How to Increase your Employee Turnover Rate

One company succeeded through abysmal communications!

Here's an interesting case study that illustrates how poor internal communications caused a significant increase in the employee turnover rate.

"I was hired for an internship at a firm in a major North American city. One of my friends from university was working at the same firm and she told me before I started that no one in the office had been told the partners were hiring someone new.

"I was given an office with another intern. Our office was separate from the main office and we felt unconnected to the daily events. I soon found out that the other intern had been working in there alone since he started, two months before me.

"There were five other employees at the firm, including the receptionist. Each of us worked on different projects. Aside from owning the firm, the partners also ran three government funded programs. There was no communication in the office regarding what the programs were and what the staff did. I only found out what other staff members did when we went out after work because we didn’t feel we could speak to one another at work. The only person in the office who had a clear idea of what everyone did was the receptionist because she answered all the phone calls.

"In order to cope, we started to have informal staff meetings at least once a month when the partners were away. We got together to discuss what was happening and what everyone was doing. It wasn’t very positive because we were always concerned about being caught if a client were to walk in.

"In the six months I worked there we had only one official staff meeting and that was held only because another intern and I announced our intention to quit and the receptionist voiced her displeasure with the way things were handled in the office. Later I learned that in the months prior to my arrival there had been only one other staff meeting.

"Because none of us knew what was going on, we didn’t feel any connection to what we were doing and we didn’t feel any loyalty to the people we were working for. There was low morale and no pride in the work we were doing. The little communication we did receive from the partners was rarely positive, and even though they said they wanted us to interact with one another, their actions said otherwise. We would get dirty looks if we spoke to each other in the foyer. We were told to keep our voices down to a hushed whisper if we were in the main office so it wouldn’t disturb one of the partners. As a result the environment was oppressive and damaging.

"The other intern and I left at the same time and within four to five months the rest of the staff left as well. I heard the partners continued to hire new people and within months lost them as well."

Sandra comments:

People don’t leave jobs, they leave bosses.

Many would rather work for the best boss at the worst company than the worst boss at the best company.

One HR professional says, "In my experience, the single most important attribute to the retention of high potential employees is the quality of the manager." Managers and supervisors need to understand the importance of their role as internal communicators and support effective communication practices in their organization.

If the manager is a good communicator, the employee turnover rate is usually much lower. If the manager is a lousy communicator, employee turnover is usually much higher.

In this case, the partners' abysmal communication with employees was the direct cause of turnover.

While many employee morale issues stem from management action or inaction, it is often amplified by what employees perceive as bad decisions. The real culprit is a lack of communication. The decisions themselves may not be bad, just misunderstood by the employees. Employees need to know why decisions are made.

The cost of not communicating openly and honestly is disaffection, anger, loss of trust, and ultimately a high employee turnover rate.

An effective internal communications strategy can make a positive impact on a company's ability to attract and retain quality employees.

Comment on this case study.

Sandra Thornton has had a special interest in employee communications for more than 10 years. Contact Sandra with questions or comments.

What tales can you share?

Do you have a "horror story" about bad communications and the consequences?

Or, can you give an example of excellence and the results?

By sharing your experiences you'll contribute to a discussion from Sandra and others. Through sharing, we all learn important lessons!

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