Why Good Employees Quit: The Top 9 Reasons and How to Prevent Them

The employee turnover rate across American industries is on the rise and the struggle to retain good workers is becoming tiresome. According to the 2019 retention report, over 27 employees out of every 100 quit their jobs voluntarily in 2018. Moreover, the Employee Retention Statistics Report stated that 75% of the Americans did not stay in the same job for more than five years.

The low unemployment rate, coupled with a thriving economy, has increased job-hopping among young professionals who are looking for better opportunities. This is the reason why entrepreneurs are now trying to understand the reasons behind the high rate of attrition and how to curb it. Replacing a skilled and qualified employee in an organisation can cost somewhere between 16% and 20% of the salary of the employee.

It is a considerable expense, and the recruitment process can become overwhelming and excruciatingly long at times. Thus if you are planning to purchase a thriving business for sale in the United States, then you must be aware of the ways of strengthening your workforce. So let us take a look at the top nine reasons for quitting a job and the preventive measures that can be utilised by employers to stop them.

1. Unsatisfactory Remuneration

A higher pay scale is the primary reason behind making a switch, and this stems from the fact that businesses do not bother to pay appropriately to their good employees. You cannot think about giving a raise later as they will find a better opportunity before that and move on. Cost-cutting should not be done at the cost of losing valuable human resource.

Solution

When you decide the salary of a worker, you must keep the industry standards in mind and pay them according to their position in the company and workload. Also, retaining is cheaper than recruiting. So make sure that you pay your employees as per the market trends and give appraisals annually to keep them happy and satisfied. If they are getting what they need, they will not look for a change.

2. Restrictions On Decision-Making

Good employees flourish in a free rein as they are always brimming with ideas and solutions which they want to put into their work. However, if the company poses too many restrictions on the level of authority enjoyed by an employee, it can become stifling.

If the leader keeps rebuffing the opinions and views of the workers and does not give them the autonomy to make their own decisions, then they might not be able to perform to the best of their ability. It can make them feel pressured and gagged, which can ultimately lead to the decision of quitting the job.

Solution

The most significant aspect of running a business is showing trust in your employees and making them empowered and accountable. You must delegate responsibility to allow them to perform independently.

3. Toxic Work Culture

Myopic management policies can lead to a bad work environment which makes people leave. Examples include not providing flexible working hours or work-from-home option, restricting the number of holidays and lack of transparency and one-way flow of communication.

Solution

Every organisation must strive to create a positive and productive work culture where employees can interact, engage, learn and perform efficiently under the guidance of the leader. You can deploy automation tools to make processes streamlined and cost-effective. Also, allowing work-life balance is an excellent way to keep the employees motivated and energised.

4. Awful Leaders

The obnoxious behaviour of the reporting manager or the boss often results in the loss of confidence and comfort level enjoyed at the workplace. Eventually, employees become disgruntled and leave the job.

Solution

The managers of all teams must work upon building strong relationships with their subordinates and hone their skills. They must understand each other’s working style and adjust accordingly. The learning should happen both ways and feedback must be taken positively, even if it is not what you expected. All leaders must create personal goals for individuals, and these should be aligned with the business goals to make them involved and productive.

5. Unchallenging Work

On various occasions, good employees feel that their talent is getting wasted in boring and easy projects. Sometimes they are attached to the same account for a long time which makes the work repetitive and uninteresting.

Solution

A sincere and enthusiastic employee needs to feel excited about his job and must look forward to giving his best every day. To achieve this, the company needs to make them work on projects that need brainstorming, innovation, research and use of intellect. The projects must keep rotating so that the workflow does not become monotonous.

6. Financial Condition Of The Company

Most companies which are going through a rough patch resort to layoffs which fill other employees with negativity and the fear of losing their job. So they start looking for alternatives. This can happen at the time of mergers and acquisitions or when the company loses a significant client or faces flak from consumers.

Solution

If a company is facing financial instability, it must make all efforts to retain its good employees by clearly informing them about the status of the business. Make sure that they understand your decision and showcase their loyalty in the time of need by assuring them of a bright future.

7. No Growth Opportunities

Every professional wants to grow in his/her career. So if they are performing well but are not moving ahead of their peers, they will think about leaving the organisation. Besides the growth in terms of rank, lack of learning and development opportunities within the organisation can also demoralise employees.

Solution

Managers must interact with employees to understand their aspirations and growth needs and make such opportunities available to them. Timely promotions and training that enhance career development can help good employees to stay on the path of success and feel a sense of fulfilment and accomplishment.

8. Unsupportive Teams

If the co-workers are not cooperative or are creating a fuss over every small issue, then the matter can snowball into a big controversy that can make people quit. Many times the relationships among colleagues can become unhealthy, which affects their work and performance.

Solution

It is not possible for all the people to get along, but the tempers can be kept under check by an able manager and participative leader. Train the managers to handle such situations and make time for team building exercises and healthy dialogue that helps in settling conflicts and difference of opinion.

9. Changing Business Goals

While running a business, owners may decide to fiddle with the company mission and vision to achieve personal goals. However, this may not go down well with the employees who joined the team because of its values. For example, the business might have started as an eco-friendly organisation but due to rising costs changed its policies.

Solution

Businesses should not change their path mid-way to accommodate financial commitments. It can irk the efficient employees who need a purpose and direction and want to work towards achieving it. So stick to your goals, vision and mission without any deviations.

Conclusion

Good employees act as a support system and have the passion, capability and zeal to take their organisation to the next level. Thus if you are looking for business opportunities in the United States, you must understand the importance of retention and the ways of making the best people stay onboard.