Employee Retention Statistics You Should Know

All organizations should highly value employee retention. It costs time and money to replace employees, especially productive ones and having these talented employees leave your organization can also cause strain on existing employees. Given this, retaining your top employees should be a priority. Employee retention is not just about minimizing damage to the organization when employees leave. It also offers opportunities to improve company performance across the board. But before you can do that, it’s essential to better understand retention and why your employees are leaving.

The Most Common Reasons Employees Leave

We’ve compiled statistics and research about employee retention and the reasons people leave their jobs. Here’s what you should know:

• Inflation and the cost of living mean more employees are seeking higher salaries or better rates of pay.
• The current skills shortage is leading to unmanageable workloads for those in employment.
• Workers are increasingly attracted by employee benefits and are willing to take new employment for a better package.
• The working environment plays a crucial role in retention, with over half of employees saying a better company culture could steal them away from their current employer.
• Ongoing training, learning, and development are necessary for employee retention, especially for Gen Z.
  
  
  

Pay 

With the cost of living at an all-time high in most parts of the world and record levels of inflation, many employees are looking for new jobs simply because they want to be paid better. According to a survey, it’s prevalent that the main motivation for more than one third of workers actively looking for a new job was a salary increase. However, there’s a difference of opinion over the importance of pay to employee retention between employers and employees. 42% of the employees interviewed saw salary increases as key to lowering turnover, whereas only 18% of employers agreed.

Benefits

Employees today don’t base the value of their job on salary alone. They consider the entire package, including the benefits they receive. Even more so in a post-pandemic world, with employee benefits such as mental health initiatives, flexible working, and financial planning support in high demand. The employee perspective is clear, though. Of those currently looking to quit their job, 35% are searching for better benefits, and 24% a better work-life balance. That’s why 73% of large organizations are spending more on benefits per employee now than ever before. 

Workload

55% of workers claiming their organization lacks the necessary tech talent. Leading to more work put on the shoulders of talent that does exist, often to an excessive degree, with 38% of employees reporting unmanageable workloads. This is often enough of a reason for employees to look elsewhere, and not only that, but it has other bad consequences as well. Research shows that excessive workload is the number one cause of work-related stress. A major contributor to burnout, which in turn ranked as the number one reason employees quit in 2021.

Company Culture

Company culture is another key factor for today’s workforce. While the ideal culture is hard to define, signs of a bad work environment are ones that include a lack of communication, employee conflict, and of course, low retention rates. Statistics show that almost one in three people have left a job because of conflict in the workplace. While 58% of employees say, they would take a job with a competitor organization if it offered a better culture.

Lack of Opportunity 

According to research, lack of career development was given as the main reason for quitting a job by 41%. Lack of opportunity for employees is a growing trend, with more and more workers feeling they need to switch their employers to advance their careers. It’s not so much about promotions as it is about training opportunities. A LinkedIn report found that 76% of Gen Z employees see continued learning as key to a successful career.