How to Prevent Employee Turnover During the Holidays
The holidays are approaching rapidly. For many companies, December can be a relaxed time of year-end of year goal-setting, a slower and more leisurely pace, uplifted spirits in the office, and holiday parties.
But come January, the environment can be drastically disrupted by seasonal, New Year turnover.
As the economy continues to waver, employers need to focus on retaining top talent as much as recruiting new employees.
In fact, data from Willis Towers Watson unveiled that companies are planning to increase salaries by 4.1% in 2023, the biggest projected spike in 15 years, as a major lever to keep their employees.
Why is turnover important?
Turnover is an important piece of data for companies to pay attention to: according to a massive study on evidence-based practices in retention and turnover, reducing turnover rates is linked to sales growth and improved employee morale.
Because of globalization and demographic shifts, not to mention economic uncertainty, it’s becoming more challenging, and therefore increasingly important, to retain key employees.
On top of the direct costs required to recruit and onboard a new employee, there are indirect costs of turnover to contend with, including loss of diversity, diminished quality of work while a role is open, and a higher risk of additional turnover.
Download now: Your 2023 HR Checklist to Retain Top Talent
Why does turnover spike in the New Year?
There are plenty of reasons turnover tends to increase in January: it’s when most organizations ramp up hiring, some people wait for their year-end bonuses before leaving, and many want to celebrate the holidays before starting their new job search.
Additionally, employees may use the new year to reinvent themselves with a new role, or, depending on the type of business, seasonal workers may be moving on as expected. Employees often think about new opportunities at the end of the calendar year, but when it comes to transitioning jobs, movement can be slow until Q1.
Many decision-makers are out of the office during this time of year, and it’s a busy time for HR because of year-end payroll tasks, compliance regulations, and benefits administration. Although some turnover isn’t within anyone’s control (e.g. an employee leaving because their spouse accepted a job in a new location), employers will fare better if they can anticipate major turnover challenges ahead of time.
How to prepare for seasonal turnover
Employers can take a two-pronged approach by focusing on:
- Retaining their existing employees, and
- Growing their teams.
January and February are two of the best months of the year to recruit new employees. Many job applicants are actively looking for a fresh start in the new year. 🌱
Employers should take advantage of this by highlighting any positive changes or new policies they may be implementing. What are you working on right now that can showcase your culture, values, and atmosphere?
If you’re planning a holiday celebration, revising your HR practices to be (even more) family-friendly, or hosting a recognition event, you should share those changes in a way that bolsters your employer brand. It’s not only critical to keep your current staff happy—but it can also serve as valuable collateral for recruitment.
1. Retain your employees
The power to improve retention doesn’t just lie in the hands of managers and companies. In fact, there are a variety of evidence-based practices that both employers and employees can do to improve turnover. Here are a few examples:
Encourage growth and development
January is the perfect time to set new learning goals and establish a benchmark for the year. Employers can kick off the mindset shift with a New Year conference or training on the topic. Create opportunities for employee development: whether that's enhancing key functional skills or learning new ones, expanding their understanding of an area, and improving some of their soft skills.
This can come in many forms: employers can sponsor online trainings, facilitate workshops, send employees to industry conferences (safely, of course), or do role-play exercises. Even something as simple as encouraging employees to share learnings with their colleagues can encourage development.
Likewise, offer opportunities for change or advancement to encourage high performers to stay within an organization, even if they want to switch roles.
Give recognition
In addition to looking forward, employees are looking back. The new year is a time of reflection.
Managers should purposefully look for opportunities to give praise and acknowledgment for good work—whether it’s a kudos in an email or a more formal recognition system. Giving specific, timely, and genuine praise is not only a good way to encourage good work but can also boost morale.
Consider delivering end-of-year recognition in a card, email, or another medium (recognition carolers, perhaps!?). Better yet, implement a year-round recognition and/or bonus platform to show employees they’re valued.
Optimize for autonomy and empowerment
By encouraging employees to be independent, managers can increase their employee’s sense of ownership over their work and organizational commitment—both critical factors for preventing turnover. There's no one size fits all solution. Empower your employees to find out what engages them.
Reconnect with meaning & purpose
You may have heard of job crafting, a tactic that anyone can use to redesign or reframe their work in a way that creates stronger engagement, meaning, and fulfillment while aligning work with passion.
In one study, a researcher found that hospital custodians who were the most excellent, productive, and happiest didn’t just see themselves as custodians but as critical team members who ensured that the hospital maintained sterile conditions so that patients could heal quickly.
It turns out that anyone can connect with a deeper meaning in their work, and how it’s in service to others—like these West Elm associates, who aren’t simply “salespeople” but warm and welcoming ambassadors for new people moving into an area. The start of a new year is a great time to reflect: Who do you serve and how can you better support them? What would you like to do more? How can you integrate that into your daily or weekly routine?
Download now: Your 2023 HR Checklist to Retain Top Talent
2. Grow your team
Focus your recruitment efforts
Industry trends typically indicate that January is an ideal time of year to ramp up recruiting.
Take a look at internal turnover data to see if that’s the case for your organization, too. Below are a few reasons why:
- Hiring is often delayed in winter, so there will be a backlog of interested employees looking to make a change, giving your company a large pool of available talent.
- At the beginning of the year, teams are more likely to have an accurate assessment of their needs, so you’ll be able to take action and secure top performers without as many delays.
- Many employees who were interested in leaving their current positions are ready to officially begin the transition since they likely received their end-of-year bonuses.
- HR will have finished end-of-year obligations and can focus on onboarding activities.
While 2023 may be a bit different—companies are tightening their budgets and that means a more cautious approach to hiring—people are still looking for jobs. The Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 261,000 jobs in October of 2022, while the unemployment rate increased to 3.7%. Recruiters must focus on candidate priorities if they want to recruit the best talent.
Our friends at Lever shared a handful of candidate expectations that we believe you should consider as we flip the calendar, including:
- Flexible work options
- Learning and development opportunities
- Prioritization of DEI initiatives
Build a pipeline
By building a pipeline, you can stay ahead of companies that aren’t as prepared for the January shift. Identifying potential candidates early on, gauging their interest in transitioning, and even conducting interviews can prepare your team for seasonal changes.
The takeaway
There are many more ways to reduce turnover and improve recruiting. At the end of the day, understand that seasonal turnover isn’t completely out of your control. It’s one piece of an organizational puzzle, and with careful recruitment, onboarding, and engagement strategies—especially in the winter months—it could be one less worry for your organization and one more competitive advantage over organizations that didn’t start sooner.
