It’s a widely held belief that a company is only as good as its staff. However, attracting and retaining key employees can prove a nightmare for many firms. If a valued member of your team suddenly hands in their resignation, it can cause all sorts of headaches trying to find a similarly skilled replacement – and that’s without mentioning the idea that, no matter how good the person you find is, you’ll still need to onboard them and train them in exactly how you operate.

The problems with key members leaving your firm don’t just stop there though. Frequently, the departure of a liked and respected member of staff can send ripples among your team who may well start asking themselves if they too should consider leaving. Worse yet, it’s not unheard of for deputies to jump ship at the same time as their bosses or leave en masse, leaving you high and dry. 

Five key reasons why staff resign from their jobs

Before discussing tactics to help retain your staff, it’s perhaps worth considering the main complaints and reasons staff give for resigning. Year on year, the same criticisms feature in the top five:

Lack of career progression opportunities – In other words, staff feeling as though they’re in a dead-end job with no career prospects

A poor work/life balance – There has always been a fine balance to be struck between the live to work/work to live ethos but one of the most common staff complaints is feeling bosses don’t understand their out-of-work needs or allow them sufficient time off.

The behaviour and attitude of bosses – Working for a good boss can make all the difference – even when staff don’t feel their jobs are particularly rewarding. It’s vital that your firm employs the best, most proactive, productive and positive bosses that realise the value of teamwork. 

Pay or benefits – While it’s undoubtedly true that most people don’t just work for money, being poorly paid or suffering from a lack of benefits remains one of the primary reasons staff leave (particularly when compared to others working in similar roles in other firms).

Feeling under-appreciated or undervalued – Feeling undervalued at work is frequently caused by a combination of the above and often results in workers leaving a job. 

Tips and tricks to address employees concerns and improve retention

For most people, having a job represents much more than just a way to earn money. Rather work often provides a much-needed sense of self-respect, a social circle and a chance to meet new people. Staff also often report the benefits derived from feeling part of a team and working towards a greater common purpose. 

If you can learn to think a little more like your employees – and remember the main reasons staff leave jobs as noted above – you’ll be far more likely to provide the type of roles and working conditions that will be appreciated by your team. Ideas for retaining staff include:

Design structured onboarding and orientation processes – Joining a new firm and getting used to the way individual companies operate can often be a daunting prospect for new employees. If you want to help your new staff to hit the ground running, you should think about designing and deploying structured onboarding processes. There are now numerous managed learning services that will help you design and implement training courses to help your new employees get up to speed quickly. 

Give a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work – Money is often a critical factor in attracting the right employees and frequently proves to be a key element in their retention. Look at rival firms in your sector and see how your wages stack up by comparison. As the saying goes, if you pay peanuts, expect monkeys.

Offer perks, benefits or employee schemes – We all like the feeling of getting something for nothing and offering your employees extra benefits will lead to a greater sense of loyalty to your firm, in turn reducing the temptation of leaving. 

Review your operating structure, methods of communication and chain of command – Make an honest appraisal of how your firm currently operates to identify weak or problematic areas that could benefit from improvement. Many staff cite not clearly understanding their role or what is expected of them as causing potential flash-points at work.

Listen to your employees – While you may think you know your firm inside and out, in truth, those that are doing the job likely know far more than you do in some niches. By taking time to listen to your employees, you’ll not only improve morale, you’ll also make them feel more important and valued – thereby increasing both productivity and staff retention. You could even consider issuing anonymous feedback forms to achieve truly honest responses. 

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