Why are my employees leaving?

When you own your own business, high attrition can be upsetting. You love your company and you don’t understand why employees keep leaving. Plus, a high attrition rate is expensive and exhausting. You’re constantly trying to find new candidates to recruit, hire and train, and this takes up energy and resources. So, what can you do? The first step is to find out why employees are leaving. What are the possible options?

Safety

Feeling safe in an office isn’t a wish: it’s a must. If employees don’t feel safe, they don’t feel valued, and they might dread going to work. Plus, serious accidents could happen. A safe workplace will have signs for any hazards (like those from mysafetysign.com) such as wet surfaces, faulty wires or damaged equipment. It will also be accessible. If not, this might be why your employees are leaving. 

Salary

Whilst it’s nice to feel passionate about our careers, many people work for one thing: money. Therefore, if your employees feel under-paid, they probably won’t stay for very long. So, you need to research into salaries and make sure that you’re paying your employees as much as competitors. If you are, but employees are still leaving, then the situation may be difficult to control. It might be a case that the field of work is quite low paid. Charity sectors and social care, for example, are low-paid fields that rely on hard-working employees who care about what they do. If this is the case, you need to think about other ways of making your workplace desirable. 

Competitors

As you’ve learnt, competitors that offer more than you could be the reason for the high attrition in your business. If a competing company is able to offer a higher salary, bonuses or benefits like a company car, free food or flexible hours, then employees may be tempted to move. It’s key to be aware of all competing companies and try to offer similar perks to your employees. It’s not difficult – get networking and do your research.

Location

Whilst most people in the states have cars, the location of your office may be a contributing factor for the high attrition in the company. If your office is in the middle of nowhere, it may not be convenient for employees to get there. Likewise, if the office is in a run-down or high-crime area, people may feel uncomfortable going to work. In general, people prefer working in convenient locations without a long expensive commute. An office near shops is always useful, as there are plenty of options for lunch, for example. It may not feel like a big deal, but if a competing company offers a swanky office near a high-street, your employee may consider moving on.  

Value

One of the most significant reasons for high employee attrition is when employees don’t feel valued. If you don’t respect, encourage and value your employees, they won’t care about the company or want it to thrive. They’ll see it as a 9-5 and look for something else. You can show your employees you value them by regular communication, offering training courses to grow their skills and providing office perks like social events.