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3 Ways to Prevent Turnover: More Than 50% of Quitting Employees Say Their Employers Could Have Done Something

Involuntarily losing employees cost U.S. businesses a trillion dollars in a year.

A trillion dollars disappears from U.S. businesses annually, a direct consequence of the rising number of employees quitting. The unfortunate aspect of this for hoteliers is that many of these turnovers are self-inflicted.

According to Gallup, 52 percent of employees who leave voluntarily say that their managers could have done something to prevent them from walking about the door. When the hospitality turnover rate is 74 percent annually, trying to prevent these employees from quitting is well worth it – especially when one lost employee can cost a business nearly $10,000. And losing one employee can make it harder to find the next.

Websites like Glassdoor allow past and present employees to leave reviews about their experiences working. This can be an issue for you if you have disgruntled employees as Gallup notes that 71 percent of potential employees refer to employee referrals when considering a job.

First, you need to understand the reasons behind your turnover rate. But with the good news being that these massive losses are preventable, you can start taking notes to either prevent your turnover from increasing or start bringing your turnover rates down.

Keep an eye on toxic employees

Employees who tarnish the work experience aren’t directly your fault, but keeping them there may be. These workers often display a negative attitude, gossip, and a lack of accountability – often misplacing blame onto others.

They may also undermine their coworkers by being overly critical or rejecting constructive feedback. Be sure to create an environment where employees feel comfortable turning to you. You want to know when this type of behavior is happening and if you’re not able to see it yourself you’ll want to get that honest feedback. Create a clear guide for behavioral expectations so that you can establish a baseline for your employees.

That way the “I didn’t know” excuse isn’t applicable. Don’t fire someone on the spot, however, as that can leave others on edge. Establish a consistent review process when your guidelines are in place.

Be flexible

FlexJob’s annual survey of over 7,300 workers concluded that 30 percent of employees said they left because of their employer’s lack of flexibility and more than half even tried negotiating with their employers beforehand.

Flexibility doesn’t only mean working remotely, providing an over-the-top amount of time off, or accepting consistent tardiness. More reasonably, offer your staff flexible work hours when possible and accommodate personal emergencies or other issues. If an employee doesn’t have a history of slacking or underperforming but has a day-off request or a last-minute call-out, be gracious. Respecting an employee’s time and needs means they’ll respect you that much more.

Improve employee engagement

Engaged employees are more likely to feel a sense of commitment to their roles and your business. They tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, leading them to have better job performance and provide your guests with better customer service.

Maintaining open channels of communication ensures that employees feel both heard and valued. To keep your employees engaged, initiate regular feedback sessions, team meetings, and platforms for anonymous suggestions to create an environment where concerns are addressed and ideas are acknowledged.

Recognition programs, acknowledging above-and-beyond performance, and providing growth opportunities through training are also important. Employees value managers who are interested in broadening their skills.