Why Do Good Employees Leave their Job?  (Yes, the question continues to be asked …)

Why Do Good Employees Leave their Job? (Yes, the question continues to be asked …)

Organizations have been asking the question and looking to research and data to help provide answers for why good employees leave their jobs.  Leaders of organizations often hear the information and the data and then do very little to change, or perhaps do nothing at all, and then can’t understand why their good people leave.

The Gallup organization has been the guru of employee engagement for decades.  Gallup professes that employees everywhere don’t necessarily hate the company or the organization they work for as much as they do their boss.  Part of the reason is that as rapid as workplace change has been, leaders have not been as rapid in preparing to coach the changing workforce.  Many leaders continue to rely on practices that they used 10, 15, even 20 years ago, believing these practices should still work.   Gallup says that leaders need to start over, go back to the basics.

So, what exactly does that mean?   I’m not Gallup, but I do follow a great deal of research about employee engagement.  The statistics are staggering.  Only 30% of U.S. workers are engaged at work.  Only 15% worldwide.   I am troubled by these statistics and believe that changes to these statistics have to come from the top.   I am not an expert, but I have been in the workforce for over 25 years, both as an employee, as well as a leader of others, in a variety of different industries and organizations.  I don’t believe it’s rocket science to keep good employees.   There are a number of lists, rules, etc. out there, and so here’s one more.  Mine.

  1. A leader genuinely cares about their people.   Yes, this is the soft stuff!  Leaders should care about their employees like they care about their family.  And employees are like family… they are a work family.  Why would you treat your work family different than your family at home?  Patrick Lencioni, in his book The Truth About Employee Engagement says that people shouldn’t have to be a different person at work, and that pretending to be someone you’re not has a significant impact on engagement, meaning that the leader needs to know who their people are beyond their job description.   A leader cares by really getting to know their employees. They are giving of their time, providing growth opportunities, creating team collaboration, sharing the good and the not so good, celebrating success, and above all, showing respect for the employees as individual people.  This is not only critical for engagement, it is the foundation of trust in an organization.
  2. A leader listens. Really listens.   And through their listening, they create space for silence, because leaders don’t always need to be the ones talking.   A leader listens to understand, to help problem solve, and to help navigate and guide.  They only impart their wisdom when asked.   Asking for and considering others’ input leads to more informed decision-making and better results.
  3. A leader grows their people. They do this by understanding each of their employee’s unique talents and then they combine these talents, abilities and experiences by providing different kinds of work and projects.   Growing employees is about regular and ongoing conversations throughout a period.  Not just once a year.  And while a leader may have their go-to people, they need to have an array of go-to people so everyone feels involved and valued.   That is how an entire team is successful and keeps a team from becoming stagnant.
  4. A leader holds everyone on the team accountable, equally. No favoritism allowed.  Great leaders also don’t sit idly by and let a team erode.  They actively participate in finding a solution to a problem until they find one.   (See #1 and #2).    Accountability happens through goal setting, clear job expectations and re-visiting those expectations regularly.   This happens through face to face conversations that are open, honest and often.   Great leaders should serve as coaches to motivate and guide employees to their ultimate success.   Leaders should want success for their employees. No matter what.
  5. A leader celebrates with the team … together! In our very virtual world, teams are together less and less.   The great leaders recognize that the foundation of a great team is built on meaningful relationships with the people they work with.  This happens when team members get together often, share their stories and are intentional about growing the organization together.  They have fun and they actually enjoy being together.

So, here’s the leadership challenge.  If you are a leader, how do you rate yourself with my list of 5?  After you rate yourself, ask your team to rate you too, because we all need to look beyond the mirror.   We should all be work in progress, forever and always.

 

 

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