WorkStep’s Q1 2022 top turnover reasons – employee feedback is the new pay

It’s impossible for companies to predict what will drive employees to quit. Playing a guessing game leaves these organizations vulnerable to losing significant amounts of money through blind retention efforts and ongoing turnover costs.

If you had to guess the top reason motivating hourly workers to resign right now, would you choose pay? Well, in our Q4 2021 Top Turnover Reasons Research pay landed at #2. But in our latest report for Q1 2022, pay dropped down to #10!

WorkStep’s quarterly report assesses anonymous frontline worker feedback collected through our employee engagement software. These insights are gathered from tens of thousands of hourly employees from over 100 companies. This data allows us to track the shifts in turnover reasons and what is influencing these changes.

Employee feedback is the new pay

As hourly worker turnover continues to trend upward for supply chain companies, getting ahead of employee attrition has become a priority for businesses. But creating a retention strategy without understanding what is motivating their workforce to leave has proven not to work. Companies are making changes, but not based on the true needs of their workers.

So it’s not surprising that our data shows a jump in feedback being a top factor behind turnover, going from #9 to replacing pay at #2. Whether it’s companies not offering the chance to provide it, or not checking in often enough, or not taking action on the feedback that is coming in, it’s clear that hourly workers want to be heard and listened to.

Employee benefits make the list

Wanting to feel secure about your health and wellbeing has certainly been amplified since the pandemic hit. And just as we thought we may be bidding Covid adieu at the end of 2021, cases soared with a new, more contagious variant.

Being able to keep yourself and your family healthy without going bankrupt is a growing stressor for workers, especially as companies discourage anyone showing up for their shift while displaying symptoms. As a result, offering comprehensive benefit packages has become a key component in employee satisfaction.

In fact, in our Q4 2021 research, benefits did not even make the top 11, but in Q1 2022 it rose to the #3 reason behind turnover.

Facility safety is a growing concern

Unfortunately tragedies continue to happen in our nation and around the world, and they can have a significant impact on the mindset of the workforce. After the fire at the Amazon distribution center this past winter, and the recent uptick in terrible mass shootings, it’s understandable that safety would become a top concern for workers in the supply chain.

WorkStep’s latest turnover driver report reflects this unease, showing safety rise from #7 to #4.   

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What employee trends stays consistent?

Although the turnover drivers change nearly as often as the tides, the #1 reason has remained consistent with every quarterly report. Career growth continues to be the top motivator for frontline workers leaving a company.

Hourly employees no longer view supply chain roles as just a job. They are looking for a path to a career. This should be great news! A workforce that wants to stay for the long run.

Only many organizations have not shifted their perspectives to align with this idea, and therefore workers leave for companies that will offer opportunities to advance.

Staying abreast of workforce turnover reasons

What motivates frontline workers to churn is constantly changing, and often it’s unpredictable. That’s why it’s imperative that companies have the ability to provide ongoing engagement with their workforce to gather real-time insights into what drives them to leave and what encourages them to stay.

WorkStep allows companies to automatically deliver check-ins during key milestones across an employee’s career, collecting insights on satisfaction, and all in one repository. But more importantly, it allows you to take action on the feedback to drive positive outcomes and close the loop with the worker. There’s no wonder why so many companies are turning to WorkStep to significantly increase worker sentiment and drive down turnover.