Two thirds say high attrition is damaging workplace culture

A survey of businesses has revealed that company culture has suffered in 63% of UK businesses as a result of high attrition of staff.

The research by training and talent provider Wiley Edge found that 23% of business leaders have received complaints from remaining team members about a change in company culture, and another 23% have noticed the company culture drift due to poor retention rates.

The survey of 500 UK business leaders also found that 22% of organisations have had issues arise between team members due to the development of a toxic culture, 21% have noticed a decrease in employee engagement, and 22% have had long-standing employees leave as a direct result of the change in culture.

Tom Seymour, senior director of HR at Wiley Edge, said: “Poor retention rates are very costly for businesses, driving up recruitment and training expenses. However, often overlooked is the impact on company culture, which can have its own more long-term implications, both financial and otherwise.

High attrition, said the research, can become a “vicious cycle” in which the culture of a team or whole organisation can become destabilised, resulting in more employees choosing to leave, further increasing recruitment and onboarding costs.

Millennial and Gen Z job-hopping is particularly acute, with 16% of organisations surveyed reporting that 51-100% of their graduate employees typically leave the business within two years.

A further 38% found that between 21% and 50% leave, and just 28% of businesses said that fewer than one in 10 leave in the same time period.

Seymour added: “When it comes to younger employees, businesses need to make sure they’re really listening to them and meeting their needs in order to prevent high levels of turnover.

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“By creating a positive, welcoming environment in which employees from all backgrounds can flourish and progress in their careers, businesses should not only find that their retention rates improve, but also that employee engagement increases, productivity improves, and recruitment and onboarding costs are minimised.”

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