6 reasons your best employees are secretly looking for new jobs
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Some of your best employees are secretly looking for another job. How do I know this? Because I'm helping them.
As a career coach, I spend my days helping people make career changes, which means I'm verrrrry familiar with the reasons why people are moving on to greener pastures.
Here's why your best employees are quitting and what you can do to avoid losing more of them:
Thomson Reuters1. The hiring process was misleading.
The job looked amazing on paper, and I was psyched about it when we talked about it in the job interview, but the actual job is nothing like they advertised. I didn't sign up for this.
If the job is mostly data entry, don't focus on the little bit that is creative work. If the job is 90% admin, say so. Mostly report writing? Say so. Has a crazy travel schedule? Say so.
Don't be misleading when you woo job candidates. They'll leave you faster than a jilted lover once the jig is up, and crappy retention costs you time and money.
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2. They're drowning in unreasonable amounts of work.
I'm up for a challenge, but the amount of work I'm expected to do is straight-up impossible. I bring work home every evening and on weekends. I'm this close to just saying f*ck it and quitting.
An ideal workload is one that is challenging, lets people use their skills, and is achievable. Just don't forget the achievable part. You don't want to push people past a threshold of what's reasonable.
Not sure why your people are burning out? Ask them. Have them take you through their workload, including the nitty gritty administrative stuff, which always takes way more time than you think it does. It may be time to redistribute some work or make an additional hire.
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3. They feel unappreciated.
I'm a hard worker. I don't even mind staying late. But would it kill him to say thank you?! Why do I even bother.
But you show your appreciation in the form of a big fat paycheck, right? Shouldn't that be enough? It isn't. Those two little words — thank you — mean a lot to people. When you take the time to say thank you, you're saying, I see you. I notice all of the good work you're putting in, and I appreciate it.
People just want to feel seen and understood and appreciated. I know you're busy and you probably don't get the appreciation you deserve either, but carve out some time to express genuine thanks for your team and you'll find it pays in spades.
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