Why your employees are leaving (and how to make them stay)

Employees leaving an organisation can really shake things up such as a group dynamic. Co-workers might find themselves having to cover up the extra work for the time until someone new is hired.

But still, there are a lot of employers that do not question, or try to understand, the reasons why their employees leave. Any element within an organisation can have an affect on an employee.

Managers or supervisors are also the responsible person who has the power and responsibility to pick up signs of dissatisfaction or disengagement that could lead to an employee wanting to quit their jobs.

Therefore, the first step to be ahead of potential retention issues is to understand why employees have left your organisation in the past. With this information you can already adapt changes which will improve the current situation for the people that currently work for your organisation.

We have listed 5 reasons why people leave your organisation, and provide you with tips on how to make them stay.

5 REASONS EMPLOYEES LEAVE YOUR ORGANISATION

1. The job was not as expected

One of the main reasons why employees leave a company is because they had other expectations for the job.

To prevent this from happening it is of important to realistically preview the daily activities and responsibilities an employee will have. During the interview stage it can be helpful if the hiring manager asks the applicant how to handle certain situations. It is the ultimate approach to give an applicant insight in what (s)he can expect during the job.

2. There is no good relationship with the boss/team

An employee does not need to be friends with their boss but there needs to be a good relationship. If an employee is not comfortable asking questions or discussing issues with their boss it influences an employees comfort level at work.

As an employer there should ring a bell if employees keep leaving under the same manager. It could be that that manager was a bad hire in the first place. Nevertheless, for employees it is important to receive and give feedback to their managers so that there can be mutual improvements.

3. There were no growth or career opportunities

Many employees seek greater opportunities for advancements, development and grow their skills. If at one point they are not able to do this in their current position, they will look somewhere else for an employer who helps them to develop.

To ensure that employees do not leave because they sought opportunities that were not provided at their current employment, employers need to make sure that there are periodically meetings with employees in which they are being asked for their hopes and dreams. This way an employer can anticipate on this and increase employee retention.

4. There was a work-life imbalance | Stress from overwork

While this has been a term that is relatively new, the impact is nowadays more important then ever for employee’s decision to maintain or quit their jobs. Employees find it challenging to balance the demands of their job with the rest of their lives. Some jobs even require on-call duty which can interfere with their private life.

A rising trend among employers are flexible work arrangements. Employees have more flexible work schedules and are better able to combine this with their lives outside work. A research conducted by the Sloan Center for Aging and Work at Boston College, shows that flexible work arrangements support in greater job satisfaction and employee retention.

5. Feel devalued or unrecognized by their boss or team

Employees might find themselves in a complicates situation when they enjoy the responsibilities and tasks the jobs bring along but they do not receive the appreciation, coaching, or feedback from their boss or team members. Research shows that 4 out of 10 employees feel disengaged whenever they receive no appreciation or feedback at work.

It is essential to reconsider the standard 6-month or annual performance feedback meetings with your employees. It is simply not enough to increase engagement. Providing feedback on a weekly basis or setting goals a targets and discuss the progress along the way helps employees to feel valued. Providing a lot of recognition for the work an employee does is just the tip of the iceberg, as an employer you need to focus on the whole to retain your employees.

However, should an employee decide to quit out of free will, even after you have improved the points described above. Then make sure that you have a mutual content exit interview. Do not forget that it can always be a combination of the above, or other reasons why someone wants to quit his job. If you understand why someone wants to leave, then it is your task to do anything necessary to make sure that others won’t follow.

Finally, think about the efforts that have been put into hiring and educating someone for the job in the first place, why stop investing in them when they are hired?

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