Many times over the years I have heard it said that people leave their manager, they don’t leave their company. Sometimes this is true, but I have seen people leave their company for another employer when they had a great relationship with their manager. I have also witnessed their current manager being far superior to the one they were going to work for.
So why do people leave their job? According to a recent Gallup study there are a variety of reasons. Some of these are:
Career growth opportunities.If there is no or very little opportunity for advancement your best people will eventually leave. Try to promote within the company if you can. This lets your team members see there is opportunity to advance.
Pay and Benefits.You should do surveys amongst local competitors to insure that you are staying in the game. if you are not competitive people will leave. When people leave for better pay or benefits they let your other team members in their area know. I have seen this happen and it can create a snowball effect if you are out of the market.
My philosophy is that you pay better than the market for great talent. It is much cheaper to keep great talent than to continue to have to try to replace it. It will cost you a lot more in recruiting and training costs than to pay them well. You should also do an annual total pay package plan with your team members so they understand the total compensation and benefits they are being provided.
Company Culture.If you have a bad culture or if a team member does not fit your culture they will leave you. The first thing you should be looking for in the hiring process is to determine if the person is a good cultural fit. I have rarely seen someone last for an extended period of time if they do not fit the culture of the company.
Job Fit.Sometimes a person is a great team member, but they are in the wrong position. Your choice here is to put them in the right position if you can or let them go.
Here are some action plans you can implement to improve your team member retention.
Action Plans:
- Review your benefits and pay. Compare them to your local competitors on an annual basis.
- Know the career goals of your top talent. Get to know your team members and know what their career goals are
- Perform annual talent reviews with your management teams to chart out your teams and determine who is ready for advancement
- Hire to fit your culture
- Perform one-on-ones with your team members on a weekly or biweekly basis
- Hire slow fire fast
Be Great!
