Focus on retention over hiring, says MIT study

The majority of customer service employers are more concerned with finding new employees than retaining their existing workers, said MIT Technology Review. 

In their recent poll, 62% of employers surveyed said they struggle with increased recruiting costs, only one-third said that high staff turnover is a problem. 

The paper explained that most companies are trying to compete in the labor market by hoarding capable talent. At the same time, hourly workers are “reshuffling” where they work to find greater flexibility and opportunities for advancement.

However, MIT Technology said that prioritizing hiring over retention could be detrimental to organizations. That is why the paper advises employers to pay attention to their existing employees instead of recruiting more people.

How to start retaining workers?

To combat this issue of losing seasoned employees, MIT Tech said that leaders need to develop career paths for customer experience staff that expand beyond the contact center.

That means developing robust learning programs and creating a culture of learning and development (L&D). Such programs should tie into employees’ personal and professional goals, the report said.

Employers could also look into cultivating an inclusive environment for workers and prioritizing L&D time above all. Such cultures, according to a report by HR Dive, could provide more avenues for reducing turnover, improving retention rates, as well as attracting new employees to the organization. 

Read more here.