We all know that employee turnover is costly. We lose valuable knowledge and skills even as we pay to recruit, hire and train replacements. New estimates show that turnover results in costs that exceed 150% of the employee’s salary. That’s a big number in any business.
Turnover results from a resignation or a firing. In the former, we’re facing an employee who is disengaged, demotivated and dissatisfied enough to leave the business. All too often, “problem” employees are facing the same issues, demonstrated as poor productivity and results.
Why Traditional Approaches Don’t Match Our Minds
Traditional approaches for avoiding turnover tend to focus on counseling and coaching poor performers, or throwing more money or a bigger title at those who would leave. I think there’s a better way. Neuroscience has proven there’s a better way.
All too often the reason employees are dissatisfied, poorly performing or de-motivated has little to do with them and everything to do with their leadership and environment. You see, each and every one of us humans has a unique mind design. Our mind designs determine how we like to be motivated and engaged, what we need to deliver our best performance and how and why we will shine in our jobs.
That means we need to get inside the minds of every individual to understand what makes them tick. Then, we need to adapt our leadership style and the employees’ environment, roles and focus to match the way their minds are programmed.
Using Neuroscience to Terminate Turnover
In most cases, turnover happens when employees are:
- Simply not motivated,
- Being managed in a way that doesn’t match their unconscious communication and motivation preferences.
In the wrong position for their specific mind design or, - In a work environment that doesn’t match what their mind needs to deliver great results.
Using the guidance of neuroscience, we can get inside our employees minds. We can understand what makes every individual tick. We can transform in-place lower productivity employees into more productive players, even as we make sure high performers are engaged, motivated and satisfied in their positions.
How? By shifting from traditional one-size-fits-all approaches to motivation, engagement, communication and organizational design. Thanks to neuroscience we can shift into modern, highly scientific approaches that empower every unique individual in our organization.
