The satisfaction survey looked fine. Then one Monday morning your best person walks in with a resignation letter. In the exit interview there is talk of “a great opportunity” and “ready for something new”. Looking back, the decision was made months earlier.
Leaving starts with standing still
For their research, Ethan Bernstein, Michael Horn and Bob Moesta spoke to more than a thousand people who had changed jobs. Their conclusion in Harvard Business Review: people rarely leave because of one incident. They leave because they no longer see progress, in their work or in their lives. They want to get away from something, regain control, be seen and make use of what they know, or take the next step (HBR).
By the time of the exit interview, it is too late, because the reason goes back months. And it is expensive: according to the authors, replacing someone costs six to nine months’ salary on average.
Satisfied is not the same as engaged
A satisfaction survey looks back: what do you think of your pay, your workplace, the communication? Work engagement looks ahead: how much energy do you have, how dedicated are you, do you get absorbed in your work? Someone can be satisfied with everything as it is and still leave, because there is nothing left for them to gain.
Keeping everyone happy
Berd Warmelts of IMPACT on the Job is currently seeing a pattern that ties in directly with this. In organisations that mainly manage for satisfaction, the people who leave are the ones you least want to lose: the engaged people, the ones who perform.
It often starts with a manager’s fear of losing people. So attention goes to the employees who ask for it: those who complain, those who are struggling, those who aren’t feeling great. That is understandable, but it means the engaged employees get less attention, because they seem to be doing fine. Meanwhile, they also see colleagues getting away with little effort and low energy. And that doesn’t feel fair.
According to Berd, you should put time and energy into your strongest people: recognise them, stretch them, help them grow. If you don’t, there is a good chance they will leave. And bear in mind that they can easily find work elsewhere. They are not tied to you.
This fits with research we described earlier: managers mainly hand extra tasks to their most motivated people, with more plans to leave as a result. Read your most engaged people get the most extra work.
How to keep your best people
- Hold stay interviews, not exit interviews. Regularly ask your strongest people what keeps them here, what they are missing and where they want to be in a year’s time. Experts that Rebecca Knight spoke to in HBR give the same advice (HBR).
- Divide your attention deliberately. Look back through your diary: who did you talk to most last month? If it was mainly people with complaints, book time with your engaged people too.
- Offer a stretch as well as recognition. A compliment is nice, but engaged people want to grow. A new project, more responsibility or a career step keeps them on board for longer.
- Address low effort. When some colleagues get away with little effort, your best people are the first to notice. An honest conversation with those who fall behind is also a signal to those who do perform.
- Watch for falling energy. You can see engagement drop in a team long before anyone writes a resignation letter.
See it coming
With the Employee Engagement Survey (MBO) from Leiders.nl, you can see per team how engaged people are, and how employees experience the leadership. That shows you where energy is draining away, before your best people leave. Also read you start your job engaged, but how do you keep it up? and organisational fit: one of the most important requirements for work engagement.
