Employee Retention Tips: 6 Reasons Why Great Employees Quit

When your well-performing people decide to leave, you pay the cost of employee turnover. And it’s not cheap. Employee turnover causes a dent in morale and sinks productivity as offboarding disrupts team dynamics. Add in the price of recruitment, training, and culture fitting and you find yourself in an expensive transition.

The best way to avoid this is to keep your people happy. Understanding why employees leave is a crucial part of every employee retention strategy.

Why do employees resign?

Employees don’t just wake up one day to quit. It’s a gradual, painstaking assessment of the pros and cons before actually handing over that resignation letter. Therefore, there’s a lot of open opportunities to stop them from leaving before it’s too late.

Here are 6 reasons why your valued employees might be eyeing the exit—and what you can do to make them stay.

1. Workplace policies are inflexible

The pandemic took away one thing from people all over the world: freedom. This ultimately made everyone appreciate it even more in life and business.

A Global Work-from-Home Experience Survey forecasts that 25% to 30% of the workforce will continue to work remotely multiple days a week even when the pandemic is over. Workplaces which fail to adapt to recent social developments turn employees off.  This prompts them to look for more progressive employers.

Ask your employees how your current work setup can be more flexible. Review your current policies. Decide which ones to keep and which ones to revise. Implementing these changes is a great way to keep your employees happy.

2. They feel micromanaged and stifled

Top performers are passionate workers. They innovate and challenge themselves by doing the extra mile, whether it’s asked or not. If they’re told to hold back and just focus on the tasks given, they disengage and find another place that welcomes their ideas more freely.

Allow your employees autonomy on their work. You can be surprised at what your people can come up with when they know you trust they can do their jobs well.

3. There’s lack of career progression or lack of proper communication about growth

Growth means differently for different people. Some define growth as an increase in salary. To some, it’s an opportunity to move up the corporate ladder. When employees feel like there’s no room for growth anymore, they feel stuck and taken for granted.

As a leader, take a moment to discuss career growth opportunities by having one-on-one catchups with your team. It’s a move that will help you define your next managerial steps and also show them you care.

4. They lose the sense of belonging with their teammates

One of the main reasons why employees stay in a company is because of their co-workers. Unfortunately, it can also be the reason why they leave. A crucial part of work satisfaction is having a reliable team who appreciates and respects the work they do, and vice versa.

Carve out time for team building activities that will allow your team to learn more about each other. Building sincere connections among team members makes work fun and exciting.

5. They’re craving for a culture of recognition

Creating a culture of recognition is critical in making your top talents engaged. There are a lot of ways to recognize employees and celebrate employee achievements—remotely or otherwise. Recognize a job well done when you see it. Or thank your team for their dedication after accomplishing a challenging project.

People who stay with a company for many years have grown to develop genuine care for the organization. This only happens when employees feel seen.

6. They’re overworked and not compensated fairly

Your best employees are talented and driven individuals. And they know it. When they realize they’re not being compensated enough, they channel the same motivated energy to job hunting.

Now, compensation is not always about money. Company budgets sometimes make it difficult to increase employee salaries significantly. That’s why it’s important to develop a solid employee benefits program that will add long-term value to your employees.

Motivate your employees to stay

Good employees are valuable assets that help you achieve your overall organization goals. Everyone feels the blow when they decide to exit.

If you truly want to prevent them from leaving, motivate them to stay. Express your appreciation through gift certificates they can use to reward themselves with memorable experiences. High-value employees deserve high-value rewards.