How to Minimize Turnover of Good Employees

Turnover. Being apart of the top of an organization with over 700 employees, I have seen folks come and go. I’ve seen some of the best employees walk out the door. Sometimes it is to pursue other avenues. Sometimes it is because things just went wrong.

It always begs the question though, how do we keep the good employees?

Definitely the top of the list is trust.

Trust is the foundation to any relationship, especially in a relationship where the stakes are high. The words we use are important but actions speak volumes. Don’t just talk to the talk, walk the walk.

Don’t pile on your best workers.

Sure, we all have employees who we trust exponentially. The employees we know we can give important high risk tasks to and they will complete them correctly. Not to mention we won’t have to go back behind them to check the work. Be careful of piling on without any added benefit while peers continue on with less work at the same pay. It is noticeable. Stress begins to tax on your rock stars and they notice the difference. Give the horse a break, spread the load between the herd.

Accountability.

Good workers like accountability. Having a system where as a leader you can see the output your employees are doing on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis is important. If there is no way of seeing the fruits of employees labor and tracking over a period of time the projects being complete, something is bad wrong.

Communication is critical.

Communicating on a daily basis with employees and peers is key. Going too long without communicating can create an environment where assumptions are made. Be direct with communication and don’t assume. If there is a question at hand, go to the employee and directly ask them. Have a direct conversation. Be a good listener and as hard as it may be, go into the conversation without any bias.

Being on the same page as your peers is even more important. It is important to ensure there is consistency across the board and everyone is on the same page so the employees see the consistency. Employees need to see you working as a team. It can be hard for everyone as a whole to be a team when the leaders are not even working together.

Multiple people have expressed how the book Crucial Conversations is the best book for conversations that they have ever read. I have to absolutely agree. If this is an area you are working on, definitely check this book out. I like to keep a copy on my desk. We go further into a review on the book in our post Crucial Conversations- A guide to having high risk and tough conversations.

Leaders set the tone and environment for their employees.

They are a model for their employees and set the environment for the office. Good employees do not want to be in a toxic environment. Be aware of the environment you create. Think about how you would like to be treated as an employee. This does not mean create a Wild West but it also doesn’t mean to micromanage. There is a fine line that can be very hard to walk. It means creating boundaries with the adequate and accurate tools in place to keep the boundaries along with consistent reprimands.

Appreciate them when they go above and beyond.

Be on the look out for opportunities to praise employees and express appreciation when they do more than is expected. This will make those employees want to continue going above and beyond.

To keep up success and grow in business, it is key to reduce the turnover of good employees. It is key to continue developing them to become leaders for your business because if you don’t someone else will.