Opinions expressed are solely my own.
Turnover can feel disheartening—imagine spending time and resources onboarding a new hire, only to have them quit within a week, claiming the role “isn’t a good fit.” This scenario is especially common in high-stress industries, which experience a greater likelihood of frequent turnover. The costs, as highlighted by SHRM, can be staggering—turnover may account for 50-60% of an employee’s annual salary—alongside impacts on morale and productivity. So, what can be done to address this issue, particularly in these challenging sectors? Before diving into the three strategies, let’s examine the turnover rates in these industries and explore effective measures to reduce employee turnover.
Industry Turnover Rates
2024 year of year national average turnover rate: 3.6%
Common High-stress Industries
- Healthcare: 20.7%
- Technology: 13.2-18.3%
- Public Education: 16%
- Aerospace 6.7%
- Arts & Entertainment: 6.4%
Strategy 1 – Stress Management Programs
Incorporate stress management programs. This can look like including mandatory breaks and recovery periods into scheduling, stress management courses such as Harvard Business Reviews Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART). One study stated that one hospital spent an expected $16,736 per nurse per year on nurse attributed burnout turnover. You don’t have to be a mathematician to know how quickly that adds up. Throw in external factors such as a global pandemic or another global health emergency and it becomes clear the need to have a stress management program in place.
Strategy 2 – Strategic Compensation Models
As part of a past graduate course, I conducted a group analysis on turnover rates for a company based on their years of service. The data was striking on the retention rates for employees whose seniority exceeded two years. According to a study on healthcare turnover, 62.2% of employees left in their first two years of employment. The need is clear to incentivize employees with compensation retention strategies, especially in high stress environments. This could look like annual retention bonuses, adding additional work life balance paid time off after a busy or stressful season and frequent compensation analysis to ensure you are paying above market price for your high stress positions.
Strategy 3 – Optimize Workload Distribution and Process Efficiency
Although some industries have certain necessary stressors, such as facing rejection with working in sales or a call center, there are ways to reduce and remove other unnecessary stressors. With the rise of AI, companies can leverage this tool to identify administrative burdens and rebalancing techniques to offload and improve processes. For example, MultiCare, a health system in Washington state, found a 63% reduction in clinician-reported burnout due to AI scribe use. AI scribes can transcribe medical notes for provider notes thus removing a massive administrative burden that also helped to reduce employee turnover.
Reduce Employee Turnover – Summary
Employee turnover in high-stress industries can feel like an uphill battle, but there are proactive strategies. We explored three proven approaches to reduce turnover: implementing robust stress management programs to combat burnout, crafting strategic compensation models to incentivize retention, and leveraging AI to streamline workloads and enhance efficiency. Whether it’s offering recovery periods, retention bonuses, or using AI tools like scribes to ease administrative burdens, these targeted tactics empower businesses to foster healthier, more resilient work environments and to reduce employee turnover.
