The efficiency of any company is primarily defined by its employees, but it takes a hit when the attrition rate or the employee turnover of a company is leaning towards a higher value. These measurements are the basic metrics a company considers to validate their recruitment efforts.
In India, the e-commerce or the retail sector records the highest attrition rate of any industry at 20.4%. This essentially points out that 1 in every 5 recruits leave their job costing the company a hefty amount in losses. Some early age startups account for attrition of up to 80%. Such high attrition rates in early-stage startup hold the potential to break down a company to almost nothing.
When an employee leaves a job, especially someone who had recently joined, companies have to recruit again and spend a similar amount of money and time in recruiting and training a new employee. These costs can subsequently add up to incur greater losses.
Different industries have different attrition rates and accordingly, a certain figure of attrition rate is kind of normal to have for a company. However, if it surpasses that threshold, it could be problematic. There are various modern HR tools to measure the right attrition rate for a company.
Once, the nominal attrition rate for a company has been calculated, the major reasons for employee attrition need to be figured out. According to a survey conducted by KPMG, one of the big four accounting organizations, the major reasons for attrition in India are:
- Better pay at another firm (28.1%)
- Better career opportunity elsewhere (23.4%)
Attrition can also be due to unavoidable reasons like retirement, transfer to a different location or untimely death. Such type of attrition cannot be avoided. Hence, it needs to be accommodated for in the nominal attrition rate calculations. Although, there are plenty of other reasons as well which can be taken care of by the employer to maintain a sustainable attrition rate.
Here are the top 3 ways in which you can control employee attrition:
1. Recruit the right candidates
The hiring process is where the journey of an employee begins and this is the foremost area where extra caution needs to be taken. A candidate with a good profile and professional skills is always valuable but not if they don’t fit in and decide to leave within a few months. Hence, it is important to learn a candidate’s behavior and cultural adaptation to the workplace. That is why it is extremely important for all employers to conduct pre-employment tests.
The best way to go about this is to interview the candidate by interrogating and analyzing their responses to particular situations in order to understand their approach and attitude towards it. This will help get a clear picture of a candidate’s workplace stature and help take the right decision.
This process can be smoothened by showing the candidate offered workspace and flow of operations and let them be the deciding committee if they would prefer to work within the firm or not. If the candidate doesn’t prefer the work environment offered, he is more likely to opt-in another offer that suits his needs better. This is a win-win situation for both parties. Moreover, candidates who choose to stay this way are more likely to stay for longer.
Many companies outsource their recruitment to firms that use modern hiring tools to make sure that the candidate is the perfect fit. Advanced behavioral tests and analysis make the process worthwhile.
2. Offer Good Pay and Career Opportunities
This is one of the main reasons for employee attrition. Employees want to be well compensated for the hard work and time they dedicate to a company. It is very important to know how much the competitors in the same segment are paying their employees and it’s always better to fit as top on the band as possible to retain valuable employees.
Thorough market research on wages is the key before settling on different pay scales for your employees. A good paycheck is just one way to appreciate the efforts of an employee. Certain benefits like paid leaves, insurance, and travel allowance can sometimes work more wonders than one can think.
Money is always important but a person would not want to spend all the time and effort if it’s not leading them anywhere. Hence, it’s very crucial to offer growth opportunities to those who deserve it. An employee is very likely to stay in the firm if they are expecting a promotion or know that their efforts will soon lead them to the next higher position.
It’s an employer’s responsibility to guide their employees in the right direction towards a dedicated career path. The skills that are required to advance should be conveyed to them in the most meaningful manner.
3. Praise your employees for their work
All the competitive paychecks and market research will be of no help if an employee feels worthless or not valued. Every human being needs appreciation and acknowledgment to excel in whatever they do and why would it be any different for employees who probably spend as much time in the office as they do at home or sometimes even more.
Not that an employer constantly needs to send them flowers but a few praises for meeting deadlines, delivering a strong presentation or completing targets is a good way to go about it.
This creates an engaging and friendly work environment where employees don’t feel left out and know that their seniors or boss acknowledges them. The most important emotion that plays a key role here is that employees feel respected when praised and that’s a very strong emotion to go against. Hence, they are more likely to continue working rather than chasing a few extra bucks.
Collecting regular feedback from employees is also an efficient method to better understand employees and their needs in a firm. Every suggestion should be acknowledged and an appropriate reason should be provided if for some reason it cannot be accommodated.
Conclusion
Reducing the attrition rate of a company is of prime importance for the optimal functioning and growth of a company. It also helps build a very positive brand image in the market. For early-stage companies with less experience, it is best to outsource the process for better results.