Ready to Quit

Your suspicions are telling you that one of your key employees is about ready to quit. What should you do?

This is a great hypothetical question. If it were real and it has finally reached you that one of your employees is going to quit, it is most likely too late to do anything. Being a hypothetical question, you can now proactively consider making some changes that might reduce the chances of losing one of your key people.

We all know that employees quit for many reasons. Mostly, employees quit to follow their spouses to other locations, decide to stay at home with children, make a career change, find upwardly mobile career promotions, or go back to school. These are all hard career choices to compete with as an employer.

However, there are many other reasons employees quit that the employer can compete. Practically any element of your workplace—your current office culture, your work environment, the employee’s perception of his or her job, the presentation of growth opportunities—all will affect the employee’s decision to stay or move on.

While employees may have many things on their mind, the easiest way to keep in touch with employees is to talk to them. Ask them if leaving your employment is on their mind. Let them know they are valued, and ask what you can do to make them continue to think of your company as their work home.

Here are a few specific ideas on keeping employees.

1. Employees, especially key employees who are on a steep career trajectory, need to know they have a strong relationship with their boss. This requires one-on-one meetings and confidence sharing.
2. Employees need to be challenged. They need to be able to use their skills productively and be able to grow and perfect those sills.
3. Your organization needs to allow for autonomy and independence for the employees who have demonstrated the ability to work unsupervised. Employees need to be able to make decisions and make mistakes without repercussions.
4. Organizations who keep all their financial information a secret will generate concern and worry among their employees. Everyone wants to know where your company is financially and where it is headed.
5. Company culture is the test for most rising-star employees. They want a positive culture that recognizes their contribution and shows respect and care for everyone. If you do not provide this culture, they will find someone else who does.

Matthew 6:24 says.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Pay is not the sole interest of today’s employees. Certainly, they want to be well paid, but they also want nice perks. They also want their employer to be charitable to their community because they want to be known as part of a caring organization. And, of course, they want leadership mentoring, growth opportunities, and the ability to develop long-lasting friendships.

It is possible to keep employees from quitting your employment proactively, but it requires attention to detail and an ability to listen and hear the interests and concerns of all employees.