How-to guide: Understand and reduce employee turnover

Imagine you're running a thriving business, and suddenly your star employees start leaving.  

This nightmare case is called employee turnover - a critical metric that can either grow your company or hold it back.  

But what exactly is employee turnover? And how can you create a more stable and engaged workforce?

In this blog, we’ll explore the complexity of employee turnover and the huge impact it has on businesses all over the world. We’ll also uncover the underlying reasons behind it, and reveal how HR professionals can prevent it by measuring employees’ Commitment, Team Spirit, Job Satisfaction, and Participation.  

So, whether you're an HR professional, a business leader, or someone passionate about creating a high-performing and healthy work environment, this one's for you. Let's get started!  

What is employee turnover?

You can say that employee turnover is a pulse check on your organisation's health, and refers to the number of employees who leave an organisation during a specific period. It's a key indicator reflecting both voluntary and involuntary departures.

• Voluntary turnover happens when employees choose to leave, often for reasons like better job offers, career growth opportunities, or personal reasons.

• Involuntary turnover happens when the company initiates the departure, typically due to layoffs, performance issues, or restructuring.

If you’d like to reduce turnover rates in your workplace, it’s important to understand the difference.  

How does employee turnover affect businesses?

The impact of high employee turnover on businesses can be BIG. For entry and mid-level positions, the cost to replace an employee is between 30% and 150% of their annual salary. For executives, this figure can rise up to 400%! (These costs includes everything from recruitment, training, and the loss of productivity during the transition period​​.)  

But that’s not all… high turnover rates can disrupt team dynamics, performance and affect employees’ morale, especially for teams where colleagues come and go. Long-term, high turnover rates can also damage a company's reputation, making it challenging to attract top talent (because why would they want to work somewhere where everyone leaves?!).

What’s happening in the world?

The global workforce has been through a big shift during the Big Resignation, where employees left their jobs in unprecedented numbers, seeking better work-life balance, compensation, and job satisfaction. According to LinkedIn's Global Talent Trends report, the average turnover rate increased by nearly 20% during this period.

As we move towards 2025, the situation has begun to stabilise, but challenges remain. While turnover may be lower due to reduced demand and a tough economic climate, disengaged employees can be just as harmful to an organisation’s performance - and in some cases, even more so!  

When employees are disengaged, they may stay, but their lack of motivation and connection with their work can drag down productivity, hinder team morale, and stifle innovation (hello, quiet quitting!). Addressing disengagement is therefore a must.

What are the reasons behind employee turnover?

Understanding why people decide to wave goodbye to your company can help you take proactive steps to retain talent:

1. Higher pay elsewhere

Compensation will always be important. A survey found that 63% of employees who left their jobs cited low pay as a primary reason for their departure. This trend is particularly common in industries with big wage disparities.

2. Lack of development opportunities

Employees who see no clear path for career advancement may leave to find growth opportunities elsewhere. According to LinkedIn's Workforce Learning Report, 94% of employees would stay longer at a company if it invested in their career development.

3. Poor job satisfaction

Unhappy employees are always a cause for concern, so it’s no surprise our research shows low job satisfaction to be a strong driver of employee turnover. Employees with low job satisfaction are 88% more likely to leave than colleagues with greater job satisfaction, and employees that feel they don’t have fun at work are 75% more likely to leave.  

Aside from driving people out of the business, job satisfaction is also a strong predictor of sickness absence and impacts employee performance, customer satisfaction and financial outcomes.  

4. Lack of trust

A relationship is nothing without trust. And the relationship between employers and employees is no different, with our research showing a lack of trust to be the strongest indicator of disengagement or intent to leave a company.  

Employees who feel their managers aren’t open and honest are 75% more likely to leave.

Employees who feel the management team doesn’t have good motives and intentions are 81% more likely to leave.

Check out our Fighting Turnover for a deep-dived into our data and to discover the trends that will keep your retention in check and your business successful.

How to track turnover

HR professionals can track turnover using various metrics:

• Turnover Rate: The % of employees who leave over a specific period. A high turnover rate can indicate underlying issues within the company, such as poor management or lack of engagement.

• Retention Rate: The percentage of employees who stay during a specific period. This metric helps identify the effectiveness of retention strategies.

• Exit Interviews: Gaining insights from departing employees to understand why they're leaving. This qualitative data can uncover specific issues, such as dissatisfaction with leadership or lack of professional growth opportunities.

In addition to these metrics, using technology and analysing data will give you deeper insights. An example; our platform captures and analyses that drive employee behaviour, giving leaders the insights they need to take action before it’s too late. By doing so, organisations can intervene at the right moments to keep their valuable team members engaged and committed.

Proximal factors influencing turnover

To manage turnover effectively, it's essential to focus on the factors (what we call temperatures) that influence employees' decisions to stay or leave. These are the ones that you should track using Winningtemp.

Commitment

What: This temperature measures how committed employees feel to their organisation. A high commitment score indicates that employees are aligned with the company's mission and feel a sense of loyalty.  

How: Winningtemp's data analytics can track fluctuations in commitment levels, allowing HR teams to identify when and why commitment may be wavering. For instance, if there's a dip in commitment, it may be time to re-engage employees through transparent communication about company goals and recognising their contributions.

Team Spirit

What: This temperature assesses the sense of connection and mutual support within teams. A strong team spirit often correlates with lower turnover rates, as employees who feel connected to their colleagues are less likely to leave.  

