HR Headaches: My Employees Are Drained From Coworkers Quitting

We’ve all heard the term: The Great Resignation. People seem to be leaving various jobs in droves. This phenomenon not only affects you and everything you’re working toward, but it also impacts your loyal employees. Those who have been sticking things out and working with you to keep the company going.

The emotional toll that employee churn takes on your staff should not be discounted. For some, their work environment becomes an extended family of sorts. When that paradigm is constantly shifting because of a revolving door of teammates, the underlying uncertainty can result in dissatisfaction.

That’s good to understand, but you want to know what you can do to combat those feelings of employees being disconnected — or even feeling like they’re being abandoned. This article will examine 7 strategies you can use to keep your valued employees feeling connected and, well, valued.

Encourage your staff to refocus and refuel

If your team knows that you’re aware of the turnover and that it creates a challenging environment, they will be assured that you’re more dialed into the day-to-day operations than they may have thought initially.

People handle stress differently. Some go inward and get very focused on tasks. Some may try to ignore it and wait for it to pass. Others might begin to see negative patterns everywhere they look.

Acknowledging your company’s turnover and the effect that it may be having on your staff is an excellent first step toward addressing the situation. If your team knows that you’re aware of the turnover and that it creates a challenging environment, they will be assured that you’re more dialed into the day-to-day operations than they may have thought initially.

Along those lines, you can encourage them to focus on what they can control. Other people’s decisions to leave the company are just that — other people’s decisions. Your team is not responsible for the actions that others take, nor do they need to feel they’re missing something and should follow suit.

Encourage them to stay focused on what they need to get done and make sure they know they need to take time to get re-energized. Your team should be taking their lunches and breaks — not skipping them. These are critical times of respite that will help them with their daily responsibilities.

Build relationships with key team members

Identify your MVPs and take time to get to know them. Invite them to be part of a focus group that can work on employee engagement and retention solutions.

Communication becomes even more important during times of uncertainty. Consider taking time to send a personal note to each one to let them know that you value them. Just as you can’t read their minds, your staff can’t read yours.

Also, never underestimate the power of bringing in bagels in the morning or having lunch delivered. These special treats can go a long way toward letting employees know they’re significant to you.

Ask what they need

Speaking of communication, sometimes it’s best to just ask employees what they need. There are several ways you can do this.

• Consider conducting pulse surveys where employees can provide anonymous feedback
• Conduct face-to-face focus groups on ways to improve morale
• Hold a Q&A meeting. Send out an advance notice that you will be holding a meeting for the express purpose of inviting team members to ask questions they have about the company.
• Make sure you express their input is valuable, and let them know that you and the rest of the management team have an open-door policy, and they’re welcome to express their views and suggestions.

Provide opportunities for professional development

It may seem complicated to add to your budget when your recruiting costs are going through the roof, but providing key employees with the chance to take a seminar to improve their skill-set can offer an ROI that you wouldn’t have anticipated.

If you have star customer service staff, offer to pay for them to attend a conflict management or negotiation skill seminar.

Maybe there’s been a recently updated release of your finance software. Send key employees to a seminar to learn all of the tricks and then ask them to teach the others in the department.

Take time to celebrate successes and milestones — big and small

If you want an employee to feel valued, celebrate them. Take time to mark staff members’:

• Work anniversaries
• Birthdays
• Life events

But also take time to celebrate:

• Customer kudos
• Met project deadlines
• Successful product rollouts or implementations

Creating an occasional atmosphere of celebration lifts spirits and creates a bond that helps carry everyone through difficult times.

Prioritize work-life balance

Making work-life balance isn’t just a priority for your team, but you need to allow yourself some balance, too. Lead by example.

There are times when overtime just has to happen. Unfortunately, for some personalities, it can become addictive. Some people translate the number of hours on the job to the amount of value they add.

Time in the chair doesn’t necessarily mean someone provides a substantial contribution, but that can easily get lost in translation. Encourage your team to focus on the job during work hours and allow themselves the same kind of personal focus away from work. That kind of balance provides an energy level that is often undervalued.

Encourage your team to focus on the job during work hours and allow themselves the same kind of personal focus away from work.

Acknowledge you can’t solve world hunger

Sometimes the situation just “is what it is,” and you can’t do anything to change it.

Check to see if there is some disconnect in the hiring process. When exit interviews are conducted, are there any themes that are being identified, or is this a consistent personal preference?

If you’ve looked for solutions and implemented suggestions yet, you still have employees leaving, it may be time to acknowledge that you can’t fix the issue. There are times that the overall culture has a greater pull on some temperaments than others.

Pulling the team together

The bottom line is that you want your team to know that they’re essential to you. You want your employees to understand that you care about them and their well-being. Making an effort to clearly communicate these facts will go a long way toward slowing down the revolving door at your company and boosting the morale of the employees who are sticking around.