There are few things that are as costly as a high turnover in the workplace. Not only is it disruptive to the other employees, but it’s expensive to constantly be hiring and retraining new employees. It’s pretty alarming how often you hear of managers complaining about their best employees leaving. But what makes them leave?
Here are the worst things that happen in the workplace that often drive your best employees to call it quits.
1. Overworking their Employees
There is nothing worse then overworking your employees to the point of burnout. It’s very tempting for a manager to overschedule their best talent. Unfortunately, this almost punishes them for being good at their job. If you’re going to increase your employee’s workload it is very important to increase their status as well. Talented employees will take on a bigger workload, but they won’t stay if their job suffocates them in the process. Raises, promotions, and title-changes are all acceptable ways to increase workload.
2. Under Recognition
It’s easy to get caught up in the workload and fail to recognize your talent. A pat on the back can go a long way in a busy workplace with an overbearing workload. Everybody likes kudos, especially those who work super hard day in and day out. Managers need to communicate with their people to find out what makes them feel good (for some, it’s a raise; for others, it’s public recognition) and then to reward them for a job well done. Remember, there is no such thing as too much employee recognition.
3. Not Caring about Employees
More than half of people who leave their jobs do so because of their relationship with their boss. A good manager should know how to properly balance between being a good manager and being human. A good boss will celebrate an employee’s success, empathize with talent going through hard times, and challenge people, even when it hurts. Bosses who fail to really care will always have high turnover rates. It’s impossible to work for someone eight-plus hours a day when they aren’t personally involved.
4. Breaking Promises
Be very careful when making promises to your employees. Making false promises is one very easy way to watch your employees walk right out the door. If you can keep your commitments, you’ll be seen as trustworthy and honorable, but when you break them, you come across as slimy, uncaring, and disrespectful. After all, if the boss doesn’t honor their commitments, why should everyone else?
5. Hiring and Promoting Bad Apples
Good employees want to work with other people who want to be good employees. When managers fail at their job of hiring good talent, everybody suffers.
What’s even worse is when management promotes people who have no idea what they are doing. When you work your tail off only to get passed over for a promotion that’s given to someone who glad-handed their way to the top, it’s a massive insult. No wonder it makes good people leave.
6. Not Pursuing Passion
It goes without saying that talented employees are passionate. It’s essential for management to provide talent with the opportunity to pursue their passions in a way that boosts their productivity and job satisfaction. Studies show that people who are able to pursue their passions at work experience flow, a euphoric state of mind that is five times more productive than the norm.
7. Not Developing Talent Skills
When managers are asked about their inattention to employees, they try to excuse themselves, using words such as “trust,” “autonomy,” and “empowerment.” This is complete nonsense. Good managers manage, no matter how talented the employee. They pay attention and are constantly listening and giving feedback.
When you have a talented employee, it’s up to management to keep finding areas in which they can improve to expand their skill set. The most talented employees want feedback, and it’s managements job to keep it coming. Without feedback, the best employees will get bored and move on.
8. Not Engaging Creativity
The most talented employees seek to improve everything they touch. If you take away their ability to change and improve things because you’re only comfortable with the status quo, this makes them hate their jobs. Caging up this innate desire to create not only limits them, it limits you.
9. Not Challenging Talent Intellectually
Great bosses challenge their employees to accomplish things that seem inconceivable at first. Instead of setting mundane, incremental goals, they set lofty goals that push people out of their comfort zones. Then, good managers do everything in their power to help them succeed. When talented and intelligent people find themselves doing things that are too easy or boring, they seek other jobs that will challenge their intellects.