Why employees plan to leave

How many high performers intend to stay with your company? Where will they be one year from now?

The collision between “the need to reinvest in development and a disgruntled workforce ready to jump ship,” is pending according to Chief Learning Officer.

Employee engagement can be obstructed by the expectation to do more with less, down sizing and reorganization challenges, benefit cutbacks and a general uncertainty. The CLO survey reports that engagement of “the highest-potential employees dropped by 18%” and 1 in 4 indicated “turnover intention.”

Beyond the basics of retention

Most companies understand that to merely keep employees they must provide 1) a fair pay structure and competitive benefit package, 2) tools and resources, and 3) work that provides variety, challenge, and autonomy. But there is more.

A recent Corporate Executive Board survey reports that whether a high potential employee stays or not is “heavily dependent on whether employees feel valued and believe that there is a long-term commitment to their development.”

In fact, 26% of employees plan to leave due to the lack of career development opportunity. (Workplace Insights Survey) Offering development, learning, and advancement opportunities must be a basic strategy for engaging and retaining top performers.

Someone cares, right?

Winning the loyalty of the best requires one more thing: a good boss. Effective leaders — at all levels — are vital. The Center for Creative Leadership, World Leadership Survey notes:

We are not just talking about the strategic visioning done at the top level of an organization—we are talking about how good leaders are at all levels. We all know from personal experience how critical a good boss is, and plenty of evidence shows that people leave jobs because of their bosses more than because of the organization itself.

A manager’s technical savvy does not win the hearts of top talent. High performers want leadership. Having a boss with people skills is a big deal. Today’s manager must have core skills like the ability to build trust, to connect and communicate, to set expectations and delegate.

Employees who believe their manager cares about them are more likely to be around in a year (94% strongly agree). Of those who strongly disagreed that their manager cares, only 43% intended to stay. The business of business is people.

How do you rate yourself and/or your company on these retention strategies?

1. My direct reports feel valued.
2. Our employees believe we are committed to their development.
3. My direct reports know I care about them.

Who do you want to keep on your team?

Now, what’s your plan?

Here’s to your Next Level,

Steve

PS: You can lower turnover and improve engagement, performance, and productivity… by developing self-managed teams and leaders. If your business or job is near Tulsa, check out the menu of Next Generation Leaders team-based coaching. Cook up some career development with 4-5 other professionals in a 4-week leadership transformation. Who could you send from your company?

Image credit: Wes Browning via Compfight