People don’t leave jobs, they leave managers. We often hear managers complaining about their best employees leaving, and they really do have something to complain about—few things are as costly and disruptive as good people walking out the door.
Managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun, while ignoring the crux of the matter that they are the reason good employees quit. The sad thing is that this can easily be avoided. All that is required is a new perspective and some extra effort on the manager’s part.
Travis Bradberry, the President at TalentSmart, invite us to understand the nine manager mistakes that send good people packing.
Yes, it is so tempting to work your best people hard that managers frequently fall into this trap. Overworking good employees is perplexing; it makes them feel as if they are being punished for great performance. Nothing burns good employees out quite like overworking them.
Moreover, overworking employees is also counterproductive. If you must increase how much work your talented employees are doing, you would better increase their status as well. Talented employees will take on a bigger workload, but they will not stay if their job suffocates them in the process.
Raises, promotions, and title-changes are all acceptable ways to increase workload. If you simply increase workload because people are talented, without changing a thing, they will seek another job that gives them what they deserve.
It is easy to underestimate the power of a pat on the back, especially with top performers who are intrinsically motivated. Everyone likes kudos, none more so than those who work hard and give their all. Managers need to communicate with their people to find out what makes them feel good (for some, it’s a raise; for others, it’s public recognition) and then to reward them for a job well done. With top performers, this will happen often if you are doing it right.
More than half of people who leave their jobs do so because of their relationship with their boss. Smart companies make certain their managers know how to balance being professional with being human. These are the bosses who celebrate an employee’s success, empathise with those going through hard times, and challenge people, even when it hurts. Bosses who fail to really care will always have high turnover rates. It is impossible to work for someone eight-plus hours a day when they are not personally involved and don’t care about anything other than your production yield.
See: Top 5 Reasons Why Good Employees Quit
Making promises to people places you on the fine line that lies between making them very happy and watching them walk out the door. When you uphold a commitment, you grow in the eyes of your employees because you prove yourself to be trustworthy and honorable. But when you disregard your commitment, you come across as slimy, uncaring, and disrespectful. After all, if the boss does not honor his or her commitments, why should everyone else?
When managers don’t do the hard work of hiring good people, it is a major demotivator for those stuck working alongside them. Good, hard-working employees want to work with like-minded professionals. Promoting the wrong people is even worse. When you work your tail off only to get passed over for a promotion that’s given to someone who glad-handed their way to the top, it is a massive insult. No wonder it makes good people leave.
Talented employees are passionate. Providing opportunities for them to pursue their passions improves their productivity and job satisfaction. But many managers want people to work within a little box. These managers fear that productivity will decline if they let people expand their focus and pursue their passions. This fear is unfounded. Studies show that people who are able to pursue their passions at work experience flow, a euphoric state of mind that is five times more productive than the norm.
When managers are asked about their inattention to employees, they try to excuse themselves, using words such as “trust,” “autonomy,” and “empowerment.” This is complete nonsense. Good managers manage, no matter how talented the employee. They pay attention and are constantly listening and giving feedback.
Management may have a beginning, but it certainly has no end. When you have a talented employee, it is up to you to keep finding areas in which they can improve to expand their skill set. The most talented employees want feedback, and it is your job to keep it coming. If you don’t, your best people will grow bored and complacent.
The most talented employees seek to improve everything they touch. If you take away their ability to change and improve things because you are only comfortable with the status quo, this makes them hate their jobs. Caging up this innate desire to create not only limits them, it limits you.
Great bosses challenge their employees to accomplish things that seem inconceivable at first. Instead of setting mundane, incremental goals, they set lofty goals that push people out of their comfort zones. Then, good managers do everything in their power to help them succeed. When talented and intelligent people find themselves doing things that are too easy or boring, they seek other jobs that will challenge their intellects.
If you want your best people to stay, you need to think carefully about how you treat them. While good employees are as tough as nails, their talent gives them an abundance of options. You need to make them want to work for you. When your good employees quit, do not laugh at them. But rather, reflect about what is wrong with you.
See also: Think About It, Why Do Employees Quit Their Job
