Turnover Contagion: Responding to the Wave of Resignations that Threatens Team Stability. Employees resigning? That’s nothing new. But it becomes a real problem when what we call turnover contagion starts happening. This can shake an organization’s morale, stability, and productivity.
So, what exactly is turnover contagion? It’s when one employee’s decision to quit triggers others to do the same. This chain reaction can spread across teams, departments, or even the entire company—especially in environments where employees are closely connected or work collaboratively.
Turnover Contagion: Responding to the Wave of Resignations that Threatens Team Stability
The reasons behind turnover contagion aren’t one-dimensional. It’s a mix of individual, team, and organizational factors. But the root causes can be identified.
First, the influence of co-workers. If an employee leaves the organization, other employees start evaluating their careers. What does the future hold for me and this company? Should I look for new opportunities? What if I get a higher-paying job offer? And a series of other questions that can lead to the departure of other employees.
Second, assume the organization is not doing well. If someone resigns, the remaining employees may take it as a sign that something is wrong in the company. The fault could be in leadership, career development, rewards, and so on.
Third, additional workload. If one employee leaves, the work and responsibilities are usually delegated to other employees while waiting for the new person. If not anticipated, this can lead to burnout and stress. It is not impossible that there will be further resignations.
Fourth, fear of missing out. There are employees who decide to resign after seeing their colleagues leave. The reason? Just afraid of missing out. In fact, he may actually be fine with his job and company. It does sound irrational. But it can happen. Especially with the help of platforms like LinkedIn. It is easier for people to see the new workplaces of their former colleagues.
And fifth, the disruption of organizational culture. This is especially true if those leaving are key employees, meaning they have superior knowledge, skills and behaviour. This disruption makes those who remain also consider leaving.
Why worry?
Turnover contagion is bad for the company. Too frequent resignations will demoralize the remaining employees. They feel demotivated, underappreciated, or worried about their future in the company.
This risk is even more pronounced for small teams. According to Visier’s research, smaller teams are most at risk of turnover contagion. For example, employees working in teams of 3 to 5 people are 12.1% more likely to resign after one team member resigns, compared to 14.5% for teams of 6 to 10 people. This is due to the strong interdependence and personal relationships between coworkers in smaller teams.
The large number of employee resignations threatens the existence of institutional knowledge. Talent goes, knowledge goes. Meanwhile, finding employees of comparable quality is not easy. Recruiting and training them takes time and money. There is no guarantee that they will stay for long.
Turnover contagion will harm the company’s image. Nowadays, people easily spread negativity, especially through social media. Although it is unethical to demonize a former company, who can prevent it?
Reduce the Impact
After understanding the root cause of turnover contagion, it is time for companies to address it. If not completely eliminated, at least its impact can be reduced. What should be done? Responding to rumours and concerns, increasing engagement, professional and career development programs, not overloading employees, working to strengthen relationships between team members, and keeping an eye on external developments.
If there are rumours or anxiety surrounding an employee’s resignation, the organization should act immediately. This aims to calm employees down and show that the company cares about issues that cause dissatisfaction.
Organizations should regularly measure employee engagement levels. Increase engagement if it is deemed lacking. This can be done by rewarding achievements, building a sense of community and ownership, and allowing employees to express their criticisms, suggestions and concerns. Employees will not be easily exposed to turnover contagion if their engagement is high.
Clear professional and career development makes employees feel at home. They will not be tempted by external offers. Many employees resign due to lack of development opportunities.
Do not burden employees beyond their capabilities. Including if they have to do the work that was previously done by the departing employee. If necessary, the company can recruit temporary employees to help.
Close relationships between team members are protective against turnover contagion. Mutual trust, cohesiveness, and a spirit of collaboration must be cultivated.
Sometimes, external developments trigger turnover contagion. For example, competitors may offer higher salaries or outperform other companies in market share and product quality. There could also be a fast-growing company in a new industry. Similarly, government regulations that favour certain companies or sectors. All of this is an attraction for employees to change jobs, potentially followed by their co-workers. Therefore, companies must be diligent in following the latest developments and trends.
Turnover Contagion: Responding to the Wave of Resignations that Threatens Team Stability
Category: Human Capital & Talent Management
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