How Low Trust in the Workplace leads to Increased Turnover

Just when you thought there was no more I could say about Low Trust in the Workplace, I bring you the final post. In our prior posts we have discussed the following:

Today we talk about growing turnover. At first glance, turnover is a symptom and not a cause, but it is so important that we will talk about why it is important and how to dig deeper to reduce turnover. Even more, the cost of turnover is outrageous and I still scratch my head in amazement over how many clients are penny wise and pound foolish when dealing with turnover causing issues.

Turnover is typically measured in the following manner:

number of employees leaving the workplace/number of workers in the workplace

Depending upon the industry, I have seen this number, typically expressed as a percentage, range from less than 10% to over 150%. When you first glance at the numbers the real impact doesn’t hit you until you consider what it takes to keep things at status quo or ahead of status quo when you have a growing enterprise. 150% turnover tells me that you are losing 3 people for every 2 you have in the workplace. That means you need to be replacing 50% more than your current workforce in a given area if that group experiences 150% turnover. That is craziness!

Many of the issues listed in 1-4 above lead to turnover and addressing each of them will help you, either in the short or long run, to minimize your turnover. Some industries expect turnover due to the nature of the work, such as the retail and fast food industries. Firms with roles that are hard to fill or that require long periods to bring people up to speed should do everything within their power to minimize and prevent turnover. This may even making exceptions to standard pay practices and paying incentives or other reward mechanisms to keep people intact.

The most overlooked method to prevent turnover is to recognize and reward employees, even in non-monetary methods. The power of praise is hard to measure in many cases and employees who are praised and valued in front of their peers feel really good. Missing out on these opportunities for praise is something that key employees will notice and when one feels overlooked, they are quicker to listen when another opportunity knocks.

Turnover is costly and investing in praise and rewards are just two of the ways to minimize the impact.

Reducing turnover is then a key way to raise trust in the workplace. Your employees watch how you address issues when others choose to leave. Your actions today will provide a glimpse for those who stay in how you value others in the workplace.

Don’t miss out on an opportunity to build trust.