Employees have many reasons for leaving a job. As a manager, you must find ways to prevent your team members from wanting to explore other employment options. Let’s take a look at what causes turnover and what you can do to change the outcome.

10 Common Reasons for Leaving a Job and How to Prevent Them

As a manager, you’ve probably heard all the explanations from employees regarding why they are moving on. Here’s a partial summary of these reasons.

• Don’t like the work
• Not getting paid enough
• The commute is too long
• There is no opportunity for advancement
• Don’t like the co-workers
• Need a better work-​life balance
• Don’t feel that my work is valued or recognized
• My skills aren’t being used
• My manager is a control freak
• Don't get enough paid time off

This list of grievances is long and is partially sourced from our Voice of the Sales Rep survey. However, these reasons for a job change can apply to any position. The most important issue is what you, as a manager can do. Consider addressing perceived problems to improve employee retention.

How to Improve Job-​Related Complaints

Managers cannot always control how much employees get paid or the level of benefits being offered. But they can do plenty to make team members feel valued.

It costs little to remember to praise an employee for a job well done in front of their peers. Consider establishing a gratitude moment during each team meeting and encourage everyone to praise at least one person. Employees who feel that they belong are happier at work. Therefore, they are less likely to come up with reasons for leaving a job.

Make Teamwork Matter

Managers often feel squeezed when they must bring in a project on time and under budget. Yes, it’s stressful. But you should regularly take a few minutes to analyze the work tasks for each team member.

Ask yourself whether you can better match tasks with interest level.

Based on psychometric assessments results, you know which team members would enjoy being project leaders. It’s up to you to adjust assignments. Giving a team member a slightly different role than usual means more work for you at first.

But in the long run, if that employee is happier and more productive, they’ll be less likely to leave you. And you will have contributed to their professional development. That should be one of your top managerial goals.

This groundwork done in advance of a new project can help you increase retention.

Change the Focus of Meetings

You can breathe new life into team meetings by following Lisa Bodell’s advice. Instead of setting the usual agenda, Bodell recommends changes things up. She advises using “meeting invites where the subject line states the question you’re trying to answer in the meeting.”

An invite in that format forces attendees to think about what they want to say. It’s also an opportunity for them to realize that their opinions and participation matter.

Improve Your One-​on-​One Relationships

Having a difficult supervisor often appears at the top of the list of reasons for leaving a job. These complaints usually center on the issue of fit between the manager and the employee. Take action on these points to stop your team members from making the decision to leave the organization.

With psychometric assessments in hand, you’ll understand where you and each employee have differences. Whether it’s work style or communications that pose a problem, as manager you must take the first step. Modify your approach when interacting with each employee, because your goal is to improve their work experience.

Employees have many reasons for deciding when to leave a job. You will not be able to control some of the factors that contribute to their dissatisfaction. But it’s critical that you monitor their level of motivation and try to improve their contentment.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.