All throughout the United States, employees are voluntarily leaving their jobs. As a matter of fact, more than two and a half million employees did so in the June of the year of 2015 alone, which marked a nearly one quarter increase in such behavior from the year prior. And in the time that has elapsed since, such a pattern has only continued to be seen – and increase. If nothing is done to address the root causes of this issue, it will continue to remain prevalent in our workforce as we know it.
But what is behind this issue? What are the reasons for the fact that up to 60% of all Millennial employees are willing to leave their current jobs should a better one come about (earning them the moniker of the “job hopping generation)? Like so many other things in life, the issue is a multi-faceted one indeed. For one thing, employees simply are not hired with enough care and precision as they should be. As a matter of fact, more than one full third of surveyed top executives actually felt that an employee who was hired but who was a poor skills match was one of the main reasons that job retention rates have been so abysmal, followed by the issue of unclear performance objectives, two things that can play hand in hand when determining whether an employee stays or ultimately ends up finding work elsewhere.
Fortunately, there are ways in which hires can be make much more carefully, such as through the use of an executive search consultant working for an outplacement company or executive search firm. The executive search consultant will play an important role in the hiring process, as an executive search consultant can help to weed through the pool of candidates. When an executive search consultant or even someone working for a job placement agency can help in the initial process of finding a pool of candidates that will work well and are all qualified for the job, it is much more unlikely that a totally unsuitable candidate will ultimately be chosen. Therefore, the executive search consultant can play a potentially critical role in boosting rates of employee retention in different fields found all throughout the country.
In addition to this and on top of using an executive search consultant, improving employee morale is as simple as providing them with more support and recognition. After all, this is something that is sorely lacking in far too many workplaces. The data backs this up, showing that scant one fifth of all employees even felt that their superiors were encouraging them to work to their best ability and meet their potential. In workplaces such as these, which now make up more than three quarters of the working world, it is far too common to see apathy bred among workers of all levels and skill sets.
But implementing an employee recognition program is one thing that can be done to help. After all, employee recognition programs have largely been very successful. As a matter of fact, as many as 86% of all companies that have used such programs have noted an uptick in overall employee happiness levels. And when employees are, on the whole, happier, they are likely to do a better job at work, with productivity and quality of work both seeing improvements. Therefore, it is very important to note that even relatively small changes can lead to considerable differences in how a workplace functions – and how long employees stay after being hired, for that matter.
At the end of the day, there is no denying that employee retention rates are troubling indeed. Fortunately, there are steps that can be taken to help to change this. Hiring an executive search consultant to help in the process of making hires is one of them – and an important one, for that matter. In addition to this, simply implementing something like an employee recognition program can also lead to more positive change than you might realize. Even these small changes can have a considerable impact indeed.
