Losing staff is normal. Your best performers get poached, others retrain, and some had always planned to use your organisation as a stepping stone. It is what it is.
But when leaving parties become a regular occurrence, and your teams are looking threadbare, it might be time to assess why your staff turnover is quite so high.
High staff turnover: don’t worry, it’s not just you
While ‘The Great Resignation’ might be a bit of an overstatement, multiple sources suggest that people have got their next steps on their mind. In the US, 4 million quit their jobs in April – with 41% of UK workers saying they’re thinking about it this year. Other research boosts that number to 60%, with one survey even finding that 95% would consider moving on.
So if you’ve seen a new wave of resignations, don’t take it personally… but don’t rest easy, either. The reasons behind these frequent exits aren’t all out of your control.
Why are people considering leaving their jobs?
There are a lot of theories about why people are quitting – from the fact there were 6 million fewer resignations in 2020 compared to 2019, leading to a ‘backlog’, to the general sense that the pandemic has made people reassess their life choices.
But research has suggested some more specific reasons. One study found the top reasons for considering moving on related to feeling burnt out, underpaid, or wanting to keep working remotely – possibly in light of some leaders’ eagerness to return to the office.
Another survey pointed again to burnout, but also to a lack of progression opportunities. While those areas are useful places to start examining, every organisation is different. So right now, it’s important to quickly do your own investigation.
Recommended survey: our Experience Deep Dive
Enhancing the employee experience starts with understanding its current state. Are people having those feelings that could lead to resignations? The future of employee experience is in your hands – but you need to ask the right questions. Use our Experience Deep Dive, which covers four key areas:
1. Environment
Relevant issue: people want to stay remote
These questions focus on the physical work environment, and whether it supports wellbeing and performance. For a lot of employees right now, that will bring up comments around remote v. office-based working. Identifying if that’s an issue now is crucial, as it’s becoming a dealbreaker.
2. Daily Experience
Relevant issue: people feel burnt out
These questions look at the day-to-day experience of work, and whether it’s positive and supportive. For people working through a pandemic, stressors have been plentiful – so this dimension will help you learn if your people are experiencing burnout, or at risk of it.
3. Rewards & Recognition
Relevant issue: people think they’re underpaid
These questions are all about pay and perks, and whether they’re fair and reflective of performance. Learning that people feel underpaid is tricky, as you may not be in control of salaries, but it does mean you can look for other ways to make people feel recognised.
4. HR Services
Relevant issue: they want growth opportunities
These questions are focused on HR Services, and whether people feel that issues are tackled and professional development is a priority. People want a career with a future, so identifying if there are gaps here are crucial to encourage higher retention rates.
Qlearsite: the best way to build your employee experience
- Ready-made question sets: research-based surveys, on a wide range of topics you need answers about. Just pick your deep dive, and you’re good to go
- 15-minute survey set-up: after you’ve chosen the question set, add your branding, add your recipient list, and you’ll be well on your way to finding your people power
- Instant insights: there’s no wasted time waiting for data to be evaluated and reviewed, just an immediate view of your biggest challenges and opportunities
- Context from language analysis: our Platform auto-analyses your employees’ comments, so you get the “why?” and “what next?” behind your scores