A revolving door may be good for a bank lobby, but it’s one of the last things your HR department needs.
The HR department should be a catalyst for growth and cultural and business development. But low employee retention and high turnover can turn the HR department into an overwhelmed triage ward mainly tasked with processing employee exits and searching for and onboarding new hires to staunch the talent drain.
And beyond the burnout for the HR department, high turnover takes a toll on the business as a whole.
In 2012, the Center for American Progress reviewed 30 case studies and found that when an employee leaves, businesses spend about one-fifth of an employee’s annual salary to replace them. A little over a decade later, a July 2024 Gallup article, “42% of Employee Turnover is Preventable but Often Ignored,” found that replacing frontline employees costs an average of 40% of their annual salary.
Training and Growth: Two Keys to Employee Retention in the Food Industry
According to the 2025 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, “providing learning opportunities” was the number one answer given by respondents when asked what they think is the best strategy for retaining employees. In addition, 84% stated that “learning adds purpose to my work.” In 2021, a survey conducted by Monster found that 45% of respondents stated they would be more likely to stay with their current employer if offered skills training, with occupation-specific training being the most frequently cited option.
With a concerted focus on training, food companies can meet their regulatory requirements and avoid recalls, while also fostering a culture of growth and career development that helps retain their most valued employees.
How Strong Safety Culture and Training Help Reduce Employee Turnover
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) defines food safety culture as “shared values, beliefs and norms that affect mindset and behaviour toward food safety in, across, and throughout an organization.”
To achieve and maintain a robust food safety culture, training is key.
In a recent Rootwurks article, SQF auditor and consultant Jody Peterson discussed the importance of teaching employees “the Why” behind food safety measures and the consequences of missing the mark.
“By understanding why food safety guidelines are so important, they begin to see themselves as essential to safety, and buy into the food safety program altogether,” Peterson said.
Once these employees see themselves as essential to food safety, they feel a sense of ownership in the success of the company. They will understand the importance of the job and realize that they have a personal interest in food safety and are valued by the company. This helps make the position more than a job, giving them a greater sense of purpose and encouraging them to become long-term employees.
Food safety procedures can be complex, and few industry employees enter the job with encyclopedic knowledge of food manufacturing regulations.
In an environment of uncertainty, employees may feel uneasy about their job and be concerned that they will make mistakes, even if they are unaware of the potential risks. This can lead to stress and anxiety, potentially increasing the odds that an employee will decide that they’re better off in a less high-stakes workplace.
With comprehensive food safety training and the use of tools like checklists, these employees can make sense of their obligations. They will also understand how to succeed in food safety and ensure that they continue to succeed at the workplace and have a future at the company.
Reducing the stress of food safety responsibilities and training is also one of the main reasons that companies invest in learning management systems (LMS) to help manage these processes and train their teams for safety.
In a robust food safety culture, frontline employees feel empowered to take the lead on food safety and speak up when they observe something that could potentially pose a risk. Not only do they not fear they will be punished for speaking out, but they know that leadership has their back and actively encourages their input.
For employees, this engenders a feeling that their input is valued and desired. It encourages them to pay extra attention to food safety best practices and understand their role in ensuring these practices are upheld.
And by encouraging employees to use their voice, management sends the message that they are essential to daily operations and can be trusted to use their judgment on the production floor.
In a recent Rootwurks report, “The Biggest Training Challenges in the Food Manufacturing Industry,” we interviewed hundreds of food industry professionals about their biggest hurdles in building a safety culture. One of the top challenges mentioned by respondents was “lack of leadership buy-in,” and for good reason.
Building a strong food safety culture requires the full buy-in of management and the upper echelons of a company. And by committing fully to food safety culture and awareness - and investing in the necessary training and tools - company leadership sends a powerful message: food safety is a fundamental goal, and all of us play a role.
Leadership commitment to food safety shows employees they aren’t on their own when it comes to food safety, increasing the trust employees have in management.
Most employees want to know that they aren’t just punching a clock, they’re growing and learning with every passing work day.
By investing in food safety training for individual employees - including food safety certification programs like HACCP training - companies elevate the professional credentials of their team members and give them a sense of growth within the company.
This helps foster a feeling that the position is not a dead-end job or one in which only the employers benefit from the fruits of their labor. Instead, it is one in which, by performing necessary training, they are gaining professional skills and credentials that will only increase the longer they stay at the company.
Also, by investing in an employee's training and professional development, management sends the message that they value their contribution and are willing to invest in keeping them employed and growing along with the company.
The Rootwurks LMS - Keeping Employees Trained and Engaged for Safety Culture
Food safety culture isn’t a foregone conclusion. With the Rootwurks LMS, companies can access the training they need to empower employees and create a workplace culture in which safety is always at the forefront - and your best team members are more likely to stay put for the long haul.
To learn more about our LMS and how it can help you fight turnover by improving food safety culture and employee empowerment, reach out to the Rootwurks team here: