Following a demographic study carried out by Sierra 57 Consult and its HR advisors, the technical and engineering recruitment specialists have listed eight common reasons why valued employees up sticks and leave.
Valued employees are, well, invaluable to your business. From putting in more discretionary effort and caring about your success to contributing to your culture – for the right reasons! – and helping others, they play a pivotal part in helping you meet your overarching goals.
With that in mind, it’s only natural to want to hold on to them for as long as you can. Further to a demographic study compiled by Sierra 57 Consult and our HR advisors, we’ve compiled a list of eight common reasons valued employees up sticks and leave.
1. They don’t realise they’re valued
Just because you value them, it doesn’t mean they feel valued. Simple things like showing a genuine interest in their life, asking for ideas and being open and honest take little effort but go a long way. Taking time to understand your employees is key.
2. They don’t feel like they’re being stretched or developed
Complacency can be a killer for some employees. While some quite like the easy life, others need to be challenged, stretched and developed.
That doesn’t mean you need to go overboard and burn them into the ground, but try exposing them to different projects and putting them in different environments, and ask them things like:
- What takes you outside of your comfort zone?
- What are your career ambitions?
- What would you like to do that you aren’t currently doing?
3. Lack of opportunities
The two are intertwined, but this could be the employee’s internal career opportunities and/or your company’s long-term objectives. You might have a grand plan for the employee’s future within the business, but if they don’t know it, what use is it?
For example, let’s say you have plans in the pipeline to acquire a new business that will create more jobs, responsibility, and managerial progression. But, people don’t know about it, so they feel that there’s little scope for them to work their way up the ladder. For this reason alone (along with a long list of others!), it’s important to be transparent about your business’ vision.
4. Work location or hours
For some employees, your business’s location or hours might be enough to get them looking elsewhere. That’s not to say you’re doing anything wrong, of course, but perhaps their commute is becoming too much, or their hours no longer fit alongside out-of-work commitments.
Although it might not be practical for every business, if you want the employee to stay and your set-up allows it, it could be worth putting flexible working options on the table to keep hold of them.
5. Change in personal circumstances
Whether they’re relocating to another county, taking time out to travel the world, or changing their profession completely, personal circumstances are a common cause for valued employees leaving. Admittedly there’s nothing you can really do about this one but always keep on good terms; you are still supporting their career aspirations. You want them to regard you as a good employer!
6. Poor management
More often than not, employees don’t quit because of the business. They quit because of their boss or a bad manager. Even if your culture, perks and location are all perfect, a bad boss can have a really negative impact and lead to employees feeling disengaged and demotivated. Managers who have been trained to manage get better results – they know how to develop and empower their staff.
7. An irresistible offer
An employee doesn’t have to have been looking to leave. Sometimes, they might be poached with an offer that’s just too good to turn down – perhaps it’s a big brand name, or the scope to progress is far greater.
If this is the case and you don’t want to let them go, ask what it is about the offer that’s attracted them, and see if there’s a deal that can be done to keep them. Counter-offers are rife in the industry – committing to staff yearly reviews should be adhered to every yearly date, and not just when Managers are faced with a resignation letter. 73% of accepted counter-offers do not retain the same level of productivity and commitment by those respective employees, and 57% of them no longer remain in the company 3-6 months later.
8. Money
Usually, money isn’t the main reason valued employees quit. Generally speaking, one or more of the above will be the sticking point, and then the advertised salary elsewhere will be too decent to decline.
The solution? Potentially offer them more money or further career development if you can, but don’t let that be the end of it. Try to address their other concerns, too; otherwise, you might find yourself entering a cycle of expected salary increases for them to stay.
Unrivalled value
Whether it’s employee engagement, your business’ culture, flexible working, or pay rise requests you’re struggling with, Sierra 57 Consult’s HR & Law Advisory team can assist. If you require any advice, please email contact@sierra57consult.com or call 01684 217680, subject: Employee-Safeguard.
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Please note: Mark Lawson of Sierra 57 Consult has written this article.