How Organisations in the UK Can Reduce Staff Turnover - Essay Example

HOW ORGANISATIONS IN THE UK CAN REDUCE STAFF TURNOVER due: In today’s competitive market, business organisations are finding ways to cope with the competition. One of the ways to do this is to cut down on the production cost. How the physical, financial and human resources are managed by any organisation determines how effectively an organization cuts down on the production cost. This article will explain how well to manage the human resource available to the organisation in order to maximize the benefits therein. Due to the dynamic nature of the job market, any organisation has to ensure they attract and retain the best quality employees. Achieving this goal requires an employer to handle the human resource sector with tact and wisdom (Griffeth & Hom 2004: 3). Employee turnover is a situation where staffs of a particular organisation leave the organisation in order to find better employment terms and conditions elsewhere. In many cases, these employees end up with these organisation’s competitors (Armstrong 2010:198). A high employee turnover rate has a harmful effect on the progress of the organisation. The consequences of high employee turnover include: •The organisation loses money by spending more on hiring and training new employees. The organization could have avoided this had the employer retained the workers (Bhattacharyya 2006: 256). •The level of productivity of the organisation reduces in the same ratio as the employees that have left. •The morale of the other workers goes down due to being overworked. This results in low productivity and low-quality products. •High employee turnover has an adverse publicity for an organisation. Organisations that have a high employee turnover have a hard time attracting good quality employees, and this affects the quality of products or services they offer (Phillips 2002: 4). Organizations in the UK and the world over are trying to cope with this problem of employee turnover. A number of issues when properly addressed would significantly reduce or entirely eliminate the problem of employee turnover (Koslowsky & Krausz 2002: 53). The issues that every organisation needs to look into in order to address employee turnover include: 1. Giving employees a wages or salary that is slightly above that of the competitors is a sure way to retain the employees and make them loyal to the organization. Besides paying the employees well, it is also important to develop a criterion for a future pay raise for the employees. This will result in a motivated workforce who will like to stick around hence cutting down on the employee turnover rate. 2. It is also important to offer some benefits above the regular salary or wedges. These benefits could include retirement benefits, health care plan, and benevolent fund among others. This will keep an employer ahead of his or her competitors. A regular review of the salary and benefits methods is necessary to maintain an organisation ahead of her competitors. 3. It is crucial for an employer to hire the right people for the right job. This will ensure the employees are self-motivated. It will require streamlining of the recruitment process and a thorough study of the employee personalities and the requirements for each job. This reduces workplace stress due to missing placed skills and personalities (Orrick 2008:149). 4. Employers should give their employees some independence to make decisions in their particular areas of operation. It will encourage creativity and make the employees feel important to the organisation which boosts morale and hence productivity. With these conditions, the employees will easily commit their future to the group thus the employee turnover rate is reduced. 5. Giving the employees room for growth is also another important factor an employer should consider. Employees are more motivated to stay in the company if their efforts are appreciated. The best alternative to handling this is by trusting the employees with bigger responsibility as their skills grow. An employer could achieve this by providing regular training to the staff and developing a criterion for promotion of the good performing staff. Then, employers can manage to attract and retain a good share of their personnel. 6. Developing a healthy organisation culture is paramount to attracting and retaining good quality staff. The organisation culture is the atmosphere surrounding an organization. A healthy organization culture drives an organisation to success. Employees like to be associated with a successful organization and the success of their organisation. This will help reduce the rate of employee turnover. 7. Employees would like to be associated with an organisation that is going to stay for a long time and thrive in the unforeseen future. This gives them the feeling of job security. For any organisation to retain its employees, the management has to develop an excellent strategic plan that will ensure the organisation thrives in the unforeseeable future. This will help cut down on the employee turnover rate (Rothwell 2005:20). 8. Finding new ways to motivate employees is a factor that can be exploited to reduce employee turnover rate. People like to be acknowledged and praised openly for their achievements and to be corrected secretly for their failures. An employer, who does this, will have the loyalty of his or her employees. The employer could also give rewards and promotions to the well-performing employees. Employees who are well motivated find job satisfaction in what they do, and this builds employee loyalty to the organisation, thus cutting down on the turnover rate (Samli 1998: 262). 9. Giving employees a feeling of owning the organization is vital to getting them to be loyal to the organisation. This can be achieved by allowing them to make some decisions and solving some problems facing the organisation. Seeking their opinions is a good way to achieve this. This not only develops leadership skills in the workers, it also instils loyalty to the workers. Developing loyalty in the workers will significantly cut down on the employee turnover rate. 10. Determining the reasons why the previous employees left the organisation and address the issues is instrumental in solving the problem of employee turnover. Some of the reasons why employees leave a company may be a small problem that can easily be solved. This can be achieved by conducting an interview with the workers who have already left the company and seeking to address the arising issues effectively (Russo 2000: 3). 