5 Reasons Your Employees Quit, and How to Stop Them

If you own a business, then you know that keeping your staff as excited about their jobs as you are can feel like an uphill battle. The fact is that most employees disengage from their work at some point. A recent Gallup poll revealed that just 32 percent of American workers feel connected with their jobs. Employees disengage for a variety of reasons, but there are ways to combat dissatisfaction and high turnover.

Problem: Expectations aren’t clear or realistic.

Solution: Set clear, achievable goals.

If your staff can’t tell you the company’s purpose or why their assignments matter, then you’re going to lose them. Employees need to understand the overall goal of the business as well as the point of their individual tasks. Unrealistic work expectations can also cause your employees to shut down. Impossible deadlines, lofty goals or too much work for one time period can all create unsatisfied workers, which in turn leads to lost productivity and wasted time.

The solution is to develop clear strategies and to share those strategies with your staff. Goals should not only be measurable but attainable as well. Everyone needs to be on the same page for both short- and long-term goals.

Problem: Insufficient communication creates a negative environment.

Solution: Encourage effective communication and collaboration.

Good communication is an ongoing process, and it needs to start from the top. Poor communication, which includes unclear instructions and lack of collaboration, can create dissatisfaction and disgruntlement.

To remedy these issues, set up a system that encourages effective communication. Assign group tasks, ask for input from your staff and host weekly team-building sessions that promote collaboration. Employees who feel like they’re being heard are less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere, and more effective communication throughout your company leads to better productivity.

Problem: Your staff doesn’t feel appreciated.

Solution: Motivate and incentivize.

If workers feel like they can be easily replaced, then you’re going to lose employees who feel undervalued or unappreciated. The fact is that a good employee who’s engaged in his work will be much more valuable to your company in the long term, so you should take pains to show your staff that you value their contributions. It will help you keep employee satisfaction levels high, which will have positive effects on other objectives of your business.

You may host an annual employee awards show to recognize significant achievements, take top earners out for a monthly lunch or publicly announce when someone goes above and beyond at their job. Apply recognition evenly across the board, and don’t be afraid to keep accolades modest. Simply acknowledging someone’s consistent hard effort is often enough to motivate your employees.

Problem: There’s nowhere to go.

Solution: Create new opportunities.

Your employees may not want to be CEOs, but they do want to climb ladders of their own. If your business isn’t set up to propel employees forward, then consider ways to encourage movement. Employees who feel stuck in a rut are much more likely to look for other jobs.

Take the time to speak with your employees about options for advancement. Even if there’s no room in the budget or your corporate structure for new positions, you can motivate employees by creating new opportunities for them. If you’re stuck for ideas, just ask. Most employees have career aspirations, and they’d be more than willing to help you help them.

Problem: Work-life balance is askew.

Solution: Offer flexible workarounds for personal needs.

No one wants to work 60-hour weeks, but it’s an unfortunate side effect of today’s always-on business model. Before your employees get burned out on the job, implement strategies to achieve better work-life balance.

Ask working parents, for example, if an on-site daycare center would help them feel better about working longer hours. Consider offering telecommuting options or nontraditional schedules for those who need greater flexibility. According to one survey, 53 percent of workers would take a pay cut for the chance to work from home.

Employees who don’t connect with their work will eventually quit. Environmental Leader reports that businesses with high disengagement also have a higher turnover rate—up to 50 percent higher in some cases. Take proactive steps to make your employees feel valued, offer to accommodate demanding personal schedules, and communicate effectively to ensure that everyone’s on the same page from the start.

Author: Patricia Dimick is a Denver-based stay-at-home-mom and a striving blogger, trying to make it as a freelance writer. She’s keen on keeping up with the latest trends in the business world and sharing her insights with like-minded people. You can reach her @Patricia_Dimick