Employee turnover can be a real headache for any organisation. It affects everything from productivity to team morale and even the bottom line. With the job market being so competitive these days, keeping your best people around is more important than ever.
That’s where Hive comes in—an employee voice platform that can help you get a handle on what’s really going on and how to keep your employees happy and sticking around.
In this post, we’ll dive into some real-life examples from our customers like Bloom and Travelodge, where Hive has played a crucial role in reducing employee turnover.
What’s causing turnover in your team?
Before you can tackle and cut employee turnover, you need to understand why employees are leaving. It could be dissatisfaction with management, limited career growth, or a lack of work-life balance.
To get to the heart of these issues, using Hive the survey tool can help you dig deeper and uncover the real reasons behind employee departures.
What type of surveys can help you understand your people?
Pulse surveys: These short, frequent surveys give you a real-time snapshot of employee sentiment. For example, if you’re noticing a dip in morale, a pulse survey can quickly highlight areas of concern, like workload stress or dissatisfaction with leadership.
Exit surveys: If employees do leave, exit surveys are invaluable for understanding the reasons behind their departure. HR leaders can use Hive surveys to conduct these, and collect candid feedback from departing employees, giving you insights into what might be driving turnover and how you can improve retention for the rest of your team.
Engagement surveys: These more comprehensive surveys are conducted less frequently but provide a deeper dive into overall employee engagement. They can reveal broader trends, like a need for better career development opportunities or a desire for more recognition, helping you take targeted actions to boost retention.
Real-time feedback for quick action
One of Hive’s biggest strengths is its ability to capture real-time feedback. Whether through pulse surveys, check-ins, or engagement assessments, you get an ongoing stream of data that helps you stay on top of how your team is feeling. This means you can catch small issues before they turn into major problems.
Key drivers
In addition to this, Hive’s innovative Key Drivers feature takes employee engagement to the next level, uncovering the key factors that drive engagement with detective-like precision. Using advanced statistics, it reveals relationships, predicts outcomes, and pinpoints the most critical influences on engagement.
These insights provide a clear roadmap for making informed decisions and tailoring strategies to different groups within your organisation, helping you boost engagement where it matters most.
Coupled with your Action Grid, it’s your ultimate toolkit for unlocking high-impact areas and making game-changing, data-driven decisions.
Prioritise:
Focus first on drivers with low scores but high importance. These areas have a big impact but aren’t performing well, making them crucial for improvement.
Celebrate:
Acknowledge and continue to excel in drivers with high scores and high importance. These are your strengths, so keep doing what works and protect these areas.
Review:
Drivers with low scores and low importance need a review. Consider making small improvements where possible, but they aren’t as critical.
Maintain:
Drivers with high scores but lower importance should be sustained. While they are not your top priority, it’s important to keep these areas performing well.
So when it comes to understanding what’s driving employees to leave, you can act fast on the areas that are having the biggest effect.
Open door
Sticking with the topic of real-time feedback, Hive promotes an open door policy through our tool… Open door.
Open door gives your people the freedom to confidentially share ideas, feedback, and concerns at any time. Instead of waiting for a survey, you can encourage employees to speak up about what might be driving them to consider leaving, all in a comfortable and secure space.
Boosting employee engagement
Engaged employees are far less likely to leave, and Hive helps you foster that engagement with its powerful tools. Alongside its surveys, Hive offers a peer-to-peer recognition tool that can significantly boost morale and engagement.
By using Hive’s continuous feedback and recognition features, you can create a work environment where employees feel valued, supported, and connected to the company’s mission.
For instance, if Hive’s data shows that your team highly values career development, you could introduce new training programs or mentorship opportunities. These tailored strategies can enhance employee engagement and loyalty, making your team more likely to stay and thrive.
Real-life examples of how Hive has helped to cut employee turnover
Travelodge used Hive to predict and prevent employee turnover
Travelodge had seen a consistent increase in engagement scores for 5 years. But, puzzlingly, attrition had also risen. In 2019, they were concerned about the uncertainty around Brexit since the majority of team members in their 8 flagship hotels are non-British.
