18% of American employees are considering leaving their current roles in 2024

Staff retention – a beast that every HR team is grappling with. And new research from employee engagement provider Culture Amp suggests that 2024 will be no different.

In fact, 18% of North American employees (28.9 million) are looking to move roles next year, along with 20% of UK employees (6.5 million), 23% of Germans (10.5 million), and 19% of Australians (2.6 million), according to the study which surveyed workers across 1,000 locations.

What’s more, Culture Amp looked further into the future by seeking insight as to whether employees expect to stay in their current roles over the next 24 months.

Globally, 10% of employees can see themselves leaving their current business within the next two years.

Or, more specifically, 9% of Americans, 11% of Australians, 12% of British workers, and 13% of Germans.

Culture Amp’s ‘Commitment to Stay’ survey asked employees to respond to statements such as ‘I am actively looking to move on’ and ‘I see myself still working with the same company in two year’s time’ to gain a deeper understanding of where they see their careers heading.

The company’s people scientists also used the data to predict which groups of people are most likely to leave their current roles, while highlighting early turnover warning signals.

“Companies are struggling with fluctuations in employee intent-to-stay,” says Jessica Brannigan, lead people scientist at Culture Amp. “This poses significant concerns for people leaders, who often find themselves in a challenging position when trying to meet the multi-faceted needs of different groups of employees.

“As we head into 2024, it will be critical for organizations to proactively plan engagement activities which resonate with the entire workforce – especially higher performers – to reduce the risk of regrettable turnover and subsequent costs.”

Identifying and implementing employee retention drivers

The study also identified the top drivers for employees in each country which encourages them to stay in their roles.

For Americans, knowing how to request additional resources and tools was the number one priority, followed by enjoying their work and believing they have access to good career opportunities.

In the UK, employees needed high levels of collaboration to get the job done, as well as feeling informed about what’s happening in the company and seeing that the organization and fellow employees are making a positive impact.

Elsewhere in Europe, German employees wanted to see that business leaders were communicating a motivating vision, that the right people were rewarded and recognized, and that leaders demonstrated that people are important to the company’s success.

And finally, like British employees, Australians wanted to feel informed about what was happening in their company, while having control over their wellbeing and believing there were potential career opportunities within the business.

Universally, constructive feedback was found to be a positive way to encourage high-performing employees to continue to improve, as well as supplying support to prevent burnout and unbiased and robust performance processes.

Employee turnover impacts many different facets of a business – from the colleagues that work alongside the individual that’s left, all the way up to the managers and business leaders at the top.

But high turnover rates also affect a business’s bottom line, due to the increased recruitment fees and productivity impacts it has on the wider business. In fact, Culture Amp estimates that it can cost between 30% and 200% to replace an employee – depending on whether they’re a top performer.

“In today’s environment of tightening budgets, most companies simply cannot afford to lose this proportion of talent, especially their high-performing ones,” says Brannigan.

Yet, an uncertain economy and budgetary constraints make it hard for many organizations to promise more to their employees or invest heavily in their development. By providing open and honest communication, employers can provide collaborative opportunities.