It’s not all about the money
As 2022 comes to a close, now’s the time to evaluate your staff, review bonuses and make sure you don’t lose your star performers.
We all know that unemployment is at record lows, with lots of jobs and too few people to go around. But does that mean that every company is going to lose key people? Not necessarily.
As a former staffing company president, author on hiring and business coach, I’ve observed thousands of situations in the employment marketplace as well as the overall cycles and trends over the years. I’ve learned that there are several reasons why good people quit.
These reasons are largely the same in robust economies as in weak ones. Most important, hiring managers can prevent many of them.
Why bother? Because turnover is expensive. According to statistics, it will cost you at least three times a person’s salary for every employee you have to replace.
Here are the top four reasons people quit.
1. Poor team compatibility and fit
Many hiring managers place too much emphasis on the technical requirements of a job and not enough on the “soft skills.” Too often, they end up hiring for skills and firing for personality.
Culture, compatibility and mission — what I call “retention-ship” — are critical factors in battling turnover. You might consider benchmarking top performers using a personality survey to assess chemistry and fit.
2. Lack of appreciation by management
It’s important to remember that management is not a vague category, it’s YOU . . . and that most people don’t quit their companies, they quit their boss. Strong words? Perhaps. But before you ask your next achiever “what have you done for me today?” make sure you have paused for a moment and praised what he or she did for you yesterday, last week or last month. Always try to catch people doing things right!
The strong egos in your company require (and thrive on) this kind of appreciation.
3. Advancement and personal growth.
In today’s fast-moving environment, learning and challenge are important factors for retention. The company that offers multiple opportunities for its employees to learn new technologies and techniques will always have the competitive edge.
Most employees are interested in training, personal development, learning new tips and strategies and “sharpening the saw.” Providing access to such training gives people a new handle and a refreshed outlook on how to organize and approach their day-to-day tasks.
4. Money and compensation
Why isn’t money at the top of this list? Because “show me the money” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Assuming that your employees are being paid a competitive wage, money is almost never the driving issue.
Rather, it’s when something is missing in items # 1, 2 or 3 above, that you’ll hear, “You can’t pay me enough to stay at XYZ Company!”
Daniel Abramson is managing lead of HRSource, a comprehensive collection of customized employment tools and turnkey solutions exclusive to BrandSource members. For more information, contact Daniel at (540) 535-8484 or daniel@staffdynamics.biz.
