How to reduce staff turnover with a flexible culture

 Reducing staff turnover is an ongoing headache for many businesses.  Experts estimate it costs upwards of twice an employee’s salary to find and train a replacement. And churn can damage morale among remaining employees. But many employers are now finding that by creating and supporting a flexible work culture where part-time work is easily accessible if desired, creates loyalty, increases performance and reduces staff turnover.  
Tips to making it work include:

1.Be realistic – staff moving from full-time to part-time need to adjust and manage their own expectations of what they can achieve. 

2.Prioritisation – for the employee, the key to finding the balance is to make sure they are doing the important rather than the urgent. 

3.Strategic approach – as an employer you should ensure that you have strategies in place to make this work.  Being flexible and family friendly won’t be successful unless this is the case.

4.Support – part-time staff need the full support of their leader, their teammates and family for it to successfully work for everyone.

5.Review – re-visit and discuss compensation, benefits packages, and flexible work schedules at least annually.

6.Recognition – it is easy to overlook how important recognition and praise from managers can be, especially if an employee is not in the office full time.

A very real benefit many employers find with flexible arrangements is increased productivity –part-time employees may work fewer hours in the office, but they are capable of being just as productive as full-timers, they don’t have time to waste and are often extremely good at juggling a range of tasks. Not to mention the cost benefits to your business from reducing staff turnover!