You can probably find all sorts of reasons for why an employee chooses to leave a company. But the fact is: Employees typically do not leave their jobs, they leave their managers. Therefor we have put down 9 important reasons why employees choose to quit their job, so that you can prevent it from happening.
You push your employees too hard
Nothing drives good employees down like work pressure. It is tempting to put the best employees on the majority of work tasks, and many managers fall into that trap. But when you pressure the good employees, itcan create confusion, since It makes them feel that they are being punished for doing a good job.
Working overtime and excessive pressure have the opposite effect on productivity. A study from Stanford University shows that employee productivity deteriorates markedly every time a work week exceeds 50 hours. If a working week exceeds 55 hours, the productivity of the employees decreases so much that in reality they no longer produce anything usable.
If you want to increase the workload of a skilled employee, it is also a good idea to give the employee credit for the effort. Talented employees will be happy to take on more and more challenging work tasks if they are rewarded with, for example, more freedom, and salary supplements or a promotion. If you simply change the workload because the employee is talented, the employee will seek another position where the personreceives what they deserves.
You do not recognize and reward the good work of employees
It is easy to underestimate the effect of giving an employee credit for their efforts. Especially when your employees are top performers, who are generally motivated without outside incentives. But everyone likes recognition, especially the employees who shows extra efforts in the workplace.
You need to find out what motivates your employees and gives them the feeling that they are valued. For one employee may be a pay rise, for another may be public recognition. Whatever the employees prefer, a good manager should remember to reward if the employees have done a good job.
You do not show interest in the employees
More than half of those who leave their jobs do so because of the relationship they have with their manager. Skilled organizations make sure to have leaders who can figure out how to balance combinations of being professional and human. It is precisely such leaders who remember to celebrate an employee when he is successful, but also have empathy for the same employee when he is going through a difficult time. This kind of leader can also figure out how to challenge the employee, even when it seems unmanageable.
If you are not interested in your employees, you will always have a higher staff turnover. It is almost impossible to have an eight-hour workday in a workplace where the manager does not get involved in the general well-being of the employees, but instead worries about results.
You do not act in accordance with an agreement
When you make an agreement with an employee, it is crucial that you comply with the agreement. If you keep the agreements made with an employee, you will be valued by the employees because you prove that you are reliable – which is a very important quality of a manager.
But if you ignore your agreements, you are hard to trust. It has the effect in the workplace that others also find it difficult to keep their agreements. Because if the manager can not figure out how to keep his agreements, why should everyone else do it?
You hire and promote the wrong people
Good and hard-working employees want to work with like-minded colleagues. When you can not bother to find and hire good employees, it seems demotivating to colleagues.
Giving a promotion to the wrong employee is even worse. When an employee makes a persistent effort at work, only to see another receive the promotion, it can feel like an insult. It can make good employees leave their position.
You do not let employees pursue what they are passionate about
Talented employees are often passionate, and giving them an opportunity to pursue their passion increases their productivity and job satisfaction. But many managers prefer employees to work in a specific area. These managers fear that productivity will fall if they offer the employee flexibility. Studies show that people who have the opportunity to pursue their passion at work generally are more productive than the norm.
You do not develop employee competencies
When managers don’t give their employees a lot of attention, it often means that the managers have trust in their employees, to work very independently. But this is not always the right solution. Successful managerslead their team, no matter how talented their employees are. They pay attention to the employees, listen and give feedback to them.
When you have a talented employee, it is your responsibility to find new areas where the employee can improve and develop his or her competencies. If not, the employee will start to get bored and start looking for new opportunities.
You do not encourage creativity
The most talented employees strive to improve themselves as much as possible. Taking away the opportunity for change and improvement because you are most comfortable with the state of things can cause your employees to lose motivation. Capturing the natural desire to create not only limits employees, it also limits yourself and your company.
You do not challenge your employees
Good managers challenge their employees to achieve goals that seem unthinkable at first. Instead of setting boring gradual goals, good managers set ambitious goals that push people out of their comfort zone. After that, the manager should do everything they can to help the employee succeed. Because when talented and intelligent employees do something that is too easy or boring, they start looking for other jobs that may challenge them in a more intellectual way.
