What steps can you take to reduce voluntary turnover?

1 Identify the causes of voluntary turnover

The first step to reduce voluntary turnover is to identify the root causes of why employees leave. Some of the common factors that influence voluntary turnover are lack of career advancement, low compensation, poor work-life balance, low engagement, mismatched expectations, and ineffective leadership. Talent managers can use various methods to gather feedback from employees, such as surveys, exit interviews, focus groups, and performance reviews. By analyzing the data and identifying the patterns, talent managers can pinpoint the areas that need improvement and prioritize the actions to address them.

2 Improve the hiring and onboarding process

The second step to reduce voluntary turnover is to improve the hiring and onboarding process. This is crucial to ensure that the candidates are a good fit for the organization, the role, and the culture, and that they have a clear understanding of what is expected from them. Talent managers can use behavioral and situational interviews, assessments, and references to evaluate the candidates' skills, personality, and values. They can also provide a realistic job preview, a detailed job description, and a transparent compensation package to set the right expectations. Once the candidates are hired, talent managers can provide a comprehensive and engaging onboarding program that covers the organizational vision, mission, values, goals, policies, procedures, and norms. They can also assign a mentor or a buddy to help the new hires navigate the work environment, build relationships, and learn the ropes.

3 Enhance the employee value proposition

The third step to reduce voluntary turnover is to enhance the employee value proposition (EVP), which is the set of benefits and rewards that employees receive in exchange for their work and commitment. Talent managers can enhance the EVP by offering competitive and fair compensation, recognition, and incentives that align with the employees' needs and preferences. They can also provide opportunities for learning, development, and career growth that match the employees' aspirations and potential. Moreover, they can foster a positive and supportive work culture that promotes collaboration, communication, feedback, diversity, inclusion, and well-being.

4 Empower and engage the employees

The fourth step to reduce voluntary turnover is to empower and engage the employees. Empowered employees are those who have the autonomy, authority, and resources to make decisions and take actions that affect their work. Engaged employees are those who are committed, motivated, and enthusiastic about their work and their organization. Talent managers can empower and engage the employees by delegating tasks and responsibilities, providing clear and consistent goals and expectations, giving constructive and timely feedback, encouraging innovation and creativity, soliciting input and suggestions, and celebrating achievements and successes.

5 Monitor and measure the voluntary turnover rate

The fifth step to reduce voluntary turnover is to monitor and measure the voluntary turnover rate. This is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken and to identify any gaps or issues that need further attention. Talent managers can use various metrics and indicators to measure the voluntary turnover rate, such as the number and percentage of voluntary leavers, the average tenure of voluntary leavers, the reasons for leaving, the cost of turnover, and the impact of turnover on performance, quality, and customer satisfaction. Talent managers can also benchmark their voluntary turnover rate against the industry average, the competitors, or the best practices to assess their relative position and progress.

6 Communicate and collaborate with the stakeholders

The sixth step to reduce voluntary turnover is to communicate and collaborate with the stakeholders. The stakeholders are the people who are involved in or affected by the voluntary turnover, such as the senior management, the line managers, the HR team, and the employees. Talent managers can communicate and collaborate with the stakeholders by sharing the data and insights on the causes and effects of voluntary turnover, soliciting their feedback and support, involving them in the decision-making and action-planning process, updating them on the results and outcomes, and recognizing and rewarding their contributions and efforts.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?