What Is Employee Attrition?
Employee retention is an inevitable part of any business. You will seldom meet a person who’s planning to end their career at the organization they started at. So, you should be ready to say goodbye to your employees, sooner or later.
To keep their staff for as long as possible, HR managers are gathering information about how many workers left the organization within a certain period of time and what made them decide to do so. Having analyzed this info, they may develop some strategies that could help reduce employee attrition in their company.
What Is Attrition?
Attrition in HR refers to the reduction of the workforce due to either personal or professional reasons, including:
- Pay
- Issues with co-workers
- Layoff
- Sickness
- Retirement
- Death
Employee attrition does not imply replacing the staff member who has left the organization. The term is also not to be confused with employee turnover. We’ll compare both metrics below so that you do not mix them up.
Why Should HR Leaders Care About Employee Attrition?
Millennials are often called the “job-hopping generation,” as they tend to switch jobs quite frequently. One of the reasons for that is the desire for career mobility and higher pay; these days, employers have to devote more money to retirement savings.
With a proper understanding of what the current situation looks like in terms of employee attrition, HR professionals can build a working strategy to benefit from the trend and create a productive, committed labor force.
What Can HR Do to Ensure Attrition Benefits the Company?
We have gathered some of the most useful techniques HR managers can incorporate to make sure their organization benefits from employee attrition:
1. Be honest in your job ads
Let’s be fair: many job postings are vague about the expected salary and other conditions. It’s no wonder an employer might have a very high employee attrition rate if they keep hiring people expecting to make more money than had been offered in the posting.
2. Offer good compensation and benefits
Other than just being fair in your advertisement, you also need to offer competitive benefits. Do your research on what amount of compensation is competitive enough and would attract the best candidates for the role.
3. Allow more flexibility
Your best fit may come from a different town, state, or even country, and there’s a chance they won’t be willing to relocate. If your job does not imply being at the office every day, consider offering remote work, and your talent pool will expand significantly.
4. Find the right fit
Take your time to find the right fit for your organization. Use tests, assessments, etc., to ensure that the person you’re about to hire is a suitable candidate. If they are, they may stay for a long period of time, lowering your attrition rate.
5. Offer career opportunities
Having career opportunities entails higher income, a better quality of life, and confidence about a member’s role within the company, which leads to the employee wanting to stay in the organization.
6. Provide your managers with management training courses
Not all supervisors have good management skills, which results in conflicts and issues with their supervisees and leads to low productivity of the whole team. If you want to minimize the number of workers leaving because of an issue with their manager, invest in management training and see how it will lower your attrition rate.
7. Keep your workers engaged
It’s hard to retain an employee who has no desire whatsoever to be working in a place they don’t like. We spend 70% of our lives at work. As an HR manager, your responsibility is to provide a positive, warm environment for all staff members so that they feel appreciated and valued.
8. Retain the most essential workers
Surely, some employees might be more beneficial and productive than others. Therefore, you could try to make an extra effort to keep those who have been able to show some excellent results with their work by offering extra benefits.
9. Stay on good terms with your ex-staffers
There’s no reason to start a conflict with someone who has decided to pursue another opportunity in a different company. Send them off with gratitude and well-wishes instead, and let them know they’re very welcome if they decide to return later.
How Can Employee Attrition Improve Company Culture?
Obviously, employee attrition occurs even in ideal working conditions. Of course, losing an employee – especially one of the most valuable ones – isn’t easy, but at the same time, it gives hiring managers an opportunity to reconsider and realign their recruiting techniques with their organization’s goals.
By letting some people go, you get an opportunity to attract top talent and great candidates who may even turn out to be more suitable for certain positions.
Staff Attrition vs. Staff Turnover: What’s the Difference?
Attrition and turnover in HR may often be used interchangeably; however, they are not the same thing. Employee turnover implies replacing the lost worker - and with employee attrition, the position remains unfilled.
A high attrition rate shows your business is in serious trouble. But having high turnover rates, you can still have a growing organization.
Boost Your Company With Top Talent
If you want your company to be successful, the first thing you should focus on is your labor force. While having people go is normal, it’s important to learn why it happened and use that insight to develop strategies.
The attrition rate shows if people actually enjoy their work experience in your company, and if they don’t, you should consider changing your recruiting and hiring practices. If you don’t know where to begin, try using Talenteria! This next-gen career site builder and recruitment marketing platform is equipped with tools to make sure you find the best candidates. Reach out today to learn more!
