Losing an employee can land a damaging blow to you and your organization. Especially when you lose a good employee.
And every leader tries to figure out the best way to keep the best. But even those employees will leave at some point.
That’s natural. Most employees will leave an organization at some point. Though a lot of times you’ll wind up wondering why an employee left.
Employees Come And Go
It’s a difficult idea to face. Employees don’t stick around forever.
The 40-hour workweek is gone. So is the time of an employee putting in 30-40 years and retiring with a golden watch.
Employees are beginning to learn they’re more in control of their future than the organization. And I like to think that is a good thing.
But that doesn’t mean your organization needs to be a revolving door. To stop the bleeding of people leaving your organization, let’s look at the reasons people leave.
Why Employees Leave Your Organization
We already know that the pension and gold watch are no longer keeping employees at an organization for an extended period of time. Times have changed and people move on.
Yet there’s more to the equation than times have changed. Age-old wisdom still tells us that the real reason people leave their jobs isn’t because of a better paycheck.
People leave because they no longer feel valued:
Lots of employees leave organizations because they feel undervalued or unvalued. They see people coming in at a higher pay rate than they are making after 10 years.
They also see their ideas tossed to the wayside as you consult past employees about business decisions.
You can change their viewpoint. You can help them to feel valued once again.
Take the time to walk the floor and have a chat with your employees. Let them know you’re there. And that you’re listening.
People leave because they no longer feel challenged:
Your employees know there’s a lot of opportunities at other organizations. They see their friends and families taking on bigger projects.
All the while, they feel like they’re at a stand-still. There’s no challenge and they don’t see any way to bring a new challenge to their position.
So they look outside of the organization. When another group tells them they have potential and they can be challenged, they pack up shop and leave.
Check in with your team. Ask what’s going on and how they’re feeling. They’ll let you know.
People leave because they don’t see a future:
Empty promises can and will make an employee believe there’s no future in your organization. They’ll see the assurance of “great things to come” as a lie.
Especially if you’ve been saying the same thing year after year.
Employees can only believe in a dream and vision for so long. Eventually, they’ll see through the glitzy words and big promises and make the choice to move on.
Stop making promises about the future you can’t deliver on. Begin telling the truth to your employees. They’ll appreciate that more than failed promises.
When you no longer show your team they are valued, challenge them, or give them a future to believe in, they’re going to leave.
At first, you may see one or two employees leave. Then the floodgates open and a mass exodus happens.
But when you value your team, challenge them to become better, and show them an obtainable future, you’ll have employees who stick around for a lot longer.
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