When it comes to the biggest challenges companies face, employee turnover is high on the list.
Hiring employees is expensive, and losing them can have negative consequences on a lot of fronts. Your other designers may have to take on additional work until you can hire someone else. If a designer leaves in the middle of a project, he or she might leave loose ends that must be tied up by the rest of the team.
While there are certain reasons for turnover that you just can’t do anything about, there are many that you can. Addressing these reasons will make a big difference in your employees’ happiness – and therefore, your company’s success.
1. Toxic company culture.
If your co-workers are rude, petty, or aggressive, then naturally you won’t be that excited to come to work – and you’ll probably start looking for another job pretty quickly. Company culture is a challenging thing to change, but it can be done. Culture is really built from the top down, so chances are you’ll need to examine yourself first.
2. Feeling overworked.
With the economy still not fully recovered from the Great Recession, employees in every industry have been worked harder than ever, often without seeing their compensation increase. While sometimes you simply have to ask your designers to do more than they might feel they should have to, make sure you let them know that you don’t take it for granted.
3. Feeling underappreciated.
This goes right along with feeling overworked. If an employee is going the extra mile for the company, they deserve to be recognized for it. That could be something as small as a sincere “thank you for that great design” the next time you see them. There are lots of ways to thank employees for what they do – and many are low-cost or free, if resources are stretched thin.
4. An employee-position mismatch.
Trying to force a match where there isn’t one won’t do anyone any good, and will almost certainly cause headaches for both management and employee.
5. Some designers are treated differently than others.
When noticeable favoritism is at play in the workplace, employees feel like the deck is stacked against them – and why shouldn’t they? If one person’s product ideas are consistently praised while other good ideas are ignored, employees will feel like the work they put in is futile. And that will lead to a very dissatisfied workforce.
6. Lack of feedback.
Employees, especially Millennial employees, want to know what they’re doing well and what they need to work on. Not only does it make them feel like they’re a valued member of the team, but it also gives them a sense of job security. Knowing what they need to improve means they won’t be blindsided later on if something becomes a recurring problem.
7. Product designers don’t feel their ideas are taken seriously.
Everyone, whether they’re a senior product designer or an entry-level designer, deserves to be heard. If your designers don’t feel like their ideas are being taken seriously, or that nearly all ideas and decision-making comes from the top, they’re likely to look for a more welcoming workplace.
8. Career development opportunities are lacking.
No matter how much someone loves their job, he or she won’t be satisfied doing the same thing day in and day out for years on end. Product designers need strong career development opportunities, whether that be a straight promotion, or a chance to work on a unique or challenging new product.
9. The company puts profits over people.
If your company doesn’t prove that it values its people, your best designers will hit the road eventually – even if they love what they do. Profits are important, of course. But if you put financial gain ahead of creating a healthy, positive workplace, then you’ll find your profits dwindling as your best workers leave.
Finding great product designers can be a difficult thing to do, so you want to make sure the ones you have stick around. For more on improving your workplace environment, read our post “4 Ways to Encourage Innovation in the Workplace.”
