Struggling with Employee Retention? 4 Important Trends to Note
Turnover rates have been rising for years, and as with just about everything else, the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated this trend.
If your company is struggling with employee retention, you should take comfort in the fact that you’re not alone. Of course, knowing is half the battle, and business leaders who keep tabs on trends related to turnover put themselves in a position to win the war for talent.
A recent study based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed the following workforce trends that you should be aware of.
Four Recent Trends Impacting Employee Retention
1) Younger Workers Job Hop the Most
Not surprisingly, the younger someone is, the less time they stick with a job. For instance, 18-to-24-year-olds spend an average of eight months and 1.3 years in the same position. In contrast, 25-to-34-year-olds average 2.8 years.
With high-school- and college-age adults primarily working to pay for school, earn pocket cash, or work in apprenticeship/internship programs, their priorities aren’t centered around sticking with one employer. Once people hit 25 years old, they tend to start laying the foundation for the rest of their life and therefore have more incentive to stick with a job for longer.
2) Lower Tenures Seen for Men and Women
More interestingly, the data also indicated that both women and men remain in their positions for less time than they were ten years ago. This may suggest that shifts in cultural values, job opportunities, or professional objectives affect job tenure.
Education generally seems to play a part for men. More-educated men tending to have longer average tenures than less-educated men. For women, average tenures don’t tend to have a solid connection to tenure. This could be due to gender pay gaps or cultural factors related to women in the workforce.
3) Turnover Depends on the industry
The industry someone works in has a substantial effect on their average tenure. For instance, employees in the public sector tend to remain in their positions for longer than those in other sectors. Federal workers stayed in the same job for eight years, on average. State workers spent an average of 5.6 years, and local government workers averaged around 6.6 years.
This may not be surprising given that public-sector positions tend to offer stability and attractive benefits packages.
4) It Isn’t Just Millennials
Millennials may have a reputation for switching jobs often, but job-hopping isn’t necessarily a defining feature of that generation. Job hopping seems to be more driven more by age, meaning older Millennials tend to stay in their positions for longer than younger Millennials.
Americans of all working generations are going to new job opportunities considerably faster than in the past. This implies employers, on average, are not meeting their needs. Businesses may want to look at increasing incentives, offering more opportunities, and taking other steps that have been proven to reduce turnover.
We Can Help Your Company Reduce Turnover
At ZDA, we work to find the best-fit talent for our clients because we know that a good fit equals a long tenure. Please contact us today to find out how we can help your company minimize turnover.