Why Good Employees Quit, And What Employers Can Do About It

A great business needs a great team behind it. A team that is well prepared, well equipped, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and highly motivated. But getting the kind of team that makes magic happen in business can be a real challenge, especially if businesses struggle with the thorny issue of employee retention. While employee turnover is, at least to a certain extent, inevitable that doesn’t mean that voluntary turnover can’t be mitigated.

High employee turnover is expensive for businesses in more ways than one. Not only do they need to shoulder the cost of recruiting, onboarding and training replacement team members, they also risk a loss of the consistency in quality and service that their customers expect. Thus, with every employee that quits, employers risk damage to the integrity of their brand. 

Here we’ll look at some of the most common reasons why employees quit and what businesses can do about it… 

They feel micromanaged and lacking autonomy

Micromanagement is perfectly understandable from a manager’s point of view. Especially when that manager happens to be the owner of a small business. They want to ensure that not only is everything done right, but that everything is done their way. But this passion and care can translate to mistrust and disrespect in the eyes of the employee.

Managers need to learn to take a step back and trust in their team members. They were hired for a good reason, after all.

They feel stressed or overworked

Even the most diligent and conscientious employee can feel stressed, overworked and out of their depth at times. And while a little stress is to be expected, an excess of stress can be a sign of poor management.

As well as making sure that employees are well trained, well equipped, well prepared and well onboarded, managers should also invest in resource management services like itelligence. These can ensure that the enterprise’s resources are properly managed, lightening the strain on employees.

They feel like their job is a dead end

You employ dynamic, hard working and ambitious employees… so you can’t be surprised when they feel like they’re stagnating in their jobs and start to get itchy feet.

When employees feel like they’re stuck in a dead end you can expect to lose them to your competitors. 

Make sure that employees are always made aware of internal vacancies and promotion opportunities within your organisation.

What’s more, ensure that they have access to regular training and development so that they feel empowered and equipped to handle whatever challenges their jobs and careers might send their way.

They hate their working environment

Finally, even the most motivated employee can struggle to thrive in an unsafe, gloomy or uncomfortable working environment. If yours is long overdue an upgrade, now might be the time to consider it. A working environment is about more than the decor and even the equipment available to employees.

It’s also about the workplace culture and how valued employees are made to feel while they’re working for you. Which is why it’s so important to ensure that your workplace culture isn’t just a set of platitudes on a poster. It needs to be woven into the fabric of everything you and your employees do. 

© New To HR