Voluntary Staff Turnover is Self-Inflicted, New Study Says

A new HR study has concluded that voluntary turnover in the workplace is, in most cases, caused by companies not engaging their employees.  The study found out that in the US alone businesses lose over $1 trillion a year through employees who quit.

The cold truth about the workforce today is that a high percentage of employees are psychologically disengaged in their work and workplace, with over half of them actively searching for a new job opening.

The ripple effect, according to the Gallup poll, can even be more devastation: distrust in management, declining team morale, unhappy customers and the employees’ uncertainty about the future.

The critical questions most CEOs and CFOs fail to ask themselves and answer satisfactorily are: ‘Do employees have job satisfaction working with the organisation?’ And ‘Are the employees confident they have a future with the organisation’?

Others key things to ponder on include: When you go on a vacation, who runs your organisation? If you get someone to lead in your stead, do you trust the person? How often do you develop a panic attack because you fear your replacement is not good enough?  If this is the pattern in your company, in time you will run your organisation to the ground.

Training your staff is not a plus. It is a necessity. Sadly, leadership training is often disregarded by many organisations. According to an AICPA CGMA report, 77% of the CEO’s interviewed revealed that they plan to reduce resources allocated to trainings programmes.

What many of these CEO’s do not know is that leadership training programs are not just beneficial to employees. It is also valuable to the organization and can boost ROI.

Why Should Employees be Leaders?

Having more staff who are focused on accomplishing goals and solving problems is what makes a company grow. It is not enough to have focused employees. They should be motivated and given the tools and support they need.

Leadership is not determined by an employee’ position. Every employee should be a forerunner. Each must be able to take on responsibilities when the need arises. In fact, most managers don’t exhibit good leadership traits. This is because they do not get the direction they need before they’re placed in managerial roles.

All leaders have common qualities: the ability to communicate well, take responsibility and spur team members to take action. These are attributes will help your organisation grow. The key is to give employees the right training and treat them right.

To help you understand this process, we have outlined 8 reasons why you should invest in the growth of each employee in your company.

1. Enhanced Employee Performance

Leadership training allows employees to become more aware of their abilities. Weakness and shortcomings are addressed. This will help employees detect faults, amplify their strengths and acquire new skill sets.

Leadership programmes spur team members to understand their responsibility and the need to be accountable and more productive. In turn, these skillsets are used to develop your organisation and help workers focus more on their goal. Hence, increased productivity.

As much as possible, it is important that leadership programmes are not abstract. They should focus on a practical solution and broken down into personalised form. This way, everyone can flow and react with the training.

2. Satisfaction and Increased Morale

There’s a niggling fear most companies have. The fear of employees leaving the organisation for a competitor. This dread is what makes most organisation reluctant to train their staff. You have no need to panic if you treat your employees right.

If staff members start developing a sense of stagnation in their careers, they will likely seek opportunities elsewhere. Leadership training makes staff feel valued, worthy of investment and appreciated.

It gives your employees the assurance that you care about their personal growth and development. The training exercise should be relevant to employees. If not, they will feel bored and compelled to attend the training.

3. Creates a Smooth Succession Plan

Leadership development programme is a great way to groom future leaders in your organization. If you don’t give your staff targeted training now, it would affect your company eventually. Imagine having a manager with no leadership quality and how the poor managerial skill would affect your workers and their productivity. Leaders cannot be developed overnight. It takes time, consistency and frequent training exercise.

The mistake most companies make is that they limit their succession plan to identifying a potential successor in C-level roles, and thrusting leadership on such individual. This could be disastrous for the organisation.

Organise leadership training seminars for your staff. Groom them with development activities. Let each employee understand what collaborative teamwork means. This approach will provide you with future fit leaders who are adaptive and can handle critical and different abilities.

4. Better Communication Skill

Communication is a vital skill in the workplace. Effective communication and development are intertwined. Don’t assume everyone can communicate effectively. Some employees are innately more social than others.

With the exchange of ideas in the organisation, it is essential that every worker is a skilled communicator. Employees need to express their ideas and share information clearly. Imagine having a bunch of staff who cannot handle the stream of information within the organization, among customers and other stakeholders.

In leadership development programmes, employees will be taught how to understand verbal and nonverbal cue. How to create engagement, listen effectively and the ability to comprehend.

5. Increased Emotional Intelligence

In today’s workforce, it takes more than conventional intelligence and professional skill to attain productivity. The best way to grow is to work well with others. This is where emotional intelligence comes in. All leaders have this common trait.  The ability to understand your emotions and other people’s feeling, and how to use such understanding to lead people and communicate with them.

Emotional intelligence is the difference between a conducive workplace and a toxic one. It’s only natural that a happy and satisfied employee will be more productive. This trait should not be instilled to management staff only, but every employee. Train your staff to hone this trait regularly. Individuals with high emotional intelligence are better at motivating themselves and other people around them.

6. Staff Retention

If you don’t give your staff the opportunity to grow, you will lose key talents. Investing in your employee shows that you value their hard work and ability.

Leadership programme exposes employees to new skills and knowledge. This will allow them become more focused and engaged.

Trainings shows that you believe in them and you are opened for a better opportunity when the need arises. This will foster a sense of belonging and loyalty. It helps to get feedback from your staff. Ask them how helpful the programme is and communicate with them regularly.

7. Improved Risk Management Skill

Every aspect of a business is a risk. Every day, employees make decisions that could help your business or destroy it. Firing a bad employee does not give you the assurance of getting a better one. It just puts you in a tight spot and reduces manpower in your organisation.

The question you should answer now is, ‘’Do you want a staff with tactical vision and improved management skill? Or do you want a fearful employee who could destroy all you have built with a single decision?’’

8. Promotes Team Work

Leadership training program promotes team spirit. Working in synergy promotes high level of efficiency and fast response to every situation.

A collaborative and supportive work environment controls the success of the organization.  It determines employee’s morale and productivity, which in turn affects employee turnover rates. The advantage of training future leaders in time is that they grow together. Because they undergo similar training and task, they build a high level of trust with themselves

Conclusion

The difference between success and failure in a company is good leadership. To create a culture that imbibes success and growth, you need to train your staff in this line. Provide them with opportunities to grow. Train them in leadership programmes so they understand what it takes to lead themselves and other people right.