Turnover is an inevitable fact in today’s workforce. 

Gone are the days when you could expect an employee to earn their 30-year gold watch for continued service and dedication to one company. And while some may be nostalgic for those days of old, it’s time to move forward and prepare for your changing workforce.  As Millennials become the largest portion of our workforce, we are seeing a lot of significant statistics for employee retention.

1. On average, 3 million Americans are quitting their job every month.
2. It is anticipated that 2 out of every 3 millennials will leave their current job by 2020.
3. 87% of HR leaders consider retention a high priority that will greatly impact their jobs in the next five years.
4. Yet, only 25% of organizations have a formal offboarding plan in place.

If seeing those stats is making you a bit nervous, good. It’s important to start reevaluating your retention strategies as well as your offboarding experiences. Turnover is inevitable, but your preparations for offboarding those employees could have a ripple effect that proves advantageous for all involved.

Give and Take

Leaving a company is a stressful process for all involved and the stress is compounded knowing that 75% of organizations are lacking a formal offboarding strategy. Organizations must find a way to create a positive experience, that will make a lasting impression and provide peace of mind for your former employee. One way to accomplish this is by having an alternative place for employees to continue their benefits coverage. Our clients are doing this currently by providing their departing employees with access to the MyChoice Market where they can elect various benefits to take with them when they leave. A small gesture that shows they care about their employee’s health and wellbeing as they start the next chapter in life.

Also, consider what efficiencies you can put in place to help automate your offboarding strategies. There are many legal considerations that must be taken care of for every employee that leaves such as COBRA and ACA. By automating these processes, with as little paperwork as possible, your employee will have a more seamless departure.

Create Brand Ambassadors Instead of Brand Haters

Offboarding an employee has become just as crucial as onboarding in this age of social media which has created a space for disgruntled employees to take to Facebook or LinkedIn and leave a not-so-flattering review of your company. Don’t think this affects future recruits? Think again. A recent study found that 25% look to social media and 73% took negative remarks into consideration before making a decision to join a company. On the other hand, a glowing recommendation from a former employee who had a red carpet offboarding experience… that’s as good as it gets.

Keep Your Door Open

Here at Businessolver, we like to use the term Boomerang. This refers to an employee who leaves the company, realizes the grass isn’t always greener, and returns! According to a recent study, 46% of Millennials would consider boomeranging back to their previous employer. That’s pretty huge considering 2 out of every 3 will change jobs by 2020.

Continue to invite those prior employees (or your alumni) to your networking or happy hour events, send casual reminders of job openings and more. Our Benefitsolver offboarding experience allows employers to engage their alumni network, keeping the door open should they one day decide to return.

Turnover is the new normal. Implementing a strong offboarding strategy and experience now will prepare you for what’s coming and potentially, bring some of those former employees back through your door!

Learn more on how MyChoice Market can help your offboarding strategy by clicking the button below.