should understand the needs of their employees
to prevent voluntary turnover. Conducting regular
performance recognition and feedback discussions
in addition to annual performance evaluations are
key” (Lapointe, 2017).
The Work Institute shares that “manager conduct, not
competency” was the most common reason for a
departure. Even when “employees likely thought the
overall business and strategic approaches of managers
were acceptable, how they conducted themselves was
not acceptable” (Work Institute, 2018).
One recommendation is for senior leaders to “achieve
transparency and employee confidence by supporting
front-line managers as they handle staff concerns and
questions. Town hall meetings, webinars, roundtable
discussions, and emails sent directly to staff allow senior
leaders to engage with employees while addressing concerns.
Managers can also influence how employees perceive
senior leadership by communicating information quickly
and accurately from senior leaders to staff. Senior leaders
should also receive invitations to staff meetings to discuss
employee concerns and feedback” (Lapointe, 2017).
5 WELLBEING
As marketplace conditions have improved, employees are
making more of an effort to care for themselves and their
families. The Work Institute suggests that “at least some
of the efforts companies have made to promote general
health have had a small, but noteworthy, impact” (Work
Institute, 2018). Those organizations that do not actively
pay attention to employees’ needs to take care of
themselves and their families likely will see turnover.
The recommendation is that organizations and
managers “understand the challenges that employees
face and work with them to accommodate special needs
to ensure you keep good employees as long as possible”
(Work Institute, 2018).
A serious risk in the matter of employee well-being is
burnout, which can “undermine not only employee
well-being, but also patient outcomes, safety, and quality
of care. Employees who feel burnout are three times
more likely to leave and 63% more likely to take a sick
day. For organizations, burnout translates to increased
turnover, lost productivity, and increased malpractice
lawsuits” (Plemmons, 2018). Managers should compare
themselves to “medical professionals who offer holistic
patient care [and implement] well-being strategies that
focus on more than employees’ physical health. By investing
in employees as people, not just workers, healthcare
leaders deliver exceptional care for the caregivers”
(Plemmons, 2018).
6.
WORK-LIFE
BALANCE
According to The Work Institute, work-life balance is
growing as a reason for turnover. Employees are departing
in search of more favorable schedules, improved daily
commutes, and different travel commitments. This trend
coincides with the rise of the service economy, which likely
demands more flexibility from workers. When given the
opportunity, workers often took jobs that offered better
balance (Work Institute, 2018).
One recommendation is that “employers must understand
how they can offer more favorable schedules to attract and
retain employees… [and] must design ways to improve
other conditions within their organizations to make them
preferred by workers” (Work Institute, 2018). McKnight’s
Long-Term Care News reminds us that “Time off is another
particularly important aspect of every employee’s work
environment, and it is a vital component of caregivers and
nurses maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Alternative
schedule options are another option that can be attractive to
staff, including flexible start and stop times, compressed work
weeks, job sharing, and remote work options (Keller, 2018).
7. WORK
ENVIRONMENT
As a reason to leave an organization, dissatisfaction with the
work environment is growing. The Workplace Institute
reminds us that given the marketplace conditions, when
employees become dissatisfied with current workplace
conditions, “they increasingly take opportunities to work
in a culture and with co-workers they prefer” (Workplace
Institute, 2018). It very likely employers are not doing enough
to understand and improve conditions that could prevent
turnover. Employees do not have to tolerate poor physical
conditions or an undesirable atmosphere when better
conditions are available to them elsewhere. In addition to