Losing a valued employee is one of the hardest challenges an employer can face. Not only have you lost that employee’s services, but the relationship you have built over their duration at your organization is now going away, too. Unfortunately, this is the reality of the workforce today: people change jobs. And, even more unfortunately, too many employers fail to plan for it.
Nobody wants to plan for the bad news that employees are quitting. Replacing that person is a lot of work, and many employers feel they can get their hands on everything they need when the time comes. But when it happens, they still find themselves in shock–they realize they don’t have everything they need to make a good hire, they react unwisely, and they often make poor hiring decisions.
Long before you face the prospect of losing a good employee, however, you should do everything in your power to try to retain people who have demonstrated the ability to do their job well, because replacing them is much harder and costlier than you might think. We’ve put together a list of primary reasons quality employees might leave your company, so you can evaluate how appealing your workplace really is from their point of view.
Understand Why Employees Are Leaving
There will be factors out of your control if an employee decides to leave, but you have a say in a surprising number of considerations before that decision is made. In the era of the “Great Resignation,” where a COVID-crippled economy is causing people to reevaluate what’s important to them as workers, try to think like an employee, not an employer. If you were in their position, would you take the job you’re expecting your employees to stay in?
You’re stunting your employee’s growth: Perhaps your employee has reached a stage in their career where they have changed their goals, or they have an opportunity to advance their career significantly. Does your organization offer the chance to do that? If not, there’s not much you can do without significant organizational change. Consider professional development that helps your employee contribute immediately to your organization. As a person grows, their role should, too.
Your compensation should be better: Are you paying a fair wage, or are you trying to pay as little as possible while compensating with “perks?” When was the last time you offered a promotion or well-deserved raise? Foosball tables and a fully-stocked refrigerator only go so far–eventually, employees progress, mature, and develop personal obligations that require a better income. How competitive is your company’s benefits package, which can directly intimate how much you value your employees as people?
Their role in your plans is unclear: Employees today will stick around longer if they feel confident that they are part of something, and will grow into a larger role over time. Does their job description reflect that, or does it reflect the person they were when they joined you as an entry-level employee? As someone grows along with your company, their job description and duties should receive regular updates to set higher expectations and confidence. One of the most motivating factors to leave a job is the feeling that you’re “stuck.” Keep your employees out of that rut by continually revisiting what they can bring to the organization over the long haul and what their role in that journey will be, and check in with them with regularly scheduled reviews to make sure everyone has clarity.
Once you understand that today’s workforce highly values growth, development, and proper valuation of skills and abilities, you should make sure you are doing whatever is possible to deliver on those desires. Your employees might still bolt for a dream job or an offer they just can’t refuse, but hopefully they won’t be actively looking to jump ship.
