News, Articles, and Insights from JHA

Don’t be caught off-guard.

People quit jobs for all kinds of reasons, good and bad.  But too often, the loss of a valuable employee could be avoided if employers were more aware of the pitfalls to productivity and performance.  The time to think about whether or not one of your top team members is dissatisfied with their job is not when they walk into your office to resign.  Here are five reasons employees leave.

1.    Personality conflicts with associates.
The truth is, people don’t leave jobs, people leave people.  Considering how many hours we spend at work every day, we are bound to feel like a boss or coworker rubs us the wrong way sometimes.  But continued conflicts that go unresolved can multiply into huge problems over time.

2.    People, systems, or policies which impede execution.
The “Game Changers” within any organization tend to be results-driven.  When something gets in the way of their ambition to achieve, extreme frustration can result.  When one of your superstars tells you that someone or something beyond their control is starting to get in the way of their job performance, listen to them.  There may be an easy way around the issue, or it may shed light on a bigger problem, such as ineffective communication between managers and their employees or a department procedure that could do with an update.

3.    Ethical conflicts and concerns.
Most companies tout “Core Values” statements that look impressive on paper.  And employee handbooks have entire paragraphs dedicated to upholding ethical standards.  Yet when the ideal meets with reality, many employees—from senior management downward—will cut corners from time to time and may encourage others to do the same.  The rationale that “the ends justify the means” doesn’t sit well with many employees and can cause them to become disillusioned.  Putting a coworker in the position of violating personal or professional ethical standards could result in negative outcomes ranging from loss of a great colleague to serious legal ramifications.

4.    Feeling undervalued or underpaid.
Many managers focus their attention on what needs to be “fixed” and fail to consistently recognize strong performance.  Striking a good balance between constructive criticism and well-deserved praise can be tough, but it’s worth mastering with any employee you don’t want to lose.  A wise manager will look to sandwich criticism with praise.  Don’t assume that your high-performers know that what they are doing for the organization has value and is appreciated: take the time to tell them, and make sure that their compensation reflects their value to the organization.  People who feel that their employer is not offering them adequate or fair compensation for their work will seek better opportunities elsewhere.  After all, an employee who is recruited away can receive an increase in compensation as high as 10% to 15% or more.  That’s a great deal more than the typical 3% to 6% annual increase they are likely to receive at their current company.  Failure to reward employees financially can lead to resentment – which can lead to resignations.

5.    Feeling stifled in career growth.
Most employers agree that the best employees are those self-starters who are always looking to grow and improve.  Be aware though, that these superstars can easily feel stagnant or underutilized if they don’t have adequate opportunity for professional advancement.  If they don’t feel that an employer has their best interest at heart, it can cause them to become resentful, so helping them lay out a clear career path will go a long way towards making them feel like the ability to advance is in their hands.

Of course, even the most ideal working conditions won’t prevent some employees from seeking new opportunities; but, creating and maintaining an environment which nurtures your best and brightest will go a long way towards reducing unexpected and unwelcome resignations.   And in the meantime, you don’t need to be caught off-guard when one of your employees quits.