How High Employee Turnover Hurts Workplace Morale and Productivity and What To Do About It


Conflict resolution

As teachers, coaches and manger know, motivation is the key to performance and success. In the workplace, employee motivation affects productivity, turnover and morale – all factors that will ultimately impact the bottom line. Executive coaching and strategic planning for managers, supervisors, and upper management can help them to connect with employees, to see things from their perspective, and to provide effective leadership.

High employee turnover is bad for business
An unstable workforce with high employee turnover is both costly and demoralizing for a business. It takes time to hire and train replacements for employees who quit. The breaks in continuity lead to lower productivity, and to an overall decline in morale.
The financial costs of high employee turnover are significant and it can cost about $3,500 to replace an employee earning $8 per hour. For middle level employees, the cost of finding a replacement can be as much as 150% of the annual salary. For high-level employees, the cost rises to over 400% of the annual salary.

Why employees quit
From the employee’s point of view, the American workplace is a highly stressful environment. As many as a million Americans miss work every day due to workplace stresses. Time off for work-related stress and anxiety typically lasts for 21 days, causing loss of worker hours and productivity.
Besides those workers who stay home, a sizable number quit their jobs because of workplace stress and other factors. It is estimated that 2.5 million Americans leave their jobs every month. The leading causes for quitting jobs are cited as lack of opportunities for professional growth and development, inadequate wages, boredom and a lack of work-life balance.

How business coaching can help improve workplace morale
Managing and inspiring their workforce is a challenge for all mangers. As much as 25 to 40% of a manager’s time may typically be spent on conflict resolution. Even though the direct and indirect costs of employee turnover can be very high, few businesses know are aware of the financial impact.
Fortunately, there are steps that a business can take to build a stable and engaged workforce. Leadership coaching and strategic planning training can help to bring together managers, supervisors and employees, enabling them to unite behind shared goals.
Leadership training can be especially beneficial for CEOs. The large majority or two out of three CEOs don’t receive any leadership training or advice, though all feel the need for such inputs. The rewards of executive coaching are manifest and substantial, with companies seeing a sevenfold return.

Executive coaching and strategic planning engagements typically involve six to nine months of hands-on and collaborative training. A motivated and productive workforce is one of the strongest assets that a company has, and strategic planning can help to make it a reality.


Leave a Reply