There are many reasons as to why staff leave.
Understanding why staff leave
Of the few blogs I read, one is The Big Almanack by Alan Knott-Craig. He writes every single day and the posts are short and full of meaning. If you care about business, startups or life advice in general, I’d advise you to read it too.
Recently, he wrote about why staff leave and what makes them potentially unhappy in a company. He wrote in a post the following reasons, which I have copied verbatim for you to read.
Reasons that staff leave
Incompetence – Train your staff to do the jobs they’re expected to do. If they can’t be trained, find other staff.
Doesn’t know what his job is – Everyone needs to know how they’re being measured. Take the time to explain the position and what outcomes are expected. (I wrote about the psychological contract here.)
Wrong job – She might be talented, but she’s in the wrong position. Find her something that plays to her strengths.
Bad manager – A great person can be in the perfect job, but he’ll be unhappy if he has a bad manager. There’s only one fix: get rid of the manager.
Poisonous culture – If people don’t enjoy the vibe at work, they won’t be happy. The vibe is a function of people. If you hire asses, your company will have an ass culture.
Lack of communication – No one likes working in the dark. There is no such thing as “over-communication.” Keep your people in the loop and they’ll be happy.
No appreciation – It’s not long hours and time away from family that upsets a person. It’s when the boss doesn’t appreciate the sacrifices that person is making that she becomes unhappy.
While happiness of staff is not the key to a successful business, Alan correctly states: “If your staff are unhappy, you won’t be able to retain stars, attract stars, or move fast.” Heed the above points on staff retention. The fact remains that if your employees are not having fun, they (and possibly you) are not in the right job anyway.
