The key to the success of a company depends on various factors such as quality of recruitment, quality of onboarding processes, managerial acumen, and employee satisfaction and performance. It is vital to qualify employees as the company’s most precious asset. In today’s competitive business environment, successful enterprises have been able to create strategies that treat their own employees as internal consumers, the retention of whom is given the same importance as in the case of ordinary customers. 

To deploy a proper infrastructure which can assess employee satisfaction, companies use data to assure excellence. To explain the working aspect in a nutshell, firstly, companies correlate their staff turnover to national and industry averages. Secondly, they hold managers accountable for maintaining open channels of communication with their reports. Thirdly, they examine if companies are ensuring opportunities for career advancement are offered to employees, and consider overall pay metrics concerning the expense of substituting talented employees.

While getting new hires may solve the problem momentarily, a high turnover rate doesn’t bode well for the company’s reputation. Practicality dictates that it takes significantly more time and energy for newly hired personnel to fit in and get to a stage where they are perfectly assimilated into the team’s responsibilities. Let us understand what employee turnover is and the varied technical aspects that influence the metric. 

What Does Employee Turnover Mean?

The number of workers that leave a firm over a given period of time is referred to as employee turnover or employee turnover rate. To draw logical reasoning from employee turnover annual reports is a complicated process since it relates both qualitative (department, demographics) and quantitative attributes of the work environment. 

Another terminology that is used synonymously with employee turnover is attrition. A dwindling workforce or thinning customer base is a phenomenon best described as attrition. 

How Do You Calculate Employee Turnover?

Divide the total number of workers who leave in a certain period (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.) by the average number of workers during that period. To get the worker turnover rate, multiply that number by 100.

Employees on leave and temporary employment are not accounted for in any way throughout the computation. For instance, if your company has an average of 200 people working throughout a month and 25 depart, your turnover rate is around 12.5 per cent. The equation would look like this: 

(25/200)*100 = 12.5%

Difference Between Voluntary Turnover and Involuntary Turnover

Turnover is unavoidable in every firm. While most firms strive for low employee turnover, what characterizes low versus high turnover is based on how it compares to an expected rate of turnover. This varies based on industry, job category, size of the company, area, and other factors. Needless to mention, that number is rarely zero. 

Voluntary turnover affects every company. These are cases when individuals decide to leave the company for better prospects and benefits. Voluntary turnover occurs when an employee deliberately decides to leave that occurs as a result of greater career possibilities elsewhere, workplace strife, disengagement, and other factors. 

Involuntary turnover occurs when a company pressures an employee to leave. This might be because of:

• Inadequate performance
• Problems with behaviour
• Changing business requirements
• Budget reductions
• Reorganization of structures/force reductions

Why Is It Important to Measure Employee Turnover Rate

Staff turnover is a significant indicator of the efficacy of a human resource management system as well as the overall management of a company or program. Measuring staff turnover levels and expenses are critical for developing a business case that may lead upper management to formulate strategies to enable employee retention. 

This may be a valuable instrument for line managers and the board of directors. Employee turnover may help you learn about a company’s working culture, compensation, policies, and personnel processes. It can give an insight on the organization’s employee happiness, average duration with the firm, and such.

Turnover Rates by Industry in Critical Sectors in the Year 2022

The Covid-19 pandemic caused increased turnover across industries and average turnover rates are still increasing, although some have been hurt more than others. Below are the five sectors with the greatest turnover rates, as well as the reasons behind their high rates of turnover.

Industry	Turnover Rate	Reasons For Turnover
Technology	18.3%	Tech professionals want flexible work conditions that allow them to work remotely. Some supervisors and teams found it difficult to manage particular tasks with scattered teams.
Manufacturing	Over 20%	Workers in this field could not work from home like those in other industries. Workers continued to report to work at a difficult period to execute tough tasks.
Retail	57.3%	Retail workers work lengthy shifts in high-stress public-facing workplaces. These employees also lost income owing to temporary business closures and decreased retail hours during the outbreak.
Banking and Finance	18.6%	Throughout the epidemic, major financial institutions maintained branch locations and phone centers.  Employees are burdened with the pressure of health worries while supporting consumers suffering catastrophic financial constraints.
Healthcare	Hospitals-19.5% Nursing homes-94% Homecare-65.2%	Healthcare personnel have personal experience with the pandemic’s stress and anguish. Clinicians put themselves in danger of infection in order to care for others, spending most of the epidemic alone and working long shifts. Burnout, emotional weariness have resulted from stressful situations.

Tips To Maintain Healthy Employee Turnover Rate

These 8 staff retention techniques for your organization will get you started in the right direction.

#1 Invest in Employee Career Development

According to LinkedIn, 94% of employees feel their firm would keep them longer if it invested in their professional growth. Employees in today’s economy recognize the need of keeping their skills fresh in order to stay competitive and advance up the corporate ladder. Employers may take advantage of their employees’ desire for growth by putting in place systems like mentorship programs and investing in further education.

#2 Invest in Manager Training

According to a 2019 survey, 57% of employees quit their jobs due to a strained relationship with their boss. Leadership skills, fortunately, can be learned. Companies should consider management abilities in performance appraisals and provide training to executives of all levels, including first-time supervisors.

#3 Appreciate Employee Contributions

Everyone wants to feel appreciated, and this is especially true at work. In a poll conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, 68% of HR professionals stated that recognition was vital for retention; nevertheless, many firms lack formal recognition programs.

Companies must encourage managers to acknowledge the efforts of their direct subordinates. 

#4 Re-evaluate Compensation

Compensation is a key component of any company’s retention strategy. No matter how valuable an employee feels, if they believe they are underpaid for their labour, they are inclined to look for opportunities elsewhere. A strategy to monetarily reward top performers, as well as a regular appraisal of industry remuneration norms, is essential. Spot incentives and compensation increases may both help an employee feel appreciated.

#5 Consider Reviewing Your Benefits Package

Perks are an essential consideration, with Forbes indicating that for nearly six out of ten employees, a company’s rewards system is the most essential non-salary element they consider when evaluating a job. Lowering employee healthcare expenses or increasing parental leave might be the difference between remaining in a job and looking for another.

#6 Make Work-life Balance a Priority

Work-life balance is more than a catchphrase. While working remotely, workplace flexibility rules are crucial aspects in achieving work-life balance. Management becomes ineffective if employees have more workload than they can reasonably handle. Moreover, organizations may reduce time constraints by removing unnecessary meetings and administrative duties that consume time but does not produce significant value.

#7 Create Growth Pathways

Career pathing is a proactive process in which people and management set goals and design a strategy for learning to achieve them. Employee engagement can be increased when they are reassured that their future with the firm is bright with a dedicated career pathing. 

#8 Emphasize adaptability.

In addition to remote possibilities, employees are increasingly prioritizing flexible scheduling as a part of their employee retaining tactics. Employers who can offer flexible working hours, which will allow employees to meet family responsibilities, medical requirements, or even a short drive to the bank during the working day would be considered to be a more desirable employer.

Options such as reducing the workweek or allowing employees to decide their working hours themselves can greatly increase satisfaction without negatively impacting output.

Final Thoughts

The value of retaining employees cannot be stresses enough as the performance of both parties is intrinsically related to one another. Though voluntary turnover will never completely disappear, which is to some extent a positive thing, it is critical to understand what causes unwanted turnover in your company and, more significantly, how to limit it. 

A few key individuals leaving a company may rapidly result in low morale and excessive workloads. As such, preventative employee retention methods such as salary evaluations, recognition programs, and chance for skill enhancement should be employed.

FAQs on Employee Turnover Rate