Free Minimizing Turnover Essay Sample

Introduction

Organisations make colossal investments on entry level workers in terms of time and financial resources to turn them from inexperienced employees to efficient and skilled workers. They offer them training, watch them grow and turn them into model employees. When the employees decide to prematurely terminate their services, the human resource departments of these organisations count huge losses. Organisations feel the impact of turnover immediately because of unattended workloads and costs of recruiting a new employee. Thus, motivating and retaining entry-level workers presents a significant challenge to organisations of all sizes. Entry level workers can vary in terms of age from experienced beginners in their teenage to old workers with a rich job experience. The motivation to stay on the job or leave varies according to the divergent needs and perceptions of workers. For example, youthful employees may perceive a job as the first step in their career life. On the other hand, fringe benefits such as insurance may be an important consideration for workers with dependents. This paper argues that companies can reduce turnover by re-engineering the hiring process and motivating their workers.

Re-engineering Hiring Process

Realistic Job Interview

Many entry level employees leave their jobs because they did not know the expectation of the job during the recruitment process. Employers should set their expectations for the positions they intend to fill in the application process. Candidates should know upfront, all the conditions surrounding the job for instance if they will be working in an extremely hot environment. The full disclosure will make candidates to deselect themselves from the application process if they feel they will not meet the conditions. Self-deselection will help the employers to eliminate low potential candidates from the pool of potential employees. In this case, applicants who think the conditions are not fit for them to excuse themselves from consideration and before the hiring process instead of resigning few months after they are hired. This helps companies to hire only employees who are a good long-term fit for the positions being filled.

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Assessment of Position relevant Competencies

Employees are absorbed into positions that fit their skill sets stay longer in organisations than when their skills endowment and skills required to perform their duties are discordant. Accurate and consistent selection aimed at minimising employee turnover should involve job-relevant employee assessments. Hiring conducted based on position relevant competencies is objective. They focus on targeted positions and precisely measure competencies that reflect the success of the organisation. Further, candidates who attain high scores in desired competencies are associated with a high-level job performance. Employees screened by position-relevant hiring assessment have a higher likelihood of becoming better long term fits for their respective positions.

Screening for Motivational Fit

Organisations that hire good motivational fits for vacant positions to experience less turnover. Skipping the assessment of motivational fit in the hiring process has an adverse effect on the longevity of employees services in an organisation. Organisations should train interviewers in behavior-based interview techniques with specific emphasis on motivational fit. This process helps organisations to hire employees who have the intrinsic motivation to the job. Such individuals are less likely to leave their job within a short period. Further, behavior-based interviews not only reduces turnover but also yield unbiased and accurate hiring decisions.

Employee Motivation

Pay Efficiency Wage

In the free labour market, differences in salaries make up the biggest reason employees shift jobs. An organisation that pays its employees more than the competitor reduces the chances that the employees will leave for another job. A higher salary is also an incentive for the employees to work harder and invest more commitment in the job. These employees are less likely to give up their jobs because a higher salary increases the opportunity cost of leaving a job. On the other hand, employees paid a lower salary to have less dedication and loyalty to their jobs. Employees who do not have the financial resources to pay its workers more than the competitor can employ more creativity to make the employee stay longer in the organisation. For example, a company can offer equity plans and stock options at a lower cost to increase the employees long-term earning potential. Equity and stock options give employees a real financial stake in the company, which makes them own the progress of the organisation. The employees will feel that they are part of the organisation and will stick longer.

Potential for Advancement

New hires will stay longer in an organisation if they perceive opportunities for advancement. Apart from compensating employees fairly for their work, employers should offer employees non-tangible benefits of advancement. Organisations should offer rewards to the exceptionally smart, hardworking and resourceful employees by means of assigning them higher level responsibilities and awarding them important titles. Employees who have gradually advanced from entry-level to managerial positions are more likely to be loyal to their company than the employee who has done the same job and remained at the same position for a long time. Organisations should occasionally invite career counsellors to broaden the employees understanding on how to advance in the organisation. Organisations should also tray to offer a promotion to their workforce than recruiting outsiders into management positions. Giving priority to the qualified and experienced employees within the organisation to fill management positions gives an impression that the organisation cares about the employees achievements.

Balancing the Work Load

Many entry level employees reduce their interest in their jobs because the jobs are monotonous, stressful or extremely difficult. Thus, companies will easier workloads appear more attractive than their current jobs. Organisations should desist from overworking their employees to exhaustion point because it makes them start looking for other jobs. Further, employees working under high-stress levels are associated with low net productivity. Excessively long hours have also reduced the effectiveness of the employees to deal with problems that require creativity and critical thinking. The employees are also more likely to make mistakes. All these negative aspects contribute to the decision of an employee to leave their jobs.

Offer Competitive Benefits

New entrants look beyond the salary offered by a potential employer but also available benefits. A company is more appealing to the employer if it offers benefits such as health insurance, entertainment and career advancement. Such organisations are more appealing than the competitors, hence are associated with lower employee turnover. Organisations should review their benefits package regularly to incorporate the changing needs in the labour market. Companies should have knowledge of the benefits offered by the competitors to their employees. If they increase their benefits, there is the likelihood that they will attract the best employees from other organisations. Additional benefits make a job more attractive and reduce employee turnover.

Create Friendly Employee Relationships

Newly employed workers can stay for long in an organisation if they find a friendly environment. Bosses and coworkers who function like a family create a work environment of friendly relationships. They build friendly conversations and emotional intimacy, which makes it difficult for an employee to leave this circle of friends. Employers who build a warm and open work environment retain employees longer than employers who create boring and dreadful work environment. Managers should foster an environment where employees comfortably talk, joke and make outside of work plans as long as these engagements do not interfere with the work process. If employees look standoffish, cold and emotionally distant, the employer should sponsor a fun day out to lighten the mood of the employees. Employers who organise a day out for drinks, sports or movie after work or on weekends create a strong bond among the employees and with the management. Employees are less likely to leave organisations with strong bonds.

Trusting Employees with Responsibility

Employees tend to increase loyalty to an organisation when they feel their contribution to the organisation is accorded importance. Managers should show even the junior most employee that their jobs matter to the organisation. An understanding of how the work of an employee is essential to the success of an organisation increases their motivation to strive for greater success. Assigning an employee additional superior duties to make their job more attractive. However, this initiative should bear a promise of promotion or pay rise in the future. Increasing an employee responsibilities together with rewards raise the opportunity cost of leaving the organisation and thus reduces employee turnover.

Conclusion

As outlined above, the first step in reducing employee turnover lies in reforming the hiring process. Most employees leave their jobs prematurely either because they lack the skills for the position, are less motivated for the job or their expectations of the job differ with the real experiences. Re-engineering the hiring process in the ways discussed above will not only reduce employee turnover but also set the organisations for long-term success. Organisations can also reduce turnover by increasing employee motivation. Employees move to other organisation because of a better offer of benefits or a more friendly work environment. Companies should explore ways of motivating employees to not only reduce turnover but also enhance their productivity.

 

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