How To Spot A Leaver (And Keep Them From Jumping Ship!)
Employee Retention is about more than just money.
Any business owner should be worried when their most loyal and trusted employees start abandoning the business.
Although people choose to leave their jobs for many different reasons, there are some steps you can take to ensure your best people don’t quit.
Are They Worth It?
Remember that no one is irreplaceable. So, before you attempt desperate measures to keep someone, think critically about their role in your business and if them leaving of their own accord can’t be seen as a blessing.
Nope – They Are Crucial To The Working Of Your Business.
Ok. So, you have decided that this person is indeed a crucial part of what makes your business work.
Now Comes The Tricky Part.
Find out why they are planning on leaving.
There are many reasons for employees to leave:
Scenario 1: They have received another job offer.
Way forward:
Can you give them a counteroffer? Remember that it’s not just about money.
Flexible hours and other benefits can all add up to keeping an employee happy.
Scenario 2: They have stagnated and want a new challenge.
Way forward:
Have an honest discussion about their career path, listening to their expectations and future dreams. Having frank discussions about how an employee is part of the succession planning in a business can also keep employees from breaking away and starting their own enterprise, or abandoning your business in favour of a competitor, both of which would be bad for your business.
Scenario 3: They are unhappy in the workplace and feel overworked, underappreciated, or bullied by co-workers
Way Forward:
A toxic work environment has driven many of the most loyal employees to resign. This is something that needs to be addressed head-on. Nothing causes employees to lose faith in management quicker than when management refuses to act decisively when to comes to workplace bullying. Vague company-wide memo’s reminding people to be good to their colleagues, just won’t hack it.
To properly address a toxic workplace, an investigation and disciplinary steps are needed. If you are serious about fighting this in your business, you will have to act with a plan and follow through on your decisions.
The upside of this prickly process is that often, you only have to do it once, in order to change company culture and ensure that employees know what won’t be tolerated.
Other pro-active steps you can take to ensure you have good employee retention, includes:
Doling out fair praise and recognition based on worthy achievements
Ensuring that your remuneration and benefits scheme is competitive
Fostering company loyalty and setting clear, achievable goals for employees
Maintaining an open-door policy, especially when it comes to dealing with complaints and grievances.
