HELP!  I'm Losing My Employees

Employees are valuable assets to your company.  They’re the lifeblood of your organization and contribute to the overall success.  Losing a skilled and loyal worker can cost your company thousands of dollars and even more when you have to replace them.  Treat them as an investment, if you don’t they will eventually leave.

Ten Reasons Why Your Employees Are Leaving:

1) No Open Door Policy – Employees need to feel comfortable about talking to you for any reason.  Having a real open door policy means you will listen to them and help them.  If you do this, a myriad of problems can be eliminated...including losing them.

2) Bad Management – If your employees are fearful, feel threatened and won’t approach their manager then there is a problem that needs immediate attention and resolution.  The problem, bad managers.

3) Micromanaging – You hired your employee to do a job.  They have a specific skill set, experience, and education for the job they are performing.  Do not monitor, control or stay on top of their every move.   Micromanagers demonstrate a lack of trust and respect for their workers. Let them do their job.

4) No Onboarding – New hires need to be integrated into the company.   Introduce them to the team, their manager, and making them feel welcome.  Also, provide training, tools and resources they need to succeed.  The first couple of weeks are crucial for the success and retention of a new hire.

5) Overworked –There is a serious problem when members of your staff are overworked.  This includes performing additional work that is not part of the job they were hired for.  Overtime may required from time to time, let them know when and define what it will be.  No employee should be working 50+ hours a week unless agreed upon in the hiring process.

6) Underpaid – When you hired your employee there was an agreed upon base salary/hourly rate.  In 3+ years, they should not be making the same wage.  Workers that are performing well need to be compensated for the value they bring to the organization.  All employees need to be given a cost of living increase annually.

7) Job Description – Every employee is hired to perform a specific job as listed in their job description.  Adding multiple responsibilities and tasks creates work overload and burnout.  Over time, this will frustrate them and without proper compensation/promotion, they’ll begin seeking a new job.

8) Broken Promises – Stay true to your word.  When you say you are going to do something, do it. Don’t promise your workers wage increases, bonus pay, commission earnings pay, fringe benefits, professional development if you can’t deliver.

9) Flexibility – Life happens. Be flexible with your workers.  If they come to you with a request to leave an hour early to catch their child’s playoff game, let them go. They can make up the lost hour.

10) Work Environment –Employees that work in a fear based, stress filled, tense work environment dread coming in to work.  Over time, this wears them down and they will seek employment elsewhere.

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Lane Darnell is the Vice President of Recruiting and a partner of Construction Market Consultants, Inc., an Atlanta based consulting group specializing in Executive Placement, CRM, Business Development, Sales and Marketing for the AEC (Architectural, Engineering and Construction) industry.

Lane can be reached at lanedarnell [at] cmconl.com or via LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/lane-darnell-992888/