Why employees leave their jobs and what you can do about it
Talent retention is on every HRD’s radar, if not their KPIs, because it has such a direct impact on the bottom line. Of course, it varies from manager to manager, company to company and industry to industry.
But what lies behind these differences? Exit interviews tell us something about the reasons employees leave but all too often that data isn’t shared let alone acted on. And often that information isn’t too robust.
It’s well known that employees don’t give the true reasons behind why they are off when they go through an exit interview. Why burn bridges? Or repeat what you’ve already said? So data from exit interviews are prone to distortion and inaccuracy, as evidenced by research from Lefkowitz & Katz (1969), Hinrichs (1975), and Feinberg & Jeppeson (2000), amongst others.
With this in mind, the iOpener Institute has so far gathered data from nearly 500 employees who left their jobs voluntarily over the past 6 months. Here are our preliminary findings.
The vision thing
It’s well known that people leave their managers and not their jobs and our data supports this. But why precisely? We’ve found that the most important reason that talent quits is that these employees do not trust their leaders’ visions. In other words, they worry about the future and the strategic direction that the business is taking.
With all the international political turmoil that organizations are facing, we can’t see that this will improve in 2017.
Tip: every leader should take the time to explain the vision and strategy and get input from talented individuals to retain them.
They know they’re capable
Interestingly and perhaps obviously, most leavers have high self-belief. Some 80% think that they managed to overcome most of the challenges they faced at work, while 93% say they had all the skills and knowledge required to do so. This strongly indicates their capability and capacity.
Tip: slice and dice your engagement surveys’ data to investigate who has high self-belief; think about one-to-one mentoring or sponsorship for this special group.
They buy the products but not the workplace
There’s a disconnect in how leavers think about their products or services and the net promoter score. Almost 50% of respondents say they would recommend purchasing the output of the company they left. But only 25% of them would recommend that organization to a friend as a good place to work. There’s a clear distinction between input and output. Which means that process and practice matter.
Tip: when you hear the same complaints voiced frequently, take action, enlisting the help of those who raise particular issues.
There’s no silver bullet
Most voluntary departures have several causes. But still, some stand out from the others. Specifically:
- 51% mention issues related to their professional development
- 50% reference their manager
- 40% highlight corporate governance as a reason
Tip: these are issues that may be hard to talk about with a manager. Running focus groups led by HR or external suppliers is an effective way to investigate what’s happening.
Are Millennials different?
Yes, they care about their cash and will leave for larger salaries elsewhere. This group sites salary as the third most frequent reason for departure and some 40% mention it. In contrast, only 17% of older employees include it and it falls to ninth place when they rank their reasons for leaving a job. Let’s remember that they are at the bottom end of the pay scale, whatever industry they are in.
Tip: take Millennials seriously when they ask for more money. They know exactly what they can earn elsewhere and aren’t shy to talk about it with friends, colleagues and bosses.
Working hours and Millennials
Among employees under 35, working hours is the fifth most common reason for voluntary departures (mentioned by 27% of respondents), while within older age ranges only one out of ten individuals refer to it. Millennials aren’t prepared to put long hours for the next job in the way that Boomers and Gen X did. They want a quicker payback for their efforts.
Tip: make sure Millennials can see the path to promotion and don’t take advantage of their flexibility in the process
Gender differences
There are two notable differences when we compare men with women. Men cite:
- Professional development (51% versus 38%)
- Lack of challenge at work (34% vs. 17%);
On the other hand, female employees report quitting because of:
- Their “feeling of fit” in the organization (30% versus 20%)
- Workload (19% vs. 10%)
- Personal circumstances (15% vs. 8%),
Tip: get leaders and mangers to raise these issues in the one-to-ones that they have with their team members.
In conclusion
Although economies are still going through uncertain times, talent always has options and choices. If you address the issues openly and understand what is going on for every individual, it may take time. But the payback is worth it. Imagine you kept your top talent for just one extra year. Think about the cost reduction you’d make and the opportunities they would fulfil.
That’s both achievable – and quantifiable.
Photo credit: p_v a l d i v i e s o
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