10 MAJOR reasons why MOST productive employees quit

As an employer, it is always a sad moment to keep losing the most productive and promising employees due to whatever reasons. As much as the facts are clear that no one is tied to one place forever, but employee retention is as important as mission and vision of a company. An organization with a high employee turnover does not accomplish much compared to organizations that have good employee retention.

There however are some basic reasons why employees quit and knowing them can really save employees from quitting for various reasons and can guide employers to identify the loopholes and maintain high retention for the sake of organization’s stability. Read on…

ONE: RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BOSS/BOSSES

A good relationship not necessarily friendship with the boss is very essential. The boss is the connection between an employee and the larger organization, provides directions and feedbacks, spends times on meetings, and may serve as a role model to the organization. Any sour relationship between the boss/bosses undermines the employees’ commitment, engagement and confidence. Bosses who are bad, incompetent, etc serves very much to chase employees away!

TWO: UNCHALLENGING OR BORING WORK

Intelligent, creative employees need a work that makes use of their creativity otherwise, they will look elsewhere to engage their minds. Employees love to enjoy their job and it is upto employers to find the passion for their employees and enhance creativity. Bosses need to work closely with employees to ensure that each employee is engaged, excited, and challenged to contribute, create, and perform. Otherwise, he will lose them to an employer who will.

THREE: RELATIONSHIP WITH CO-WORKERS

How employees relate with each other is a major determinant whether they will work for a long time in the organization or they will quit. It is generally called work politics. It is the duty of an employer to ensure that work politics don’t ruin work ethics. This is by enhancing official communication channels and discouraging grapevine communications. Having friendly workers go a long way to retain workers in work places.

FOUR: OPPORTUNITY FOR DEVELOPMENT

Employees need a career that offers clear opportunities for enhancing their skills and knowledge. When employees use their significant skills and abilities on the job, they feel a sense pride, accomplishment, and self-confidence. Being stuck in a career that does not encourage creativity is boring and many people hate such works. Workers need opportunities to develop their skills, grow in the organization either by having more responsibilities or advancing in rank i.e. promotions. An employer needs to talk regularly with employees and get to know their hopes and dreams in the career.

FIVE: AUTONOMY AND INDEPENDENCE

Organizations talk about empowerment, autonomy, and independence, but they are not something that you can do to people or give them. They are traits and characteristics that an employee needs to pursue and embrace. You are responsible for the work environment that enables them to do this. They are responsible for doing it. A colleague presented a session about the Oz Principles at a recent company event. He pointed out that by creating a culture of accountability, you create empowerment as employees own and execute their responsibilities. Without this, your best employees will leave.

SIX: MEANINGFULNESS OF A JOB

Ah, yes, meaningful work. We all want to do something that makes a difference, that isn’t busy work, or transactional work, and that contributes to something bigger than ourselves. Ambitious and doable. But, managers must help employees see where their work contributes to the execution of deliverables that make a difference in the world. With some products and services - cancer research, feeding the hungry, animal rescue, diagnosing and curing illnesses, producing milk or crops - meaningful is obvious, but everyone’s work needs the same meaningfulness. Help employees connect to why their work has meaning or they will find an employer who will.

SEVEN: FINANCIAL STABILITY OF AN ORGANIZATION

Financial instability: a lack of sales, layoffs or reduced work hours, salary freezes, successful competitors highlighted in the news, bad press, employee turnover, mergers and acquiring companies, all lead to an employee’s feeling of instability and a lack of trust. Employees who are worried tend to leave. Make every change and potential change transparent. Let them know how the business is doing at all times and what the organization’s plans are for staying on track or recovering in the future.

But, the most important issue here is the employees’ trust in and respect for the management team. If they respect your judgment, direction, and decision making, they will stay. If not, they will leave. After all, they have the financial stability of their families to consider when they decide which executive they will follow – or not.

EIGHT: OVERALL CORPORATE CULTURE

While it’s not the top item on employee lists, the overall culture of your company makes a difference for employees. Does your organization appreciate employees, treat them with respect, and provide compensation, benefits, and perks that demonstrate respect and caring?

Is your work environment for people conducive to employee satisfaction and engagement? Do you provide events, employee activities, celebrations, and team building efforts that make employees feel that your organization is a great place to work? Employees appreciate a workplace in which communication is transparent, management is accessible, executives are approachable and respected, and direction is clear and understood. Your overall culture keeps employees – or turns them away. Which gets you what you want and need for success?

NINE: MANAGEMENT RECONGINTION OF EMPLOYEE JOB PERFORMANCE

Many place employee recognition further up the list, but this is where recognition scored in a recent Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) survey of employees. While recognition is important, it is not among employees’ chief concerns. A lack of recognition can affect many of the above factors, especially culture, but it’s probably not the deciding factor in an employee decision to leave your organization. Provide a lot of genuine appreciation and recognition as icing on the cake for employee retention. But, pay attention to the more significant factors, the cake, if you wish to retain your best employees. Make recognition the way you live in your organization to keep your best talent.

TEN: CONTRIBUTION OF WORK TO THE ORGANIZATION’S BUSINESS GOALS

Managers need to sit with each reporting employee and discuss the relevance of the employee’s job and key contributions and deliverables to the overall strategy and business plan of the organization. Employees need to feel connected and that they are part of an effort that is larger than just their job. Too many managers assume that the employee will receive the communication from executive staff and make this leap. They don’t. They need your help to understand and connect their job to the bigger picture. If they’re not part of it, you’ll lose them.

                                           

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