Why Employees Leave

This is the time to ask a very hard question. If the economy takes off again and your employees have a choice to stay or go, will they stay?

Turnover within many organizations has been low the past few years. It would be a mistake to think the reason for this is that you are doing everything great. In a middling economy, employees are a bit more hesitant to move and more lucrative jobs are more difficult to find.

Numerous surveys have concluded that the top reason employees’ leave their job is because of their manager. If employees don’t get along with their managers, don’t like them or don’t respect them, they will leave a company despite a high salary or great benefits. A bad manager is a big factor in employee performance. A good manager, no matter the salary, will inspire loyalty.

The corollary to this, which further substantiates the point made above, is that the top 4 reasons employees stay with an organization are (1) exciting and challenging work; (2) career growth, learning and development; (3) working with great people and (4) fair pay. The obvious surprise is always where pay is ranked…not #1, but #4.

The lesson is clear and should be heeded. As a manager and leader there are many factors you control, other than salary, that will significantly affect whether your team will stay or go. Are you creating meaningful work for your team? Are you recruiting the type of people that strengthen your team and develop the right chemistry? Does your team feel that you truly care about them and that you are helping to develop their talents? Are you sure you really know each of your employees well? Do you know what drives and motivates them? What causes them to get up and get to work each day? If you can’t answer most of these questions, then ask yourself what type of culture are you creating. The consequences…you may never inspire your team to show true ownership and when the opportunity arises, they just might be giving you notice of their departure.

It’s not too late…take advantage of the non-pay items you can control, and engage your team to high performance. The loyalty and results you’ll create will elevate engagement and foster a productive culture.