345: Why People Leave Their Jobs - and What it Means for Employers & Employees

Why People Leave Their Jobs - and What it Means for Employers & Employees

Most organizations assume people leave jobs for better pay or benefits. But the reality is that 70% of employees quit for reasons far beyond money. (Source: Gallup)

Here’s where it gets interesting.

When asked in exit interviews what would make employees STAY, this is what they found:

21% wanted more positive interaction with their manager
13% wanted organizational issues resolved
11% wanted a clear path for career advancement
8% wanted less negative interactions with their boss

Employee retention is about much more than paychecks. It’s about culture, communication, and career growth.

With this data in mind, I want to offer specific steps you can take if you are a) an employee, or b) a manager, or c) a C-suite executive dealing with retention issues.

29% wanted more positive interaction with their manager

I’ve combined the 21% who wanted more positive interaction with the 8% of people who wanted fewer negative interactions with their boss, as these are two sides of the same coin.

As an employee: Many employees see themselves as innocent bystanders in this issue, thinking they have no say in how their boss interacts with them.

While there is truth to that – you can’t control how your boss thinks or feels – you can facilitate more positive interactions by taking the following steps:

-Think positive thoughts about your boss

-Understand his or her preferences – for how to be approached, how to receive negative information, how to be kept updated

-To the best of your ability, develop a personal relationship with your boss. Learn about his/her family, interests, personal goals.

I did an episode on how to improve your working relationship with your boss in episode #169:  https://www.exclusivecareercoaching.com/posts/2021-03-17-169-questions-to-ask-your-manager-to-improve-your-relationship/

As a manager: It is so important that you get to know your direct reports as people with lives outside of work, and that you show understanding and flexibility to the best of your ability when life happens. Specifically:

-Schedule regular 1:1s, and don’t make them just about work.

-Inquire regularly about things you know staff members are doing outside of work, such as building an addition on their home or planning a big vacation.

-Celebrate successes – in a way that is inclusive. No, I’m not talking about participation prizes, but rather make sure you are celebrating the variety of ways in which your team members contribute to the team’s success.

As a C-suite executive: You are the culture-setter for the organization, so be sure you are walking the talk. Your direct reports will be much more likely to develop personal relationships with their direct reports if you model the same.

This is also something you can hire for – ask questions during the interview of senior leadership about their ability to develop mutually beneficial relationships with their direct reports. Avoid, at all costs, hiring people who see their team members as automatons who have no personal lives – or who shouldn’t.

Do the same as the managers: 1:1s, inquire about your people’s personal lives, and celebrate successes.

13% wanted organizational issues resolved

As an employee: As a ground-level employee, you may be in the best position to bring such organizational issues to your boss’ attention.

-Be specific – don’t expect your boss to take your concerns seriously, or be able to do anything about them, if he or she doesn’t really understand the problem.

-Follow up – if nothing is done after an appropriate amount of time (which depends on how big the issue is and possibly other factors), follow up with your boss in a respectful and professional manner.

-Show gratitude – once change is made, let your boss know how grateful you are in a way that is appropriate for the amount of effort it required.

As a manager: The problems will likely be coming to you, and your willingness to hear them out and do something about them can make or break your reputation as a leader.

-Actively see input. Don’t just listen when they come to you – invite them to tell you what they would change if they could.

-Don’t get defensive. The best way to shut your employees up is to argue with them about what they see as a problem. Listen, don’t interrupt, ask questions, and keep the employee appraised of progress toward the solution.

-Reward. Whether the company supports this or you do it on your own, provide a gift card, ½ day off, or something else appropriate to the magnitude of the suggestion.

As a C-suite executive: Again – you are the culture-setter and creating a culture where team members are encouraged and rewarded for solving problems is a huge benefit for employee retention, engagement, and productivity.

-Create a suggestion system. You don’t have to do this yourself, but rather assign a key member of senior leadership to take the reigns on a suggestion system. Be sure they map out the end-to-end process – and do your best to shoot holes in it so they can make it better.

-Along with the suggestion system, have a team member create a reward system that can be evaluated and measured objectively. Make sure you allocate the proper funds for this – it will be money well spent.

-As part of your recruitment process, be sure your recruiters and other key staff members are speaking about your rewards system to prospective employees. Ideally, the marketing team is involved and has branded this program and effectively communicated it throughout the organization.

11% wanted a clear path for career advancement

As an employee: If this is important to you, this should be a question you ask at the interview stage. Decide whether this is a deal breaker for you, and if it is, make sure you don’t compromise on it.

-Once you know what the logical next step in your career path with the organization should be, meet with your boss to inquire about the specific criteria he or she will use to determine whether you should be promoted.

-Communicate your progress towards that next role regularly with the appropriate person – and always ask if there is anything else you should be doing.

-Create CARL stories around your achievements in your current role that speak to your qualifications for the next role once you have the opportunity to interview for the role.

As a manager: It is your job to know what, if any, career path exists for the various roles you manage.

-Don’t wait for your employees to ask – tell them what could be next for them, and what it will take to get there.

-Recognize them for achieving milestones along the path.

-Get over yourself. A promotion might mean they leave your department – or even become your peer. Consider this a success story, rather than something to try to avoid.

As a C-suite executive: One of the key components of a successful retention program is clearly defined career paths, along with clearly defined competencies at each level and role. If your HR department hasn’t done this – and, of course, regularly updated it – this should be a major initiative.

-This is retreat material – an offsite to look at the entire organization with an eye to how to improve the promotability of various roles. You’re thinking about the big picture here – your HR team can then drill down with the specifics.

-Be alert to potential biases that will prohibit or hinder certain groups from achieving the next level. I am reminded of a grocery store years ago that required employees to have been a bagger before being promoted into a management role – and only males were allowed to be baggers.

-As with your rewards system, your career ladders should be communicated throughout your organization and promoted to potential employees, stakeholders, etc.