Why your staff are leaving, and how you can prevent it

1. Employees are looking for alternative offerings elsewhere

Claro Wellbeing carried out research in late 2022 to gain insight into the mindset of UK employees during the cost of living crisis. When asked what their main motivating factor in looking for a new job was, respondents cited better leadership and management as their first priority, followed by flexibility when it comes to hours and location. It’s clear that workers want a healthy mix of effective leaders in charge, along with the freedom and trust to set their own hours of work and where they do it. 

Respondents also mentioned the feeling of being undervalued as the third-most influential factor in wanting to look for a new job. It follows the trend of seeking guidance and trust from employers as mentioned above, where employers are failing to make their staff feel valued, potentially through lack of faith in letting them work autonomously.

The least-motivating factor for our respondents was a better company culture. Just 6% were determined to find a new role elsewhere for that reason. Companies that are using their culture as a persuasive hook to attract new talent should adjust their priorities, as it’s evidently low on the list of jobseekers’ wants. A more urgent plan of action is to evaluate the effectiveness of leadership choices, working conditions and employee recognition schemes to mitigate the risk of resignations for those reasons.

2. Certain benefits really matter to staff, others don’t

Benefits are a key factor in retaining staff, as they act as an added perk in addition to salary and can boost morale among teams. We asked employees two questions - which benefit they’d most like their employer to offer, and which benefits are most valuable when considering a new role. 

Unsurprisingly, among the top answers were the same perks for each. From both current and potential employers, people want a cycle-to-work scheme, health insurance, mental health support, a financial education and wellbeing programme, rewards vouchers and child care support. That is where their priorities currently lie - namely in the themes of physical, mental and financial health.

In the quest to prevent staff from leaving, you must also prepare for the inevitable and mitigate long-term hiring struggles by ensuring that you’re attracting high-quality talent when new roles become available. When asked which benefits they consider to be a waste of money, respondents cited office perks like ping pong tables and beer tops among their least favourites, along with bringing dogs to work, flu vaccinations, eye care vouchers and commuting loans. Novelty offerings evidently score low on the list of employee interests when it comes to benefits, instead people favour more long-lasting benefits with themes of self-improvement and financial management.

3. There are popular things you can offer to keep your employees

To gain further insight, we asked workers what could persuade them to stay up to an extra year in their current role. 

A pay rise was the most popular answer, followed by a better work/life balance. Amid the rising cost of living in this post-pandemic world, the data follows an expected pattern. Employees need better compensation to keep up with the rise in inflation, and the freedom to comfortably live their lives outside work hours. If pay rises are an option, they’re a surefire way to guarantee employee retention when you’re fulfilling the needs listed above.

Another favoured incentive was to support staff with their finance management. When asked if employees would like help from their employer during the cost of living crisis, 81% said they would. This reflects the desire for a pay rise, and a potential solution if that isn’t an option for employers right now. If teams are requesting regular pay reviews to keep up with soaring inflation, a strong solution is the implementation of a financial wellbeing strategy for all employees, focusing on education around spending, saving and budgeting habits, along with other pressing matters like mortgages, pensions and emergency funds.

Again, an improvement in company culture was the least-important strategy for survey respondents, with the lowest amount stating that it would convince them to stay in their role for another year. This suggests that money and the quality of their outside-work lives are more pressing matters for employees that are thinking about leaving, as opposed to shared company values, goals and attitudes among staff. There’s still room for both, but greater attention and resources are required for the former if you want to prevent employees from leaving.

Key takeaways:

• Workers look for a new job because they want better leadership and management teams, and flexibility around working hours and location.
• Company culture does little to lure new employees or keep existing ones.
• Employees want a cycle-to-work scheme, health insurance, mental health support, a financial education and wellbeing programme, rewards vouchers and child care support as benefits.
• People will be more likely to stay at your company if you give them a pay rise, better work/life balance and finance management support.