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TURNOVER: WHAT IS IT AND HOW TO AVOID IT?

By July 18th, 2022No Comments

The environment in which a company's management team and employees work needs to be aligned and based on a healthy relationship for talent development. When this doesn't happen, we can expect some impacts on the company's development, such as a high turnover rate, which can also be called turnover.

Turnover is an indicator that something is not going well in the company, which is why it needs to be analyzed. When its main causes are investigated, there is the possibility of making the organizational climate more pleasant and adjusting the relationship between hiring and dismissals.

It is necessary to understand that much better than remedying this situation is undoubtedly preventing it. In order to be able to work on more efficient strategies for retaining and attracting talent, it is essential to start this process by understanding what the term turnover is in order to develop more assertive actions.

Find out now what turnover means and how to avoid it!

 

Understand what Turnover is

 

By definition, turnover means employee turnover, relating to the rate at which people are hired and fired in a company. HR is responsible for assessing this turnover rate and understanding whether it is within plan or whether it is necessary to intervene and reduce this figure.

In people management, you need to understand that in order to guarantee successful results, the focus must be on caring for people and how they feel in the workplace. 

When there is a hostile climate, few benefits, no chance of growth or poor career planning, it is normal for there to be a high turnover rate. This is because employees' dissatisfaction with the company in question can be clearly understood.

In order for the company and its employees to be aligned in terms of their objectives and goals, it is necessary to formulate actions and processes that make work more productive, healthy and satisfying. That's what we'll see throughout this text, but we need to address the main causes of turnover. Follow along!

 

Main reasons for turnover

 

Now that you know what turnover means, it's important to understand the main reasons why a company's turnover metrics can be high.

This information will help shape better planning, with more efficient business management that will yield good results. Indicators can reveal the impact that a high rate of staff turnover can have on a company.

That's why it's so important to know and understand the causes, so that the best solutions and proposals can be considered. Check it out now:

 

Hostile management

 

Disrespect and a lack of professionalism in the workplace is always one of the major causes of many resignations and dismissals in companies. 

In this way, even if the employee is willing and proactive in carrying out their duties, the way in which management takes place directly influences the team's deliveries and can lead to many unpleasant moments.

Employees who are unable to communicate and work in an assertive and minimally friendly way with their leaders and managers end up preferring to resign.

 

Below average pay

 

Another determining factor in whether or not employees choose to leave a company is undoubtedly the fact that they feel demotivated and undervalued in the workplace. 

And this has an impact on your pay. Nothing is more discouraging than feeling you deserve more and not getting it.

 

Lack of recognition

 

Lack of recognition in the workplace can take many forms, from low pay to a lack of positive feedback, or even the imposition of an exhausting workload.

Everything works together to make employees feel less and less valued and recognized, and the organizational climate becomes unproductive.

 

Problems with internal communication

 

A company that doesn't care about its employees will make internal communication increasingly bureaucratic and difficult to access. 

Therefore, once communication channels become scarce or too complicated, the solution to possible problems will only become further away. Employees who need to report their difficulties or who want to pass on feedback will encounter a major challenge.

 

No career plan

 

The lack of growth expectations is a decisive factor in the narrative of voluntary resignations. That's because there's no way you can want to stay in a place without any glimpse of growth or improvements in your career plan.

When a company focuses on structuring a well-defined and clear career plan for each type of role and segment, it becomes much easier to attract and retain talent.

The absence of such a career plan and the lack of a benefits package is what generates professional insecurity and, as a consequence, high staff turnover.

By understanding these main factors for the appearance of turnover, it is essential that actions are taken to identify points for improvement.  

 

Types of turnover

 

In order to deal with a problem and propose ways of solving it, it is vital to know every detail about the subject. When it comes to turnover, knowing and understanding the types and classifications that exist is the first step towards finding creative and efficient solutions.

 

Functional Turnover

 

This type of turnover can be considered the least risky for the company, because it happens when an employee who is considered to be underperforming asks to be let go. In other words, it's an opportunity for the company to change its workforce in a positive way, replacing that underperforming professional with someone more qualified and who can really make a difference to the bottom line.

 

Dysfunctional Turnover

 

Here the phenomenon is quite the opposite. This is when a high-performing, valuable professional resigns from the company. Notoriously, because this is an employee who brings many benefits to the company, this type of turnover is terrible and represents a great loss.

 

Voluntary Turnover

 

Another type of turnover is voluntary, which, as the name implies, is when the employee resigns for various reasons, such as taking up a new opportunity elsewhere, or even for internal reasons, such as dissatisfaction with organizational management.

 

Involuntary Turnover

 

Involuntary turnover is the dismissal of an employee by the company, which has already decided to cut staff. The reasons can be varied, but they represent a rethink in the company's planning strategies, and can therefore be considered positive.

 

How HR can prevent turnover

 

HR's role is also to create ways to facilitate the employee's routine within the company, making daily tasks more productive and objective, and thereby retaining talent.

So there are a few steps you need to take:

 

Transparent communication

 

Within the company's organizational culture, it is necessary to devise ways for internal communication to take place transparently, directly and without bureaucracy, so that it is possible to serve everyone and solve problems much more easily and quickly.

Varied communication channels and a team that is prepared and motivated to establish a relationship of trust and respect guarantee more transparent communication that is aligned with the same objectives.

This way, employees will be sure that their work has been valued and that their doubts, complaints and questions will be heard. In addition, promoting direct communication helps leaders and employees to align their goals and objectives with everyone on the team.

 

Structured career plan

 

The atmosphere may be as pleasant as possible and the team may be close-knit, but if there is no incentive and a clear, well-structured career plan, the company runs the risk of losing its talents.

In order to attract and keep your high-performance employees motivated and engaged, you need to provide the right structure for growth. It is therefore the responsibility of management to implement and offer the best opportunities for professional growth.

Create programs and value propositions with remuneration, positions and jobs based on each employee's work experience and results. Being clear about what you can achieve is an excellent opportunity to have professionals who are increasingly committed to your results.

 

Valuing the team

 

Valuing staff can be done in a number of ways, the main one being to create working models that encourage and motivate professionals. You can use the gamification in businessor even creating a flexible and attractive benefits program for employees.

Another way to value your work team is to improve the organizational climate and reduce conflicts, or to recognize individual and collective achievements.

 

Culture of feedback

 

It is essential that feedback be part of the routine of a company that wants to reduce its turnover rate and develop the growth of its team. Performance evaluations are very important for identifying where talent needs to be improved or even certain actions and processes need to be modified.

Feedback is largely responsible for helping HR to deal with their teams, drawing up plans to achieve better results.

Finally, when the company maintains a culture of valuing its professionals, the rate of staff turnover is reduced and it is possible to promote significant changes and progress.

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Co-Founder of Improvefy, professor at FGV and C-Level executive with extensive experience in OKRs and strategic planning.