By the Numbers: Combatting increasing job departures and burnout

Keeping your employees happy and fulfilled is a key piece of the puzzle to retaining them. However, in a highly uncertain economic climate, a recent report from Gallup shows that just half (51%) of surveyed employees are looking for greener pastures in other organizations, the highest rate in a decade.

There are multiple factors at play in the growing trend of employees looking for new roles outside their companies, including better pay, increased benefits, better relationships with managers, and more flexibility.

Better understanding the headwinds is the first step HR and comms must take to make workplaces more culturally welcoming places for talent to spend valuable career years.

Why are employees leaving their companies?

While a number of reasons can be the main driving force for someone to seek new opportunities, certain factors appear to be more frequent than others. In the Gallup survey, employees reported the biggest reason they left their jobs for new ones in 2023 surrounded the desire for more money or better benefits.

In an analysis of the report, Gallup pointed to concrete steps like creating and discussing career advancement plans transparently and frequently to keep employees engaged and motivated in their organizations. In addition, Gallup reported that 21% of employees who took the survey stated that more positive interactions with colleagues could have helped prevent their departure. With that in mind, intentionality in communications can help build the cultural norms that keep your people in place.

What communicators can do to help with retention

 While these figures might seem dire, and they definitely can’t be ignored, there are tangible steps communicators can take to help keep retention at high levels, and it begins by learning the employee perspective.

At Ragan’s 2023 Employee Experience and Wellness Conference, Mikelle Mitchell, executive director for Michigan Universities Coalition on Health shared that employees need a workplace where they can be their true selves. She shared three “E’s” that should form the basis of any positive employer-employee relationship.

• Energize the team, which includes motivating them to focus on self-care.
• Empathize with the team.
• Encourage the team to grow, both from a productivity standpoint and a personal development standpoint.

An employee’s manager is almost always their closest point of contact for culture and growth. Cultivating strong employee-manager relationships through transparency, understanding, and a player-coach approach that helps them learn and grow on the job will do a great deal to endear an employee to an employer and help keep them in place.

The survey’s outsized emphasis on engagement is a reminder that communicators and managers alike should work with employees to help them blaze their own trails and achieve their aspirations. As Michael Desrochers wrote for Ragan earlier this year, employees want to be heard and know that their contributions to greater organizational goals are making an impact. That happens when managers and communicators maintain frequent contact with employees and factor employee perspectives into their overarching strategies.

The value of upskilling opportunities

An employee who feels stuck in a role with no path upward isn’t long for that job. It’s proven by the Gallup study, with 12% of employees in 2023 reporting that they searched for new work because they felt they didn’t have room for advancement.

Organizations that prioritize culture also have the practices and resources in place to help people succeed through learning and development. Those without upskilling initatives, meanwhile, are more likely to have a revolving door of talent as opposed to employees who stay and grow their skills and contribute to a company’s identity as a positive place to work.

Communicators should work in conjunction with the broader HR team to personalize an upskilling framework that addresses the business needs and the growth goals of employees of all levels. These opportunities will open the door for people to ascend the leadership ladder and instill a culture that’s more loyal to the company.

In a piece for Ragan earlier this year, Troy P. Thompson, career consultant, speaker and workforce development program lead at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business suggested that communicators lean on employee resource groups (ERGs) to provide avenues for upskilling. He added that these upskilling options should correspond to specific challenges and goals.

“You should then look to make an inventory of present challenges that they or their team are facing and then identify specific professional development options for each, being mindful to include offerings at different price points to account for budget constraints,” Thompson said.

People change jobs for a lot of different reasons — but that doesn’t mean that you can’t instill processes and norms to help with retention. These retention measures will in turn create a more positive culture around your entire organization, creating a win-win situation.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.

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