The Reason Good Employees Leave
When good employees leave it is not only a loss in terms of time, effort and all the cost associated with finding a suitable replacement but it is also the loss of losing unique knowledge and experience specifically associated to the organization; Prevention is the best cure against the problem of losing good employees.
Employees leave their employers for many valid and unavoidable reasons but it is important that an employer knows the reasons their employees leave in case they are found to be reasons that if addressed and resolved could have been avoided.
Concerns of employees can be identified early by the regular use of well designed job satisfaction surveys, allowing for problems to be resolved and helping to minimize needless loss of staff. However, some problems, especially those that are the result of a clash of personalities, are not always brought to the surface until it is too late.
Poor management and/or a lack of any real career development are two common reasons that can result in employees deciding to leave an organization. Both of these problems can be difficult to identify even for organizations that adopt regular 360-degree appraisals (i.e. where as part of the overall review process, employees may be asked to evaluate their managers).
While still employed employees can be very reluctant to criticize their managers for fear of reprisal; they can however be more candid when completing an employee exit survey.
It is unlikely that an Exit survey will prevent any individuals from leaving but it will help identify problems that could, if left unchecked, could result in poor staff moral for the remaining staff and worse case scenario, more resignations.
Lack of Career Development
Not all employers can offer, and nor do all employees desire, a clear and long term career path. There are just as many people that find comfort and security in doing one job well as there are people that need to feel that they are continual being challenged, learning new skills and moving onwards and upwards with respect to the corporate ladder. For organizations to succeed and excel they need the high flyers as well as the steady Eddies of the world.
Where losses due to a lack of career development are occasional they may also be inevitable, but where they are frequent, then changes to the organizational structure might need to be considered to allow for greater career development of the employees.
Sub-standard Management
Many a manager has achieved their managerial position through hard work and a deserved promotion, but a good worker does not always make a good manager and many are awarded a management position without any management training.
Managers who perform poorly can be quick to discredit the views of disgruntled staff, ‘I am glad they went it saved me getting rid of them’ and ‘they were useless anyway’ may prove to be common responses to those managers being asked if there are any problems that might be causing people to leave the organization.
It is proper and natural for senior management to support their line managers by giving them the benefit of any doubt, after all a good managers can always be slighted by poor employees. But by conducting exit surveys, if a man-management problem were to be identified early there is a good chance that it can be addressed and resolved with the appropriate formal training and guidance.
Records
It is not uncommon for people to leave an employer and at a later date put in a claim for constructive dismissal. With legal representation now adopting the ‘No win no fee’ model even good employers are finding this to be a real problem. Exit surveys will at best, provide a valuable record of the employee’s reasons for leaving, and at worse, provide early warning that a possible claim might be expected.
A tribunal may not readily accept the word of an employer that when the employee left they did so without indicating any grievance.
Timing of the exit survey
With the employee’s agreement Exit surveys can be delayed for a few months or be conducted as part of the termination process.
The advantage with delaying an exit survey for a few months is that after a period of reflection a former employee can be less emotional and more objective and if they have taken up another position they may be in a position to compare their previous role with their new role.
Conducting an exit survey as part of the termination procedure has the advantage that although the leaving employee may be emotional their views may be more reflective of their true state of mind and therefore closer to the real reasons they have decided to leave. If delayed any comparison between the ex-employee’s old and new roles may be the result of them putting on a brave face, and if the reasons that are given require action, the delay may have prevented the problem from being resolved.
Summary
Organization that include exit surveys as part of their employee termination procedures will generally benefit in a number of ways. They will at the very least provide good records that could prove very valuable later, at best they will provide management with information that can help improve an organization spiritually and with the bottom line.
See the following survey for sample exit interview questions.
Tags: employee, employee satisfaction surveys, employer, exit surveys, human resources, industrial relations, online surveys, personnel