11. Developing a healthy workplace environment can also cut down on the level of employee turnover. The workplace environment determines how comfortable the workers are during their working. Having the right amount of light, right wall color, the best workplace orientation and some leisure facilities for the workers keeps their morale high. Revising the work routine regularly to eliminate monotony is also a factor to that needs to be addressed in order to maintain employee morale. Assigning different roles for employees who are not satisfied with their work is also very crucial. Most employees would be attracted to an organisation that has a healthy work-place environment (Simon 2009:279). 12. Another way to reduce employee turnover is for the employer to develop a good relationship with the employees. A good relationship between employers and workers encourages efficient vertical communication. This makes sure the workers open up to their employer in case of any challenges they are facing in the workplace environment. The employees in this organisation feel valued thus their loyalty to the organisation increases (Hess 2010: 173). 13. Firing workers who are a nuisance to other workers in the organization will also help reduce employee turnover rate. Some workers could leave an organisation just because a particular worker keeps offending them. It is in the right interest of the organisation that the employer fires this employee. Everyone likes to work in a peaceful and loving environment (Jackson, Schuler, Werner & Jackson 2009: 230). 14. When the employers acknowledge that their employees are normal human beings with families and other needs, they will put this into consideration when assigning duties and developing routines for their workers. The employers who address some of the needs of the employees outside the work environment form a bond with them which enables the employer to earn their employees loyalty (Batt & Valcour 2000: 2). 15. It is the duty of the management of an organisation to develop an effective organisation structure. Restructuring the organisation over and over means changing the roles of different employees from time to time. This has an adverse effect on some workers since it disorients them and hampers their growth and progress. Employers, who avoid this, will reduce the rate of employee turnover in their organisation (Batt & Valcour 2000: 2). 16. In case the rate of employee turnover is high in a particular department of the organisation, it is essential that the employer takes time to train the managers in that department. It serves as an initial step in trying to solve the problem. Addressing it is likely to restore the morale and reduce the rate of employee turnover in the organisation (Sharp 2003: 114). 17. Having good leadership in an organisation is essential to reducing employee turnover. Good leadership constitutes leaving up to the standards set for the employees. Employers find it easy to perform to the set standards if the management leads by example. This will help boost employee morale and increase their loyalty to the organisation and in turn cut down on the rate of employee turnover. (Baum, 2009: 133). 18. Cultivating a culture of mutual respect between the employer and the employees and between fellow employees is also another crucial point that must be put into consideration when addressing the issue of employee turnover. All employees will be loyal to an organisation with a culture that ensures everyone is respected, and everyone’s opinion is valued. (Kusluvan, 2003: 549). 19. When faced with a choice between the interest of the employees and a customer or the general public, better choose to make the employees happy, because this will pay off in the long run. Having a well-motivated team of employees who are satisfied with their job, can turn around an organisation’s bad image within a short period and increase the productivity of the organisation. In conclusion, the issue of employee turnover is a problem that most employers are facing today. It puts most organisations at a competitive disadvantage. Employers are taking different approaches to addressing this issue according the level of their resources. Each organisation has its capacity to retain a good percentage of their employees depending on how well they apply the above methods. It is also vital to note that organisations with more resources have a better advantage of applying the above principles. Bibliography ARMSTRONG, M. (2010). Armstrongs essential human resource management practice: a guide to people management. London, Kogan Page. BATT, R. L., & VALCOUR, P. M. (2000). Workplace flexibility, work-family integration, and employee turnover. Ithaca, NY, Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center BAUM, T. (2009). People and work in events and conventions a research perspective. Wallingford, UK, CABI. http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/9781845934767.0000 BHATTACHARYYA, A. K. (2006). Principles and practice of cost accounting. New-Delhi, Prentice-Hall of India. GRIFFETH, R. W., & HOM, P. W. (2004). Innovative theory and empirical research on employee turnover. Greenwich, Conn, Information Age Pub. HESS, E. D. (2010). Smart growth: building an enduring business by managing the risks of growth. New York, Columbia Business School Publishing JACKSON, S. E., SCHULER, R. S., WERNER, S., & JACKSON, S. E. (2009). Managing human resources. Mason, OH, South-Western Cengage Learning. KOSLOWSKY, M., & KRAUSZ, M. (2002). Voluntary employee withdrawal and inattendance: a current perspective. New York, NY [u.a.], Kluwer Academic/Plenum Pub KUSLUVAN, S. (2003). Managing employee attitudes and behaviors in the tourism and hospitality industry. Hauppauge, New York, Nova Science Publishers. ORRICK, D. W. (2008). Recruitment, Retention, and Turnover of Police Personnel Reliable, Practical, and Effective Solutions. Springfield, Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=554629. PHILLIPS, P. P. (2002). In action retaining your best employees. Alexandria, Va, ASTD. http://www.lib.sfu.ca/cgi-bin/validate/books24x7.cgi?bookid=11662. (4 effects of turnover) ROTHWELL, W. J. (2005). Career planning and succession management: developing your organizations talent--for today and tomorrow. Westport, Ct, Praeger Publishers. RUSSO, A. T. (2000). Minimizing employee turnover by focusing on the new hire process: a dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty of the College of Business and Management in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prescott, Ariz, Universal Publishers/uPUBLISH.com. SAMLI, A. C. (1998). Strategic marketing for success in retailing. Westport, Conn, Quorum Books. SHARP, D. E. (2003). Call Center operation design, operation, and maintenance. Amsterdam, Digital Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=195187. SIMON, H. (2009). Hidden Champions of the Twenty-First Century the Success Strategies of Unknown World Market Leaders. New York, NY, Hermann Simon. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-98147-5. Read More