Navigating Employee Flight Risk: Signs and Strategies for Retention 

Over 25% of U.S. workers quit their jobs in 2023. Do you need help retaining top talent in your business? Look at your employee flight risk to determine how likely an employee will leave your company. 

Employees with a high “flight risk” are more apt to put in their 2-week notice. Learn how to spot flight risk signs, improve retention, and more.

What does flight risk mean in employment?

Employee flight risk is the potential for a worker to quit. Compensation, career development opportunities, work-life balance, and other factors indicate employee flight risk. 

A flight-risk employee is typically disengaged, pursuing other job opportunities, or both. 

Unchecked flight risk can lead to turnover, impacting morale and productivity. Identifying and determining each employee’s flight risk can help you make changes to keep key employees.

Flight Risk Employee Meaning
The likelihood that an employee will leave your business.

Why is it important to understand employee flight risk?

Employee flight risk can lead to high turnover, which impacts your business performance through:

• Decreased productivity
• Low employee morale 
• Lost skills and knowledge
• Increased costs (e.g., rehiring)

Understanding and proactively addressing employee flight risk can help you retain your team. 

What are the key indicators of a flight risk employee?

Sometimes, a star employee leaves with no warning. But other times, there are red flags that alert you they’re a high flight risk. 

Key indicators of a flight risk employee include:

• Performance decline: Has an employee’s performance suddenly dropped? Is the quality of their work shrinking? Several factors for a performance decline include disengagement and the employee actively looking for other opportunities. 
• Increased absenteeism: An employee who suddenly starts taking unexpected time off might be burnt out or interviewing with other companies. 
• Engagement decline: Does your employee have less excitement about their work or lower participation in team activities? This could be a sign of increasing flight risk. 
• Voiced complaints: An employee who has expressed concerns about compensation, their career ladder, and organizational changes may be a higher flight risk. 

How to measure employee flight risk

Want to know each employee’s flight risk? Consider measuring employee flight risk through meetings, surveys, and real-world data. 

You can measure flight risk through:

• 1:1 meetings: Regularly meet with each time member individually (e.g., weekly). You can learn about and address any problems they’re having. 
• Engagement surveys: Poll your employees to learn about each one’s satisfaction, outlook at work, and career aspirations.
• Compensation data: Look at compensation trends to see if your employee’s pay is competitive with other companies in the area. 
• Absenteeism rate: Your absenteeism rate shows you the ratio of absences to workdays during a period. You can calculate each employee’s absenteeism rate to find your flight risk.

Why do employees leave their jobs?

Internal (e.g., low compensation) and external (e.g., family change) factors contribute to employees leaving their jobs. 

According to the Pew Research Center, the top reasons employees leave their jobs are low pay and no opportunities for advancement. 

The Pew Research Center’s survey of U.S. adults found the following as the top reasons why U.S. workers left a job:

How to combat high employee flight risk 

From offering competitive pay to providing growth opportunities, there are several steps to take to keep flight risk and turnover low. 

Take a look at the following ways your business can reduce flight risk.

1. Review compensation and benefits

The grass is always greener, especially if there’s more green on the other side. Reviewing your pay and benefits can help you reduce employee flight risk and stay competitive. 

Here are a couple of ways to audit your compensation and benefits package:

• Regularly conduct pay audits and look at current salary data by position. 
• Offer an employee benefits package your employees care about, including robust health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off. 

2. Provide career development opportunities

Without clear career ladders and opportunities for growth, top employees may get bored and move on. 

Consider offering career development opportunities such as:

• Clear career ladders for each position
• Training programs
• Education assistance

3. Promote work-life balance

Employees value work-life balance, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

You can promote work-life balance through remote or hybrid work options and flexible work hours. You may even offer perks like a four-day workweek or unlimited paid time off to maximize your team’s work-life balance. 

4. Talk with your team

One of the best ways to gauge where your employees are is by talking with each team member in various communication channels.

Consider doing some or all of the following to touch base with your employees:

• 1:1 meetings
• Team meetings
• Performance reviews
• Engagement surveys
• Benefits surveys

5. Foster a positive work environment

According to the Pew Research Center survey, one of the top reasons employees leave is because they feel disrespected at work. 

Foster a positive workplace culture to avoid feelings of disrespect, gossip, and other toxic workplace behaviors.

You can foster a positive work environment through:

• Collaboration: Whether your team is remote or in-person, encourage team members to connect and collaborate.
  • Examples: Team-building activities, open communication channels, and team meetings.
• Recognition: Employees want to feel like their work is valued and making a difference.
  • Examples: Announcements and bonus pay.
• Clear communication: Keep your team informed of changes, wins and losses, and other decision-making processes.
  • Examples: Company newsletters, all-hands meetings, and email announcements.

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