How: Winningtemp's platform can help track team spirit levels across different departments, identifying areas where team-building efforts may be needed. By fostering a collaborative environment, companies can enhance team cohesion and reduce turnover.

Participation

What: This temperature measures how involved employees feel in the decision-making processes within the company. High participation levels indicate that employees feel their opinions are valued, fostering a sense of ownership and engagement.  

How: Winningtemp can monitor participation scores, helping organisations understand if employees feel excluded or undervalued. By promoting open communication and involving employees in key decisions, companies can boost participation levels, enhancing overall job satisfaction and reducing turnover.

Job Satisfaction

What: Job satisfaction encompasses how content employees are with their roles, responsibilities, and the work environment. Job satisfaction is closely linked to turnover rates, highlighting just how crucial it is for retaining talent. When employees feel satisfied in their roles, they’re less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere.

How: Winningtemp's job satisfaction temperature provides detailed insights into areas such as workload, recognition, and career development opportunities. If job satisfaction scores are low, HR can look into specific issues, for example poor recognition or unclear career paths, and implement targeted strategies to fix or improve the challenge. This might include providing more regular feedback, recognising achievements, or offering career progression plans.

Examples of typical patterns that lead to increased employee turnover

Let’s take a closer look at some common patterns that can signal an employee is heading towards turnover:

1. Decreasing engagement and motivation  

• Decline in enthusiasm: You might notice a drop in enthusiasm. Employees who were once passionate about their work may become disengaged, showing little interest in tasks they previously enjoyed.

• Reduced participation: They might stop contributing during meetings or team activities, becoming more quiet and detached.

• Lack of initiative: Employees who once took charge or offered ideas now step back, no longer volunteering for extra responsibilities or suggesting improvements.

2. Decreased productivity

• Drop in work quality: Their work quality can slip, with more mistakes creeping in, deadlines being missed, or less attention to detail.

• Slowdown in output: There might be a noticeable slowdown in how quickly they complete tasks, showing less urgency or care about meeting targets.

• Increased absenteeism: A rise in absences or tardiness could be a sign that they are losing commitment and becoming disengaged.

3. Negative sentiment and attitude

• Increased complaints: They may start vocalising more complaints, often focusing on dissatisfaction with their job, workplace, or management.

• Cynicism: Employees might become more cynical or critical of the organisation's direction, leadership, or policies, especially if they once had a positive or neutral stance.

• Withdrawal from social interactions: You may notice they are withdrawing from social interactions with colleagues, distancing themselves from the workplace community.

4. Changes in behaviour and attitude

• Increased defensiveness: Feedback is often taken poorly, with employees becoming more defensive, seeing it as criticism rather than constructive advice.

• Emotional detachment: They might show less interest in the company’s mission or long-term goals, appearing emotionally detached from the organisation.

• Conflict with colleagues: Rising tension and conflict with co-workers or supervisors can be a sign of growing frustration or impatience.

Recognising these early warning signs can help leaders step in and re-engage employees before it’s too late.  

How Winningtemp helps in managing turnover

Once looking at our Winningtemp data, we could spot a decline in Job Satisfaction during 2023 while the other temperatures followed a steady trend. Women also tend to have generally lower temperatures compared to men.

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The reasons behind this decrease could be many; during the year we saw many economic challenges, which led to cut back on human capital budgets, layoffs, and other resources. It could have to do with poor flexibility, hybrid working, or poor employee well-being. While this data paints an overall picture, it does not explain the reason for your company’s temperatures. With the help of Winningtemp, you could get your unique temperatures, and indications of what the underlying reasons may be AND recommended actions for you to improve it.  

What Winningtemp's team success platform does is that goes beyond simply measuring these temperatures. It also provides actionable insights and predictive analytics, helping HR teams to address turnover risks. In this case, by focusing on factors that boost job satisfaction - such as meaningful work, recognition, and opportunities for growth - organisations can create an environment where employees want to stay and thrive, ultimately improving both retention and overall performance.

With the help of Winningtemp you could also focus on:  

1. Real-Time Feedback: Winningtemp allows for continuous feedback, giving a real-time picture of how employees feel about their job and workplace. This real-time data helps HR identify trends or sudden changes in employee attitudes, enabling swift intervention.

2. Customised Surveys: You can customise surveys to dig deeper into specific areas, such as commitment or job satisfaction, to understand the root causes. This approach helps you to create more targeted actions.

3. Predictive Analytics: By analysing historical data and current trends, Winningtemp's predictive analytics can forecast potential turnover hotspots. This enables proactive measures, such as adjusting workloads or addressing conflicts before they escalate.

4. Actionable Insights: The platform not only provides data but also suggests actionable steps based on the analysis. This guidance can be invaluable for HR teams in implementing effective strategies to enhance employee engagement and retention.

Let's sum it up

Winningtemp effectively helps you manage and even prevent turnover simply by monitoring your employees’ commitment, team spirit, job satisfaction, and participation.

The patterns we mentioned above often emerge gradually, offering clues that an employee might be considering leaving. By keeping an eye on these signs, organisations can take proactive steps to intervene early. Whether it’s addressing concerns, offering additional support, or providing new opportunities for growth, taking action can make all the difference in reducing turnover and retaining valuable talent. Spotting these indicators early allows companies to create a more supportive environment and re-engage employees before they reach the point of no return.

Ready to reduce turnover and build a more stable team? Book a demo today.