Why Good Employees Quit
‘‘The biggest concern for any Company should be when their most passionate people become quiet.’’
The greatest asset of any Company is its employees. The survival and sustained success of any Company depends upon the capability of its managers to retain Company’s best employees. This requires a combination of leadership and team management skills.
Employee retention is one of the major concerns to ensure timely completion of projects. Over a period of time employee adapts to the working environment of Company, develops expertise on Company work processes, gains further valuable experience specific to Company operations and is familiar with lessons learned on previous projects handled by the Company. With the loss of best employee, Company loses precious resource developed over years of hard work.
Employees may leave Company for many reasons such as geographical or job sector preference, etc. Managers responsible for their team are first in the line to be held responsible for the loss of their team member. After all people don’t always leave jobs, they leave managers.
For many managers, management is just something that’s added to job description. One day, they may be a working level employee, and the next day they may be in charge of the new project team. Before, they were expected only to show up to work and create a deliverable. Now they are expected to lead and motivate a group of employees.
Managers need to get involved closely with the employees and understand their perspective to learn and correct the root cause of dissatisfaction and provide remedial solutions.
Some of the root causes for employee dissatisfaction are as below,
- Recognition and Reward
Level of appreciation depends upon nature and importance of work done and could vary from providing positive feedback through email, certificate of recognition, salary increments, bonus or paid vacation. If employee contribution is not supported, motivation level of employee reduced impacting work and increasing risk of desertion.
Highly motivated employees who have passion for work expect appreciation and proper recognition. Appreciation is in response to the valuable contribution in terms of quality of work, putting extra time and new innovative ideas that employee contributes for the success of Company.
- Roles and Responsibilities
The role and responsibility of every employee should be clearly defined in Job description and provided to each employee to avoid any ambiguity and to help maintain healthy work environment.
- Career Growth & Opportunities
The process of individual growth and development never ends. Best employees are always in a lookout for finding opportunities to further enhance their career growth. Providing opportunities for them to pursue their passions improves their productivity and job satisfaction. Lack of such opportunities or restrictions by management can be a cause for job dissatisfaction.
- Compensation
Compensation is major reason for dissatisfaction among employees. Employers need to carry out survey from time to time to ensure that employees are paid adequately in accordance with their qualification, experience and job responsibilities.
- Work Independence
Work independence to employees gives them satisfaction that they are trusted, have ability and confidence to carry out the work. It also provides employees opportunity to learn and gain experience required for their next job elevation.
- Utilization & Enrichment of Work Experience
Routine jobs limit learning opportunity. Best employees like to take and accomplish challenging tasks. This gives them opportunity to try, test and improvise.
- Trainings
Best employees are aware that high quality work and continuous development of new skills is crucial to the success of the individual.
This also leads to a host of direct economic benefits for the employer, including increased productivity, reduced time per task, reduced error rate, a better health and safety record, reduced waste in production, increased customer retention and increased employee retention.
- Increased Work Load
Increased work load contentiously over a period of time is always counterproductive. Productivity declines with increase in work load. Overworking best employees often makes them believe that they are being punished for their extra ordinary performance.
To a certain extent extra work load could be acceptable to employees for a short time provided it is adequately compensated.
- Lack of Leadership
Good leaders are ones who have a passion for work and are willing to spend time coaching or helping their team apply new skills in the workplace. Leaders have to lead, inspire and motivate team members. Many workers who happened to be top performers and were promoted to be team leaders, do not fit themselves to the new role.
The great managers are the ones who challenge the existing complacency and who are prepared to lead their teams forward towards a personal vision. They are the ones who recognise problems, seize opportunities, and create their own future.
- Work Environment
Work environment is a result of Company culture, management style, organizational structure, nature of business, employee background and human resources policies.
Workplace environments greatly influence employee satisfaction, which in turn directly affects employee turnover rates. Knowing how to use a positive work environment to increase employee satisfaction and reduce turnover is a key to developing a high performance workforce.
- Team work
No man is an island. Teamwork is an essential operational tool that is now more crucial to producing results than ever before. Within most organizations, team excellence is an absolute prerequisite to organizational excellence, since much of the day-to-day work is accomplished at the team level. Organizational excellence can only be defined in the context of individual excellence and team excellence. Lack of cooperation and team work will lead to isolation, impact performance and demotivate employee.
The key to holding best employees is to treat them well, take care of their needs and provide an working environment where they can work freely with passion.
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Executive, Board & Talent Search | Leadership Coach for Executives&Entrepreneurs | Career Development Coaching| LBS Diversified Sector Advisor&Career Coach | Energy Transition| Mining&Metals | Industrial | Infrastructure
6 年Creating a good career is an inside job. There is too much emphasis on blaming external factors and circumstances and other people for how we feel in our career and jobs. When we do not address the causes of our negative experiences and feelings we simply take them to the next job and vey little change. Take 100% responsibility for how you want to feel and what you want to experience in life and career.
Mechanical Engineering Consultant at Ministry of Electricity & Water (MEW)
8 年The one of reasons to leave the Employer is unhealthy working environment and conditions that leads to dissatisfied employees.
Supervisor (Engineering Contracts Unit)
8 年I agree with Mr. Sarbajit, there are cases where employees are compelled to resign (sweet termination) because of dislike from some particular Managers. In my region of work, a nightmare called "NOC" or release plays the role. We are forced to exit the country itself if we leave our job. If a genuine survey is carried out among construction sector, around 85% of employees are continuing their present work with atleast a dislike (varies from person to person). Also the level of assessment on performance also varies from Managers to Managers.
Sr MEP Manager , 25+ Years Driving Project Success & Efficiency
8 年DON'T QUIT