High turnover rates and low retention are major issues for a lot of companies. Not only do high turnover rates cost lots of money, but they can cause potential employees to be turned off from your company. No one wants to work at a company that is known for having several push factors.

What are push factors? Push factors are those things driving employees and potential candidates away from your business. They can look different from company to company, but what really matters is how you deal with them. However, in order to deal with push factors you need to know what your company’s push factors are. Here is a list of common push factors that you may need to work on:

Company Culture

While it may not be something your company actively cultivates, you have a company culture. If you are losing a lot of employees and they don’t seem very happy, then you may want to evaluate the environment you provide to employees. Take active steps toward creating a productive, welcoming, and happy work environment so employees want to be there and look forward to coming to work.

Pay and Benefits

Some of your employees are more than likely leaving your company because of pay and benefits. Maybe another company offered them slightly more money or time off. No matter what, this may be a push factor that you cannot control. In some cases, you pay your employees what you can and there is nothing you can do about that. However, some companies underpay their employees and/or offer subpar benefits. In these cases, employees will continue to leave for better opportunities.

Poor Communication

There is a saying that employees don’t leave companies, they leave managers. For some businesses, this is a real issue and often the root of the issue is poor communication. Rather than just accepting that employees are leaving, dig deep and discover what the issue is. If it’s communication from management and leadership, then provide training to those individuals or hire managers who have established communication skills.

Commute

While commute times are mostly out of your control as a push factor, one thing you should consider looking at when making hiring decisions is how far a candidate would have to commute on a daily basis. For many employees, a long commute adds stress to their lives, which often is reflected in their work and their attitudes.

What push factors do you deal with in your business? How do you work to resolve them? Share your thoughts and comments below!