10 Ways to Keep Employees from Leaving
What makes good employees leave? The biggest things that drive employees away have nothing to do with money—and everything to do with leadership. Here are 10 areas where you might need to make some changes to keep employees from leaving:
1. Give your employees challenging projects. Choose something that will stretch their skills. Being entrusted with a special project, especially a difficult one – will make their work feel more meaningful.
2. Keep the workload reasonable. Employees may be reluctant to speak up and tell you they have too much on their plates. Check with them about workload regularly so they don’t get burned out.
3. Show them you care. Sharing gratitude greatly boosts employee loyalty. Build a caring culture where people make one another feel appreciated.
4. Be approachable. If employees feel intimidated by you, then you will always be the last to hear about anything that goes wrong. This is a stressful situation that can lead employees to start looking for another job.
5. Give plenty of feedback. Good employees like to know how they are doing. Providing feedback on a regular basis encourages employees and helps them correct course quickly if they are off track.
6. Get your hands dirty. Is there is a task that everyone in your department hates doing? Do it yourself now and then will generate feelings of goodwill.
7. Set clear goals. If you don’t share organizational goals with them, employees may not understand the big picture. Talk to them about how their own position fits into the overall scheme of things.
8. Don’t dictate the process. Allow your employees to come up with their own methods for doing their work.
9. Provide training opportunities. By giving them opportunities to improve their skills, you will be investing in their future.
10. Don’t be a bad boss. Always speak to people in a respectful tone. Never allow yourself to vent your stress at them. Otherwise you will have a serious issue with turnover.
From personality conflicts to feeling out of place in the corporate or local culture, plenty of other things can cause good employees to leave as well. The best way to find out whether your employees are happy and what you can do to make their work more fulfilling and keep employees from leaving is simple…just ask them. Treat your employees the way you want to be treated. You will find joy in your life as you give it to others.
SmartBrief /Leadership– Joel Garfinkle