Talented employees are the company’s greatest asset, thus are highly appreciated. Losing your best employees is extremely costly. Employee turnover is worth around 6 to 9 months’ of salary. And that’s excluding cost to morale and the time a manager trying to fill the gaps, while key actions are being left behind. Managers mostly blame their turnover problems on everything. The truth is, people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers. Sounds familiar? The good thing is that it can easily be bypassed. A new approach and extra effort on the manager’s side, that’s all it takes. The most successful companies have figured it out and designed retention practices.
For the starters, let’s learn the reasons that make the best employees pack their stuff. Keep reading and learn also the ways to keep your best employees engaged and stop from leaving.
Why do really the best employees quit?
Employees themselves most often say they’re leaving for higher pay. Those changing their jobs often get higher pay and have higher learning curves. Others argue employees leave their managers, not the company. They claim people quit if the reporting relationship is violated. Despite how good the position is. On the opposite, Facebook discovered that their people quit the job, not the boss. The results of their research revealed the following reasons for best employees resignations:
- they stop enjoying their jobs
- their strengths are not used
- they stop growing in their careers.
Yet, isn’t it the manager responsible for what the job is like?
Free-of-charge ways to keep people engaged
Provide and ask for feedback – managers should establish an emotional connection with their employees, through two-sided feedback. Companies that put in place regular employee evaluation have a lower turnover rate. Engage employees by providing them feedback about their efficiency. Also, give them an opportunity to speak out their concerns. Prove you respect their knowledge, experience, and judgment.
Be as transparent as you can – make your employees aware of the company’s future vision and goals. Make it a common practice and inform them about the current business situation as well. Show them their input to the business and future perspective at the company.
Make your employees business partners – make your employees feel they are a part of the business. This move will make them feel they are indeed investing in the company. All you have to do is to give them freedom of action and ownership of their work. More important, it helps to build genuine trust between you and the employee.
Show respect and decency – get to know your employees outside of the office. Thus, showing them you view them as equals and not subordinates. Give your employees a reason to deliver their best work.
Assign new responsibilities – expand the range of employee’s responsibilities with new tasks. In return, you will get increased trust and higher motivation. Let your best employees take part in the projects that are not related to their direct competence. You will create the cross-departmental learning environment, increasing general employee engagement. (i believe there is research on job rotations and their impact on employee satisfaction + traning and development)
Make your best employees mentors – by spending 10-30 minutes per day, helping peer colleagues, your best employees will feel more accomplished, confident and capable of doing more.
Show the meaning of the work done – recognition is necessary for employee retention, as it builds loyalty. Praise your best employees and you will see lower employee turnover. It doesn’t cost a penny to a manager to praise the best employees in public. It’s enough to announce what impact the best employees make on the department or the company as a whole.
Offer learning opportunities – ongoing skill improvement through in-house training, webinars, paid seminars. It creates commitment and appreciation for making an effort and investing in employees.
And something extra! Organize exit interviews for all the employees leaving your company. These interviews will provide valuable insights helping HR department to design retention strategy.
All in all, make your employees enjoy sticking around a workplace! You should learn to mix heavy work with great fun. That is the way to keep the best employees from quitting. For more HR tips and bits of advice, stick around!
