Employers must adapt retention tools to keep hold of workers

Staff retention is a key issue for all employers regardless of their industry. While many offer various incentives to keep staff on-board, for some workers this just isn't enough. According to PPS research, a fifth (20%) of UK workers leave their current job to pursue a completely new career.

However employers shouldn't rest there. The data compiled from candidate exit interviews showed that whilst many leave their job because they want a change in profession, others cite a lack of promotion opportunities (19%) and dissatisfaction with the company's management (14%) as being key deciding factors.

Often management don't have the soft skills to engage their staff, which leads to employees feeling undervalued.

"Often management don't have the soft skills to engage their staff, which leads to employees feeling undervalued" says Amanda Marques, Managing Director of PPS. "Training for managers is really important in this area. Setting and communicating clear and achievable goals, and recognising and rewarding individual contribution is a good start. You also need to look at the culture of the company - having open door policies for example can really help."

Commenting further on the research results, Amanda Marques explains: "People choose to leave their job for many reasons ranging from stress and poor salary through to relocations and the desire for flexible working. However, more and more, we are seeing people changing jobs because they want a complete change of profession.

"Employers need to look at the reasons why people leave their organisation and consider the retention tools available to them, adapting these to best suit their organisation's needs. Engaging in regular appraisals, providing training and development, and encouraging inspirational management skills are just some steps employers can take to hold on to their staff."

Giving employees the opportunity to learn skills not directly related to their roles can be a powerful engagement tool

Giving employees the opportunity to learn skills not directly related to their roles can be a powerful engagement tool also. Speaking at PPS's HR Breakfast Roundtable in June, Save the Children revealed how they offer employees the chance to train as emergency response personnel and work in areas of crisis. By doing so, the individual varies their skills and experience, all while connecting and engaging further with the organisation.

Despite the growing pressures of today's working environment, only 4% of candidates polled by PPS listed stress as their main reason for leaving a job. More surprisingly, only one in 10 (10%) chose to leave their current employer because of poor salary or general dissatisfaction with their job.

Amanda Marques concludes; "Employers need to remember that employees leave people not organisations and therefore, having the right employees in the right jobs is imperative. Companies need to base assessments on capabilities and transferable skills, not just industry experience."

 

 

 

Top reasons for leaving*

1. Change in profession - 20%
2. Lack of opportunity for promotion - 19%
3. Dissatisfied with management - 14%
4. Generally dissatisfied with job - 10%
5. Poor Salary - 10%
6. Lack of flexibility with working hours - 9%
7. Personal relocation - 7%
8. Organisation restructuring / change - 6%
9. Overworked/stressed - 4%
10. Culture within workplace - 2%

* Data based on 836 candidate telephone-based exit interviews undertaken by PPS between 2006 and 2007.