Despite economic uncertainty and a tumultuous job market, one in three Australian workers will leave their employer in the first one to two years, according to a new report released by recruitment specialists Hays.

The findings came after Hays conducted a web survey of over 2000 candidates from across the country in a bid to reveal their job-hopping habits. They survey found that 31 per cent expect to change jobs every one to two years, while 39 per cent said that they expect to leave their employer every two to four years. A measly 30 per cent said that they would stay with their employer for five or more years.

“A strategy for retaining your top talent and curbing the turnover of staff has many positive outcomes for a business,” says Nick Deligiannis, Managing Director Hays in Australia. “Firstly, it can help to prevent the cost of unexpectedly having to replace good staff. As most hiring managers know, the cost of such turnover adds significantly to a company's expenses.

“While it is difficult to fully calculate the cost of turnover it can often equate to 25 per cent of the average employee salary – and this is a conservative estimate.

To assist in offsetting the fickle nature of employees, Hays has prepared its top 5 retention tips.

1.     Managing performance

This is the key to an employer’s retention strategy. Performance reviews are a simple but essential process which should take place regularly and managers need to be committed to the practice. Formal performance feedback is also an excellent opportunity to ensure talent is engaged, but remember to make sure the system is user friendly for everyone involved. And be sure to communicate clearly with employees. Setting clear objectives and deadlines will mean your employees can be comfortable knowing what is expected and when they should deliver it.

 

2.     Your leaders

Front line managers are the key to retention, so you should definitely evaluate the quality of yours. Remember, people join companies and leave people. Your managers are at the coal face. They should be good at motivating and inspiring their team members, managing performance - good and bad, and setting useful goals. They also need to provide useful performance feedback, including positive reinforcement or suggesting solutions when things have not gone well. So, employers may also need to look at what their organisation does to develop its managers as part of their retention strategy.

 

3.     Good relationships

If an employee has good relationships at work they are more likely to stay with a company and feel engaged with their work. So employers need to focus on how they understand, communicate and build good relationships with their employees. It’s a good idea to ask employees for their opinion on key engagement factors such as career progression and performance feedback through employee opinion surveys, online forums or regular reviews. And it is best not to assume anything about an employee’s career path as there can be many factors at play – just maintain open and honest communication to find out what your employees’ goals are.

 

4.     Career pathways

Employees can become stale and bored without the proper career development – and this is often a reason why candidates look elsewhere for work. As different organisations have different parameters within which they must work, career development does not always mean promotion, although it certainly can. Can you instead offer additional responsibility, or the opportunity to supervise other employees? Could an employee coach and train others, manage projects or chair meetings?

 

5.     Training & development

Courses aren’t always what training and development is about, nor do they have to take place in a formal classroom. Mentorships are a useful retention tool and can also be used to pass on corporate insight to other employees. One-on-one training and taking on additional duties can also be just as effective. Investing in your employees’ skills development allows them to be the best they can be, which has obvious rewards for both them and you.