A 2002 report published by the Missouri Small Business Development Centers states that, on average, it costs a company 30% of a new hire’s annual salary to replace an employee. In this survey by Sasha Corporation, you can see costs of employee departures in select companies.

Three ideas for lowering your employee departures.

Here are three ways in which your company can lower your turnover and retain those valued employees:

1. Mentoring.

Informal mentoring has been around forever. And for good reason. Informal structures have proven to be very effective in helping new employees “learn the ropes,” and to get the quick lessons in inner-company politics. It’s also a quick way for a new person to establish friendships and to feel a sense of belonging. Informal mentoring should be recognized as a valuable resource within the company walls. However, without formal structure and monitoring, it may be difficult to evaluate the direct benefits of an informal system.

According to information provided recently by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), formal mentoring – corporate mentoring – is on the rise. It is proving to be a valuable tool in helping new employees fit in quickly and thus, increase their success factor. And it’s also valuable for the companies as well. In this more structured, planned approach, guidelines are established and there may be formal programs outlined to help the new person. Orientation meetings, for instance, can be one way to jump-start a mentoring relationship.

Mentoring should not be limited to just new employees, however. What about someone who was just promoted into management? Or a person who has recently taken a courageous step into a different department that will require different skills? Often, companies will have a pool of mentors from which they allow the privileged employee to select his/her own mentor. Imagine how powerful this could be in your company!

There are a myriad of resources available to help you design a mentoring program for your own company. If you’d like to learn more about this, contact me.

2. Exit Interviews.

Are exit interviews a part of your company’s policy and procedures? This can be an effective tool for upper management to help determine underlying causes for the departure of valued employees. There are many philosophies on the value of an exit interview. Some believe the departing employee will never give you fair and honest answers to your questions. Others will tell you this process can be very informational and can lead to future changes in corporate behavior and policies.

If your company currently conducts exit interviews and you feel the process is not working, then evaluate your process. For example, who is conducting the interview? In corporate environments, it is common for the Human Resources department to conduct the exit interviews. Sometimes, the CEO gets involved in the process. This removes the immediate supervisor from the discussion to encourage more frank responses. If you’re a small business owner, then you’ll likely be the one conducting the exit interviews with your departing staff members. In either case, you can get frank answers if you are genuine in your approach and in your desire to listen and to learn.

3. Company culture.

Does your company foster open communications with employees? Are you accessible?

How in touch are you with the real pulse of what’s going on in your various departments? Remember the MBWA theory of the 1970’s and 1980’s? That’s Management By Walking Around.

What is the genuine “feeling” given out by you and your management team? Many companies have an “open-door” policy; yet, few people seem to take advantage of it. Why is that? I would venture to say that most people are not comfortable bringing complaints or ideas because they feel they won’t be heard – really heard.

Time and again, studies have shown that people stay where they feel they are valued. That holds true in intimate relationships, in friendships and in our jobs. In various studies, the number one reason people leave good jobs is because they don’t feel they matter to the company, they no longer feel they are contributing and they don’t see a way to change that situation.

It’s human nature to want to go with the status quo; inviting change into our lives is uncomfortable for us. So if a valued employee has been with you for 2, 3 or 10 years, it takes a lot to get him to turn in a resignation. That decision has slowly edged upon him; it hasn’t happened overnight. So there are probably numerous areas in a company culture that could be evaluated and perhaps changed – even slightly – in order to make a difference in the next new hire.

Here are 5 basic questions you can ask about your own company culture:

1. Does my company encourage individual thinking?
2. Do we measure what is important? And do we reward accordingly?
3. Is employee recognition authentic and deserving?
4. Are our employees held accountable?
5. Do we have a retention review committee?

As employers and managers, do we "walk the talk?” Most of us understand that good talented employees are vital assets. How we reflect that sentiment in the way we treat them at the workplace will be the key to our success in retaining them.

Have a golden day!

Coach Darlene