“I’m done. I’m putting in my two weeks”! “There are better opportunities elsewhere”. “I just don’t see myself working here anymore”. Whatever way you look at it, these all spell out the four letter word no manager ever wants to hear-I quit. We’ve all heard these phrases before and nowadays all too often.
Recently, an article featured in The Wall Street Journal shed light on the newfound quitting revolution upon us. According to statistics in the article, in April alone 3.4 million people quit their job. What may be even more alarming is that more people are quitting their jobs than during the internet boom that was over 17 years ago.
While quitting may become the trend in employment in the months to come, there are reasons why your employees may be fleeing. Poor work-life balance, lack of a robust benefits package, feeling undervalued, or simply money, are all reasons employees are heading out the door. However, there may be a way to prevent them from quitting altogether. By understanding your employees and their thought-process you may just be able to stop them before they throw in the towel. So, let us explore the why and what you can do to prevent your employees from saying that dreaded four letter word.
You Are Not Paying Attention to the “Life” In Work-Life Balance
Balance is key in anything we do, but this more true than ever when it comes to an organization and an employees’ abilities to have a life outside the office. Remember, what use to be considered balance in the past does not have the same meaning today. With a new generation entering the workforce they’re shaking things up by setting a new standard when it comes to balancing both a professional and personal life. So, you may be wondering what does this new standard look like?
Although the work itself seems to always be at the center of this equation there are other factors such as flexibility, the ability to work remotely, and time off which play into an employees job satisfaction formula. While these seem like such simple things, these are often the deal breakers for most employees nowadays as suggested by a recent survey conducted by the Harvard Business Review. Within the survey comprised of 1,583 white-collar professionals, 96% of employees said they needed flexibility, and only 47% reported having access to the type of flexibility they need. Obviously, this gap points towards an imbalance, perhaps one that is all too important to employees to pass up.
Furthermore, it’s important to showcase one of the most sought-after options: the ability to adapt their location as needed, the ability to adapt their hours as needed, followed by the option to work remotely on a regular basis. Now, before you crazy thinking this is just another entitlement that employees are asking for, it may be wise to look at the power of the numbers within this survey. Within the survey, the inability for companies to be flexible had a direct correlation to long-term employee retention. Half of the employees who lacked the ability to have a flexible schedule said they would leave their company if there was a more flexible alternative on the table.
Additionally, without flexibility, you may end up hindering your companies’ productivity as well. Within the survey, 34% of employees reported that the structure of their workday made it challenging to perform in a sustainable way over time. While flexibility may be a deal breaker for certain employers, the harsh reality is you may need to adjust your policies to create balance. Without it, you may be costing your company not only valuable employees but efficiency and productivity that will hinder your bottom line.
You Lack the Right benefits
While you may think that your matching 401(k) benefits package, and extensive dental and health insurance plan should make everyone happy, the truth is that’s not enough to stand out in the job market anymore. According to a recent 2018 study by Yon; an international talent and outsourcing company, 50% of current employees would leave their job for better benefits. So, this may suggest you may need to take a step back and take a long hard look at your standard benefits package.
But, before you go on a spending spree springing for employee lunches and a top of the line foosball table in the breakroom stop right there. While it’s nice to have a foosball table and save your employees the hassle of bringing a lunch these are not likely to keep someone from quitting. When it comes to the benefits employees really want (aside from flexibility, 401 (K) and insurance) what most employees want are creative ways to improve the quality of their work and personal life. This could include additional paid vacation days, parental assistance programs, and tuition reimbursement opportunities.
While the additional vacation may sound like a get-out-of-jail-free card from performing actual work, there is much more to it than that. Additional vacation days will allow employees to recharge their batteries and as a result, it may improve their overall work performance. While only one to two percent of companies offer open paid time off, many companies such as Netflix, General Electric, and Hubspot have added open (PTO) to their benefits packages in order to increase both employee engagement and productivity.
For example, Indeed recently implemented open PTO and achieved record company growth in 2017 as well as low attrition and high engagement among employees. So, offering additional vacation days or open PTO could be not only better for your employees but your company as well.
Family Benefits Are Top Of The List
When it comes to offering any type of parental assistance there are many this that could come into play. This includes on-site childcare, paid parental leave, and adoption and/or surrogacy assistance. Nowadays many large companies such as American Express and Goldman and Sachs are starting to offer not just one of the options above, but all three.
