It’s a given that employee retention is key to building a strong organization, but pinpointing problem areas that lead to employee turnover isn’t always easy. You may be surprised to find out the culprit isn’t the employees, but your management team. Here’s a look into how your managers may not be doing a good job regarding employee retention, and how to avoid costly mistakes.
Misleading Applicants During the Interview
Simply hiring candidates quickly to fill gaps isn’t the way to build an organization. Managers are commonly at fault for deliberately misleading interviewees, leading them to have unrealistic expectations about the position or workplace. This leads to many employees quitting within the first six months. A good example would be misleading an applicant to believe that he or she will be able to advance to the next position. To avoid this, it’s imperative to be upfront and honest with applicants. This will weed out any candidates who might drop before they even start that six month window, which consequentially will lower your company’s turnover rate.
Hiring the Wrong People for the Job
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous reason why employees frequently quit within the first six months. If your management team is hiring people just to fill slots, without properly assessing them for the position, then it’s likely employee retention in your business will suffer. It’s important your managers use a matching system that focuses on the skills, expectations and experience with the roles that are open. Some managers believe that they can train the wrong person to be the right person, but this rarely pans out well—if you try training the wrong person and they end up leaving, you’ve wasted time and resources on that training in addition to being back at square one with an empty position to fill.
Your Managers Aren’t Good Coaches
Managers are responsible for overseeing employee productivity in your organization, but they are also responsible for coaching and giving regular feedback. As in sports, in order to improve a team, a coach is needed to evaluate and guide them. If your managers are unable to do this, you can provide them with training or hire managers that already have the skill set. It’s a good idea to allow your employees to give feedback about their managers anonymously, so you can determine if your management team is doing a good job.
If employee retention is your goal this year, using the proper techniques to reduce employee turnover is essential. See if these are problem areas in your business and adjust to fix them.