnover is to make the company employee-oriented, focusing on interactions between all levels in the organisation — from workers to supervisors, managers and directors — and developing a sense of ownership among all these tiers for the company.

If one can feel part of the company as a whole, trust and loyalty can be built between employees and the employers who are deemed to be patrons and well-wishers of the employees. Does your company’s environment openly encourage communication and feedback from employees? If yes, your company has ample chances to grow.

Attractive compensation packages also help to retain the employees. The top companies that have low employee turnover have attractive compensation packages such as market-matching salaries, healthcare and healthy work environment.

Many companies offer vacation packages and other freebies such as free lunches, recreational trips, etc., to their employees. All these are worth considering reducing the impact on employee turnover.

Faisal Shahzad
Lahore

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2020