Why are Employee Resignations at a Five-Year High?
It is of no doubt that a frequent turnover of staff can be damaging to a business. At Stafffinders, we think it is important to pinpoint the factors behind what could cause this to keep it to a limit. We understand that determining the reasons as to why employees are leaving can help an employer prevent these numbers from growing.
A recent HR Review article has outlined the growing rate at which employees are resigning from their job – a rate which has seen resignations rise to a five year high. According to the article, which pulled its data from XpertHR, turnover statistics from 288 organisations found that the rate of resignations has risen to 15.5% in 2017. These figures pose a stark comparison to five years previous, when the number of resignations stood at 10.6%. This understandably leads to the question: why are so many employees resigning?
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It’s obvious that there are many reasons people choose to leave their job. These can come down to personal factors – moving to a new location, change in career path, or the offer of more exciting opportunities. However, it cannot be denied that the workplace itself plays a massive role in persuading employees to move onto other prospects. The idea that ‘employees don’t leave a job, they leave managers’ can be argued to be widely accurate. Work relationships are crucial to making the days easier and more enjoyable, thus a poor bond between manager and employee can have devastating effects on the working environment, and in many cases, result in the resignation of the latter.
Corporate culture is massively important, not just with regards to the daily productivity of the office, but on employees themselves. It has long been argued that a happy workplace equates to happy employees, and subsequently results in a more effective workforce. But what steps can we take to ensure a happy workplace?
Arguably the foundation of this is good communication. Interaction with employees is vital – after all, how will employers know there’s a problem if employees aren’t given the chance to tell them? Secondly, it is important to ensure employees are provided with opportunities for progress and development. Chances to grow within the company are not only a good incentive, but it lets the employee know that they will always have something to work towards and build themselves on. Furthermore, it has been argued that employees are more likely to sway to a competitor’s company because of the offer of better benefits. This suggests that that benefits are therefore just as important as salary in terms of factors contributing to resignation. Finally, don’t stress! If employees are overworked, they become overwhelmed. These feelings inevitably transpire to stress, which ultimately becomes a significant factor in employee turnover.
These steps, although key to the entire workforce, can be said to be particularly important with regards to new starts. HR Review’s article highlights XpertHR’s finding that 10% of new employees resigned before the end of their first year, which leads one to wonder what was at fault: the hiring process, or the welcome efforts?
It can be said that new employees perhaps resign in their first year because of incorrect expectations of what the job would consist of. On the other hand, there is the argument that although fully aware of the job description, new employees are unhappy with the working environment, possibly due to the factors mentioned above. These issues can be prevented, however, with the use of a recruitment agency.
At Stafffinders, we will ensure that candidates are fully briefed on each detail of the job they are applying for, and make sure they know what will be expected of them. Furthermore, we check in with you every step of the way, making sure you are happy with the outcome and are receiving the support you deserve.
