A lot of time, effort, and resources go into hiring the best talent for your organization. However, once you’ve secured these new employees, you face a new issue: employee retention. This singular factor can take a major toll on overall company productivity, especially when losing employees due to churn and burn becomes a part of your culture.
On the bright side, churn and burn are easier to address than you might think. In fact, that is what this guide is all about! So, tag along as we explore what churn and burn among employees means, its causes, and remedies.
What does churn and burn mean?
Employee churn and burn is a term that describes a company culture in which employees are demotivated and unproductive in their roles while still being overworked. In this culture, employees typically either leave their jobs shortly after being hired or get fired because they’re unable to meet the company’s unrealistic expectations.
Churn and burn is a process that begins with employee dissatisfaction with their roles and ends with high turnover rates. In between these points, employees could experience physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion, prolonged stress, and decreased involvement in their roles.
Although churn and burn can affect an entire company, they can also affect teams. In this scenario, the company risks having the burnout phenomenon spread to other teams, especially if the root cause isn’t identified in time.
For example, imagine a team suffering from churn and burn, and the company doesn’t identify that it’s caused by poor team management. If the company promotes the team lead, they might implement the same techniques that overworked their smaller team, but this time on a larger scale, leading to widespread employee demotivation.
Due to the rapid turnover rates caused by churn and burn, employees don’t stay at the company long enough to point out the causes and possible solutions. As time goes on, this develops into a culture that’s challenging to eliminate.
The causes of churn and burn among employees
Half of the process of solving employee churn and burn is finding the root cause of the issue. Early detection can prevent long-term damage and talent losses, which can dent company productivity.
Below, we will explore various causes of employee churn and burn so you can nip it in the bud.
Excessive workload
Companies focused on achieving their goals often push employees to deliver solutions fast and flawlessly. In such an environment, there’s almost always work to do, causing the company to overlook its employees and instead increase their workload.
Now, the employees can meet the company’s expectations. In fact, they might surpass them at first. But, with time, you’d notice a decline in productivity resulting from burnout and stress. This is one of the most common causes of churn and burn, with over 75% of employees attesting to experiencing burnout at work in a 2020 FlexJobs survey.
Poor employee management and leadership
Another leading cause of employee churn and burn is a lack of proper management and leadership skills in the workplace. Leaders in a company are responsible for overseeing the well-being and productivity of their teammates and other employees. A lack of leadership skills can lead to unnecessarily tight deadlines, work overload, and a lack of motivation among employees.
If not identified and handled, this could cause even bigger issues with time, one of which is a churn and burn culture, leading to high employee turnover rates.
Unmet work expectations
New employees come with set expectations for their roles which could take the form of milestones they intend to reach or the kind of tasks they think the role entails. Some of these expectations could include a supportive work environment, cohesive teams, and regular promotions.
If a company doesn’t meet these expectations, the new employee might begin to feel unmotivated to perform their roles. This can lead to absenteeism, unproductivity, and, in extreme cases, employee churn.
Non-inclusive working environment
In 2021, Statista found that around 72% of American full-time employees value working with people with different personalities and backgrounds. This means that numerous employees regard workplace diversity and inclusion as necessary to function optimally.
Employees work best in environments where fellow employees are efficient and creative because they challenge them to perform better in their roles, too. So, if there isn’t as much diversity, and all the employees have similar skills, backgrounds, and values, there could be a notable decrease in motivation and productivity.
Ultimately, churn and burn could stem from many sources. However, being able to identify the cause of this situation helps you know the steps to take to rectify it.
The impact of churn and burn on your organization
Churn and burn among employees have both short and long-term effects on your company and its employees. This includes:
Financial shortfall
A consequence of long-term churn and burn is a system in which employees resign shortly after being hired or get fired due to their inability to keep up with the workload. Of course, the company has to replace these employees each time.
This hire-lose culture causes a significant financial shortfall within the organization. Rehiring and constantly having to let employees go could cost thousands of dollars. Plus, the loss of employees could lead to a worker shortage and skill gaps, which stunts organizational processes.
Negative company culture
If churn and burn spreads throughout your organization, it can foster a culture where employees and teams are unproductive, overworked, and burned out. This creates a toxic environment that stunts innovation within your company, making it harder to find solutions to problems.
This negative organizational culture makes it difficult to retain even the best talent. It can also lead to a lack of continuity in projects, poor customer experience, and a poor reputation in the industry, which can block vital partnerships.
Difficulty attracting talent
The thing with poor employee retention is that it reflects badly on your company’s reputation. As word spreads, potential candidates could learn about the churn and burn culture and steer clear of your job postings.
Not only could this reduce the number of applicants you get, but it also prevents top talent from applying. In the long term, this can lead to wide skill gaps within your organization, resulting from a talent shortage.
Health impact on employees
Prolonged burnout from churn and burn can lead to mental stress on employees, which can manifest as physical illnesses. This occurs more frequently than you might think. In fact, between 2022 and 2023, the Health and Safety Executive found that about 1.8 million employees suffered from illnesses caused by their work.
In addition to physical health, employees could also struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance. This can spill into their personal lives, affecting their development goals and relationships with friends, family, and partners.
