As talked about in part one, employee turnover is expensive. It’s not only monetarily expensive, it makes continuity and effectiveness hard. Our clients don’t know what to expect day to day when different people are doing different things every time the see us. It can be disrupting and lead to distrust.
The good news, turnover is avoidable. High, competitive compensation is not the rule for most agencies. We all know this. Luckily, high, competitive compensation is not the sole determinant in holding on to good social workers. We also need to consider a wide variety of alternative factors our colleagues consider when looking to take and/or leave a job.
A large factor considered is Agency Culture. How positive is the work environment? Do my coworkers complain and moan all day? How respectful is the workplace? Do my coworkers respect my time and boundaries? How open to collaboration are my coworkers? How open to communication is my supervisor? Does she take my ideas into consideration? Employees who are valued, given latitude to perform their job as they see fit, and respected are way more likely to stick around than employees who are run over, not listened to, and have to work in a toxic stew of negativity every day.
Another factor for retention is how the agency approaches the self care of it’s employees. Our job is a tough one. That’s the nature of it and there’s no way around it. That said, agencies that prioritize self care and create opportunities for it will be less likely to experience crippling churn. Offering room for mindfulness, access to counseling, promoting life-work balance, time for physical exercise or discounted gym memberships are all ways to show employees commitment to their well being.
Having grace and allowing for flexibility is another big deal for employees who are looking to leave or stay with an agency. As long as all deadlines and work responsibilities are met, are you allowed to work from somewhere other than the office? Are the hours concrete and strict 8-4? Being flexible with these types of things will reduce burnout and turnover as employees retain their power to meet their ever growing personal obligations. Being available to take doctors appointments, get kids to/from school, come in a bit early or leave a bit early are often worth more than a bigger paycheck.
Agencies that invest in their employee’s personal development are more likely to keep them. I love the old story of the Executive asking, “What if we pay for that employee’s development and he leaves to go somewhere else?” The answer, “What if we don’t pay for their development, and they stay?” Show interest in career growth and skill enhancement, the investment will pay off. Workshops, conferences, and local leadership roles are ways to simultaneously show employee appreciation and reinforce agency capability.
This isn’t a comprehensive list, but lastly we’ll look at support systems. Social Work Professionals are exposed to high stress situations regularly, it’s not secret. Agencies that schedule, and keep, regular supervision meetings, peer support, and access to experienced individuals on staff or even experts outside of the workplace will be more likely to keep their star employees. These opportunities to share, seek advice, workshop ideas, and process tough situations will lead to less burnout and less turnover.
Keeping good employees is essential to running an effective social work agency. Keeping costs down is just one of the benefits. A positive culture, self care opportunities, flexibility, personal development, meaningful work, and a healthy support system all contribute to employee satisfaction and retention. When we use these to craft our work environment, our workforce feels valued ensuring our agencies get to maintain their effective employees and continue improving the lives of their clients.
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