My business partner always says that for the most part a person does not quit their job, they quit their boss. If you are in a leadership position of any kind, this statement should immediately grab you and cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand at attention. If it does not then you should not be in a position of leadership – period.
Retention is a direct result of the leadership. It’s as simple as that. Leadership is not about telling people what to do, we should know that by now as leaders. It’s about listening, guiding, teaching and doing the right thing. Everything has changed from the days of the baby boomer’s 30 years and a gold watch.
Medium.com writes in a recent blog post that according to a 2018 study by Mercer, a whopping third of all employees plan on quitting their job in the next 12 months. That number is astronomically high compared to when our our parents and grandparents were our age. This growing amount of turnover is getting more and more expensive for companies. In fact, one study revealed that replacing a high-talented employee will cost a company 200% of the employees annual salary.
Leadership is culture. That’s right, the culture developed by leadership is one of the most critical components of retention. How a team member feels they are perceived by the leadership will dictate the commitment and diligence put forth by the team member. Long gone are the days where a simple transaction takes place everyday – a wage is paid to perform a job. The days where an employee shows up in the morning with their lunchbox in hand, punches a clock and leaves at the end of the day with another clock punch.
Today, the working culture is more committed to the overall function of the day. There is more skin in the game and they wanted to be treated accordingly, do you blame them?
Take a look at these stats compiled by Marvin Russell on Medium.com:
In a survey of 2,000 employees, almost half (43%) said they are looking for a new job, and corporate culture was the main reason.
Source: hayes.com
When surveyed, 82% of employees said they’d be more loyal, and less likely if they had more flexible jobs.
Source: FlexJobs
92% of employees said that would be more likely to stay with their job, if their bosses would show more empathy.
Source: Businesssolver
Engaged employees are 59% less likely to seek out a new job or career in the next 12 months.
Source: Gallup
37% of employees would quit and take a new job that allowed them to work remotely part of the time.
Source: Gallup
A strong learning culture led to 30–50% high retention rates in companies.
Source Robert Half
70% of 2,000 millennials surveyed said they would quit a job if lacked high performing and fast technology.
Source: Jive Communications
62% of millennials are willing to quit their job in the next two years and work in the gig economy.
Source: Deloitte
71% of employees would accept a pay cut, just to get a better job.
Source: hayes.com
Money is not the problem. In fact, only 12% of employees actually leave their job because they want more money.
Source: CareerBuilder.com
89% of bosses wrongly believe their employees quit because they want more money.
Source: Source; Leigh Branham, author of The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave
Generation X, employees born between 1961 and 1981, reported the highest levels of stress in the workplace, and thus have the highest risk of leaving your company.
Source: hayes.com
Employees who feel they get to use the best strengths and abilities and work are 15% less likely to quit their job.
Source: Gallup
When surveyed, 76% of employees who don’t feel valued at work are seeking other job opportunities.
Source: Lifeworks
Over 70% of “high-retention-risk” employees want to leave because they see no future advancement in the current job.
Source: Willis Towers Watson
20-50% of the reason people quit is burnout, according to almost half of all HR professionals surveyed.
Source: Kronos
In a global study, 60% of millennials have worked at 2 to 4 different companies, and 43% of them feel like their company only cares about profits.
Source: O.C. Tanner
42% of millennials, who have worked at 2 to 4 different companies, said their job creates a huge amount of stress, and 36% feel their job has a negative impact on their health.
Source: O.C. Tanner
30% of employees would consider quitting if they were unhappy at work, and 79% of employees said their bosses didn’t care about their happiness level.
Source: One4All
Organizations with poor on-boarding programs have double the chances of experiencing employee turnover.
Source: Digittate
Clearly the paycheck is not the major issue here. It’s important that as leaders we recognize and value the team members in a way that brings them into the fold as pseudo partners and contributing assets. If we are not able to do that the simple truth is that they will move on and look for that with another company.
Are we listening and recognizing talents? Are we taking the time to talk with the team? Are we spending time in the trenches with them to see what it’s like from their perspective? How does a person manage when they have no idea what goes on in the various departments that they have charge over. Have you given your team members a voice? Do they feel like part of the solution and therefore part of the success of the company?
These are questions that really need answers and those answers will dictate your leadership style and also the changes that need to take place.
If you’re unsure about what the culture is in your workplace, let us help. We can get these answers for you and customize a workplace mindset and new culture, just give us a call.
We are always at your service and eager to help.