Attrition occurs when large numbers of employees leave a business. High attrition rates can be devastating for a company in both recruiting and training costs. Reducing attrition can help a company save on these costs and improve their competitiveness. Tips for lowwering attrition rates include hiring the right people, training hourly workers, reviewing managerial positions, and finding the cause for employees leaving the business. Each activity in the attrition review process takes place at specified intervals in business operations.
Reducing attrition starts with hiring the right type of people. Each worker may not be a fit for a company. Recruiters and human resource managers must have a specific set of guidelines when hiring employees. Questions to assess potential candidates may include those that focus on the individual’s abilities and those that help the company assess the candidate’s personality. Both question sets will determine if the potential candidate will fit in with others in the company and be comfortable in the working conditions.
Hourly workers are often the largest employee group in a business. Reducing attrition in this group often prevents copious turnover and training costs. Training is typically a major issue with employees in this group. Workers who do not feel prepared to complete tasks may experience uneasiness working in a business. Training and updating a worker’s skills can be an essential tool in lowering attrition in the hourly employee group.
Managers can also have an essential role in reducing attrition. First, companies need to supervise and review each manager’s performance to ensure he or she performs within company guidelines. This also prevents rogue managers from abusing employees, which can lead to high attrition. Second, managers themselves need a respectable working environment to prevent attrition. Companies should offer competitive performance bonuses and training opportunities in order to maintain the skills necessary to work in the company.
An important part of reducing attrition is the exit interview process. This activity allows a company to determine why employees are leaving the company. The interview may be a written survey or a physical interview with a human resource manager. The purpose here is to identify if specific themes exist as to why employees have high dissatisfaction with their jobs and desire to leave the company. The exit interview should provide information on what needs to be changed in the business to reduce attrition.
Not all companies will have the same attrition rates. How the business chooses to handle this problem depends on the working environment. In some cases, companies may not have extensive steps for reducing attrition. It all depends on how the company views this problem.