The past few years have presented many challenges and opportunities to organizations globally. From the quick shift to remote work to the daunting task of returning people to the office, it has been an endless battle of giving and compromising. Unfortunately, even with higher salaries and flexibility in work location, employers are still experiencing high attrition. In fact, a recent report provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that over 4.3 million workers left their job voluntarily. To better understand this phenomenon, employers may benefit from asking, what do their employees need?
A recent McKinsey report revealed that 40% of workers are leaving their jobs because they are unhappy with their job. This means, regardless of the amount of money you offer or your flexible work policy, it will only be a temporary solution, at best, to a bigger problem. So, what exactly is the problem, and how should you solve it?
Let’s look at some the top reasons why your employee is leaving:
- Leadership: One reason for employees leaving their company is due to poor leadership. Too often people are placed in people leader roles because they excel in their job. However, there is no correlation in being great at your job and being an effective manager. In fact, being a good manager has less to do with your technical abilities and more to do with soft skills such as emotional intelligence and communication.
- Organizational Opportunities: Another reason people are bowing out of your organization links to upward mobility and development opportunities. While there are many internal and external factors that can affect upward mobility, developing your employee is something that all managers can do – even on a non-existent budget. For example, engaging in developmental conversations, offering stretch assignments, or giving feedback.
- Company Culture: While this is the last point mentioned, a company culture is the main reason for employees leaving their job. According to a survey completed by FlexJobs, 62% of surveyed respondents left because of the companies environment. This is critically important as companies continue the trend of offering remote / hybrid work environments. What are you doing to sustain your work environment? While some will assume returning to the office is the solution, these same individuals are requesting the flexibility to aid in work-life balance. If you find the right answer here, you may begin to see those attrition numbers reduce.
While increased salaries and flexibility in work locations will always find themselves on lists of what employees want, it’s not always reflective of what they need or desire. Don’t just court your employee, think of how you can create a long time partnership. This will require a paradigm shift, that if done thoughtfully, will yield positive results for both the employee and the organization.