By Brooke Chaplan
It usually takes six months before a new hire finally pays off how much it took to hire them in the first place. With such a long wait time to finally break even, it’s no wonder that high turnover rates are seen as nothing but burdens on a company. Stop the cycle now by staffing smarter and stopping this burden on your budget.
Write Better Job Descriptions
No matter how perfect the hire might seem at the beginning, it will mean nothing if they don’t fit the actual position they’re placed into. If an employee is unprepared for their responsibilities or feel lied to, they will be ready to leave as soon as they can. In addition, bad job descriptions do little to help you find qualified applicants in amidst the sea of resumes. Keep the description accurate, concrete, and actionable for the best return.
Share Jobs
When times are tight because people are leaving en masse, make sure you share the responsibilities left behind equally among the remaining staff members. Too much placed on one person without any kind of reprieve will only lead to burnout and another employee walking out the door. Split everything as evenly as is possible and make sure you are fair with workloads and responsibilities.
Don’t Hire Out of Desperation
Though times might be tight at the office, promise yourself and your staff that you won’t hire anyone just because there needs to be another body. Jumping quickly onto a new hire can easily backfire. Whether they turn out to be unqualified for the job or simply clash with office culture, once they’re in and not breaking any rules, it can be hard to get rid of a bad fit. Talk with legal experts like Sattiraju Law Firm, PC to make sure your new hiring process fits in with a non-discrimination policy and will keep you out of legal troubles.
Create an Upward Path
Sometimes, people move on because they don’t feel there’s any kind of upward mobility in their current position. Most employees are out to do their best and achieve promotions and raises. If they don’t, they become disillusioned, feeling as if they mean nothing to the company. Break this circumstance by coming up with a clear set of pathways that stretch upward, combined with clear standards for reaching each subsequent level.
High employee turnover rates are stressful on everyone in your company. From other employees having to take on more work, to continually being interrupted to teach short hires their jobs, it detracts from productivity in the worst way. To combat a potential avalanche, do what you can to fix what might be scaring hires away in the first place.
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most her time hiking, biking and gardening. For more information contact Brooke via Twitter @BrookeChaplan.
