Why Employees Quit, And What You Can Do To Retain Them

New research has identified the top reasons employees leave their current employer, as well as the most successful methods of retaining top talent.

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The study of more than 5,000 businesses, compiled by Glassdoor, found that the top reason for workers leaving a company is stagnating in a job too long. Employees are then more likely to leave their employers rather than move to a new role within the company when and if one is offered.

The Top Reasons Employees Stay

• High job satisfaction
• Career advancement opportunities
• Workplace culture
• Employer values
• Regular salary reviews

One of the reasons why this is so important for businesses to know, is because on average, employee turnover costs 21% of a workers annual salary. It seems the adage of it’s cheaper to retain rather than recruit talent still rings true.

Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Chief Economist of Glassdoor explains that “employee turnover is costly for employers. Although you can’t control everything when it comes to turnover, Glassdoor data confirms there are many ways you can control whether employees stay or go. Employers that work to improve company culture, offer competitive base pay and regularly promote and advance employees into new roles will retain them longer.

“In addition, these findings tell recruiters and employers looking to hire what to focus on to bring candidates in the door. For example, focusing on passive or active candidates that have been in their roles for quite a while or are at companies without strong company culture could help bolster recruiting efforts.”

The Importance of Increased Pay… Obviously

Salary continues to be one of the most deciding factors in employee retention. Research has found that employees earn an average of 5.2% more when switching jobs and that it takes around a 10% rise to convince an employee looking to leave to stay at the company. Dr. Chamberlain adds that “maintaining competitive base pay is an important part of reducing turnover”.

Managing Your Staff Through Self-Service

Within smaller businesses, you commonly won’t have the resources available to sustain a constant merry-go-round of recruiting new employees, so staff turnover is especially important. We all know it’s important to maintain records for many reasons, but what if there was software which could maintain records, and also be powerful enough to produce reports which gave you a helpful insight into your business? Well, there is – IRIS HR.

IRIS HR is powerful, user-friendly self-service human resources software to help you manage important employee turnover aspects such as salary modelling, employee benefits, training and more. All available at the touch of a button, you can then use this insightful information to help your employees feel more content in their current role.

Speak to us today for a free trial or demonstration of IRIS and see first-hand how it can change the way you manage your documentation, reporting and most importantly, your staff.

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Stephanie Coward

Managing Director, HCM

Stephanie Coward is Managing Director for HCM at IRIS, where she leads the strategy, innovation and growth of the organisation’s HR and payroll portfolio. She is responsible for positioning IRIS as a trusted partner to HR professionals and ensuring its solutions support the evolving needs of modern workforces.

With more than 25 years’ experience in the technology sector, Stephanie brings deep commercial and operational expertise, with a passion for improving the employee experience through technology.

Stephanie is committed to advancing IRIS’ HCM offering and helping organisations build more resilient, empowered workforces.