While this may seem like a big expense to some employers, these benefits are valuable tools that may be used to retain employees and attract younger millennial talent. This is suggested by a 2017 survey by Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory broking and solutions company found that of the 202 employers who had recently implemented new employee benefits through March 2017 75% of employees would stay with their current employer because of their benefits plan.
Student Loans Taking A Bite Out Of Their Paycheck
With the average millennial graduating with $34,000 of student loan debt when entering the workforce, millennials will be looking for employers who can help them pay it off. A survey by SoFi, an online financial firm, confirms this assumption. The survey found that up to 95% of professionals under 30 years old with student loan debt, would be more willing to accept a job if it offered student loan repayment.
Furthermore, with tuition repayment as a benefit, you’ll be able to attract younger professionals. In certain industries where younger talent is scarce, this could prove to be a game changer.
The Employee Value Formula
Employees are people first. Far too often companies tend to forget the human factors and they often end up disengaging their employees faster than they are aware. Remember, if an employee doesn’t feel valued they may start to feel underappreciated and eventually quit.
While it may seem like your employees have smiles all around, you need to be aware that this is probably not the case and you must show them you care or they will leave. This is corroborated by data from a recent study by Office Team, a staffing service firm found that 66% of employees who felt unappreciated would leave their job. When it comes to showing employees they are appreciated there are a few simple things that can be done.
While value may seem like an ambiguous term most tend to overuse, it is the easiest and quite possibly the cheapest thing a company can do. So, what does value mean and what does it look like? Employees to need to feel two things. First that their work is important and they are making a positive contribution to the goal. Secondly, they need to feel that their work is appreciated. When trying to show your employees that you value them, it could be as simple as giving them a compliment, choosing them to lead an important meeting or taking the lead on a new team project. Recognizing their work in front of their peers goes a long way in making someone feel that they are an important part of something bigger.
Making employees feel appreciated may just help you retain more talent as confirmed by a recent Qualtrics survey. Within the survey, they found that employees who were regularly acknowledged by their manager for good work were 5 times more likely to stay at their company.
Put Your Faith In Us
Although trust may seem like a clear concept, it’s not as cut and dry as you may think. When it comes to employees trusting their managers, companies have some real work to do to make this a reality. According to The Harvard Business Review, a whopping 58% of employees trust strangers more than their own boss. This may point towards a poor employee relationship with those in upper-level leadership positions. To fix this problem, we must build a relationship and establish trust.
Again, this is not anything hard. It could be as simple as a manager following through on their promises to employees, making them feel secure within their job, and most importantly communicating with 100% transparency. So, it may be in a company’s best interest to meet with their senior staff and discuss the above factor’s so they can understand how important trust is and what can be done in order to establish it.
Personal growth is something everyone is interested in and your employees are no exception. When it comes to the organization, your employees want to see where they fit in and where they can grow with the company. When it comes to promotions and opportunities to excel and really take their career to the next step, its vital to tell them but most importantly show them exactly how this happens. According to ReportLinker, a technology report analyst company 83% of employees presented with opportunities to take on a new challenge say they’re more likely to stay within the organization. After all, actions speak louder than words.
Furthermore, when it comes to the meat of growing in the company you must take the time and understand their goals and where they align with the company’s. By taking the time to learn more about your employees and their desire for growth you will show them you are genuinely interested in where they are going within the company. As a result, you may just find an increase in employee loyalty as your employees know you truly understand them.
Money Matters
Alright, this topic is rather debatable as it has changed its meaning for some generations, but no matter what, money still matters. Although millennials and other generations may seem to prefer benefits overpay, money is still a deciding factor in choosing jobs, especially when it comes to employee retention. While benefits may be enough to keep some employees, it is by no means going to keep all.
According to Oxford Economics, 89% of American employees report competitive compensation as the most important benefit. So, remember benefits packages are one part of the equation and competitive compensation is the other. After all, if your employees see you offering them more money in addition to a robust benefits package it may make it harder for the competition with similar benefits to come out on top as the obvious winner. So, while there is no magic number, remember money still matters.
In Conclusion…
Although employees may be fleeing organizations there is much that can be done to offset this trend. Incorporating flexibility, reinventing your companies benefits package, creating trust, and paying them with adequate compensation may just do it. While it may seem like a lot to take on at once it’s important to focus on understanding where your company stands when it comes to these factors and see where improvements can be made. As a result, you may just find yourself without any employees who are ready to say that dreaded four-letter word.