So they needed to know: What was driving employee turnover? And how do they stop it?
That’s where Hive comes in. Our People Scientists helped Travelodge’s People team switch from annual surveying to more frequent pulse surveying with a refreshed question set that targets employee turnover.
By looking at responses from employees who left in the 3 months after the first survey, we learnt:
- ¾ of those who left didn’t participate in the survey
- Those classed as eNPS Detractors were 3x more likely to leave than Passives/Promoters
- Manager relationships and career development opportunities are key to building advocacy
- Progression opportunities are a priority for part-time workers who aren’t eligible for the Aspire development programme
Following recommendations from our People Scientists, the team at Travelodge applied those learnings to create a four-pronged action plan:
- Predict turnover risk: Identify and address drops in survey response rates and eNPS
- Revamp management structures: Redefining roles and responsibilities
- Enhance manager training: Provide a better quality and quantity of training to upskill people managers
- Expand the Aspire programme: Change the eligibility criteria for the Aspire programme, communicated by a comprehensive campaign
The outcome:
Bloom improved culture using employee insights from Hive leading to a drop in turnover
Bloom, embarked on a journey to enhance its employee experience and foster a supportive work culture. Recognising the importance of employee voice, they turned to Hive to drive culture change, improve employee engagement, eNPS and employee turnover.
Alongside Hive surveys, they implemented the Hive Open Door feature, allowing continuous employee feedback at any time, and used the Hive Fives feature to recognise day-to-day interactions and celebrate outstanding culture contributions.
By actively listening to employee feedback through Hive’s platform, Bloom experienced a significant increase in employee engagement. Survey scores consistently improved, indicating a more positive and satisfied workforce. The Engagement Index went from 7.8 to 8.4.
They also found that they needed to focus on transparency, health and wellbeing, and people development, which has significantly influenced the organisation’s culture… and with an eNPS now at +80, it’s safe to say that they’re succeeding.
Bloom successfully addressed employee turnover challenges by implementing changes based on employee insights gathered through Hive. Their employee retention improved from 64% to an impressive 87%, highlighting the positive impact of employee voice.
The ROI of reducing employee turnover
Reducing employee turnover isn’t just about keeping your team intact—it’s a smart financial move. Think about it: every time someone leaves, you’re not just losing a team member; you’re also facing the costs of recruiting, hiring, and onboarding their replacement. And that can add up fast.
But it’s not just about the money. When you keep your employees around, you’re preserving the valuable knowledge and experience they’ve built up over time. This means your team stays productive, your operations run smoothly, and you don’t have to worry about the learning curve that comes with new hires.
Plus, when employees stick around, they’re more engaged and connected to the company. This boosts morale, keeps the team motivated, and helps create a positive work environment where people actually want to stay. And let’s not forget about your customers—long-term employees are better at building strong relationships, leading to happier, more loyal customers.
So, by focusing on reducing turnover, you’re not just saving money—you’re creating a stronger, more successful business all around.
Closing thoughts on the broader impact of employee retention
Ultimately, reducing employee turnover is about more than just numbers. It’s about cultivating a workplace where employees feel genuinely valued, supported, and inspired to contribute their best every day. When employees know their voices are heard and their wellbeing is prioritised, they’re more likely to be engaged, loyal, and motivated to grow with the company.
This kind of environment doesn’t just happen overnight—it’s built on consistent, thoughtful efforts to listen to your team, understand their needs, and act on their feedback.
With Hive, you’re not just tackling turnover; you’re actively shaping a workplace culture that people are proud to be part of. Hive’s tools allow you to continuously gather insights from your employees, whether it’s through surveys, real-time feedback, or peer recognition. This ongoing dialogue helps you identify what’s working, what needs improvement, and how you can create an environment where your employees feel connected to the company’s mission and values.