Signs and symptoms of churn and burn
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of churn and burn on time is vital to handling it and maintaining a healthy and productive environment. Here are the signs and symptoms of churn and burn within a company:
1. Decreased morale and productivity
One of the initial symptoms of churn and burn is a notable decrease in employee morale when performing their roles, followed by reduced productivity. This is characterized by:
- Failure to meet deadlines
- Inability to complete tasks
- Lack of punctuality at work
Overall, low productivity results in a steady decline in company progress, which can delay company goals.
2. High employee turnover rates
Prolonged churn and burn causes employees to resign from the company shortly after they are hired. If the cause of the churn and burn isn’t found on time, this could cause the company to lose top talent at an alarming rate.
3. Low employee engagement and high withdrawal
In a productive environment, employees are invested in their roles and even excited about working with each other on projects. However, once employee churn and burn sets in, the motivation to work declines. This results in:
- Reduced engagement in company processes
- Few interactions among employees outside of work
- Withdrawal
4. Significant increase in absenteeism
Part of the signs of churn and burn among employees is little to no attendance in meetings, projects, or even simple tasks. This could be in the form of requesting days off more often or absenteeism from work or projects without prior notice.
5. Lack of focus
Employees experiencing churn and burn find it challenging to focus on specific tasks in their jobs. This could result from burnout, overexertion at work, or even work anxiety. As a result, you might notice basic errors or irregularities in their work.
How to reduce churn and burn among employees
For many employers, the first response to an employee showing signs of churn and burn is a query or even a termination of their job. This approach might remove the burned-out employee from the company, but it doesn’t address the underlying issue.
This is why it’s important to identify the cause of churn and burn among your employees before making any decisions. The next step is to derive solutions to these issues based on their causes.
With that in mind, here are some strategies to reduce churn and burn in your company:
1. Implement effective HR management
Excellent Human Resources (HR) management goes beyond building a system for assigning employees work. It also includes supporting employees as they work and finding strategies to manage their workload and performance.
To implement effective HR management, you can start by setting up initiatives to train managers and team leads to equip them with the skills to coordinate with other employees without overworking them. You can also create avenues for physical, emotional, and mental health support for your employees. This way, employees feel comfortable talking to the company about work-related health issues if they arise.
2. Onboard your new hires adequately
New hires come into the company with expectations that can impact their productivity if not met. Over time, unmet expectations demotivate them and eventually lead to churn and burn. Proper onboarding prevents this by reshaping their expectations to what the role can actually offer.
This allows the new hire to set realistic expectations for the role. When these expectations are met, the hires can focus on the pros of the job instead of the cons and maintain their motivation, leading to better staff retention.
3. Apply better collaboration techniques among teams
For employees to work well as a team, there must be great collaboration between teams. Each person should be able to perform a specific task assigned to them and bring their ideas together to achieve the team’s goals. This way, the workload is spread evenly across team members, and there is a reduced chance of churn and burn.
To boost collaboration among teams, you can encourage team bonding exercises and icebreakers during meetings or foster better communication with your team. This way, all voices are heard, and no one feels left out or under-challenged in their role.
4. Encourage effective communication
According to a poll by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 74% of U.S. full-time employees value mental health discussions at work, but only 58% are comfortable talking about it. However, with effective workplace communication, employees can be more open about their health and well-being.
Effective communication essentially sets the foundation for employees to work better with each other and even company leaders since they can communicate their issues, ideas, or suggestions to the company without feeling uncomfortable.
5. Encourage work-life balance
Promoting work-life balance among your employees is key to ensuring they can function at their best at work without being too drained to carry on their personal lives. Not to mention, when the employees see that the company cares, it fosters a sense of loyalty and trust.
To encourage good work-life balance among your employees, you can provide options for flexible working, remote work, or mental-health days to support their well-being. Leaders within your company can also encourage taking breaks to ensure their teammates don’t feel guilty about wanting some time off.
6. Apply skill testing to ensure high morale
Comprehensive skills testing doesn’t just help you identify talent for your company. In fact, when done correctly, it can help you spot candidates who are enthusiastic about the open role and motivated to perform their tasks to the best of their abilities. But it doesn’t just stop there. The perfect skill testing platform can also help you show your candidates what a particular role entails so there are fewer chances of unmet expectations leading to churn and burn.
Vervoe is a high-end pre-employment testing platform with features that can help you achieve this. Our platform uses realistic job previews and situational questions to paint a day-in-the-life depiction of what the role entails. This way, candidates know what to expect beforehand and you can hire motivated people.
Additionally, Vervoe facilitates upward or downward scaling, so whether you’re screening one candidate or 1,000, the platform assesses their skills with the same criteria and thoroughness. So you can rest assured that you’re hiring candidates bias-free, and with the best job fit and motivation for the position.
Hiring motivated candidates is easier with Vervoe
Handling churn and burn within your organization is vital, but hiring unmotivated candidates can undo all the work you put in. As such, while fixing this issue within your company, you must ensure new hires don’t relapse into that culture. Using one of Vervoe’s pre-employment skills assessments can help you prevent this and screen your candidates thoroughly with job simulations at the same time.
No matter the role you’re hiring into, Vervoe’s assessment library, equipped with over 300 assessments, has you covered. Our tool also offers customization options, so you can adjust the tests as you see fit, add your company’s branding details, or even create a new one from scratch. Safe to say, Vervoe is the solution you need for seamless, effective skill assessment.
Need more convincing? Register for a demo, and let’s show you the Vervoe way.
