It hurts when a high-performing employee leaves your business. The rest of your people will struggle due to an increased workload, team morale will suffer, and overall productivity will drop.

Worst of all, you’ll have to invest much time and effort to replace them.

Why does it happen?

It’s commonly assumed that the millennial crowd and younger quit or change jobs more often than past generations. They’re said to always be on the lookout for the next career opportunity so they have a hard time committing to one company.

Statistically speaking, this conjecture is incorrect. Average employee tenure in 1981 was 3.2 years but the number is now at 4.1 years as of January 2020. This means that workers today are staying longer with their employers than they did around 40 years ago.

Generational quirks are not to blame for frequent turnover. If you look closely, you’ll find that multiple factors weigh on the minds of your staff and push them to resign over time.

Really, why does it happen?

Lack of communication

A discerning manager is capable of reading their employees to get an early warning when something is off. Unhappy workers will raise issues to your attention.

But if they feel that you aren’t interested, they’ll keep their problems to themselves and escape on their own.

Feeling overworked

When a team member is performing well, it’s tempting to give them all the extra work. What happens is that they become burdened with an unreasonable volume of tasks to finish.

This leads to uncontrollable stress levels as well as frustration towards their less competent colleagues.

Lack of recognition

A person can feel unappreciated for various reasons. It might be that they aren’t receiving positive feedback despite a job well done or that their valid complaints are being shrugged off.

Failing to recognise behaviour that you want repeated results in unhappy workers.

Feeling underutilised

People spend roughly third of their lives doing work-related activities so at the very least, they want to enjoy what they do.

But when they’re bored or unchallenged in their roles, they’ll search for things that allow them to exercise their brain cells elsewhere.

Lack of respect

Respect could mean how they’re treated by their coworkers or superiors, or the types of projects and tasks that they’re assigned to. Chauvinism and bigotry must never be tolerated in the workplace.

See to establishing rules to prevent or resolve these issues.

Feeling stunted

Your staff want continuous opportunity to learn new things, grow their skills, and earn higher pay. Too often, their passion is stifled when told to cast their ideas aside and focus on their assignments.

This is detrimental to their engagement and interest.

Lack of autonomy

It’s easy to tell when a manager doesn’t trust their team—they begin to micromanage them.

If you’ve noticed that you’re constantly questioning the decisions of your people and requiring them to seek your approval, you clearly aren’t trusting your employees to do what you hired them to.

Feeling impeded

Not all top performers mesh well with others. It’s often the case that they’re most efficient when alone and free of distractions.

Putting them together with a bunch of less proficient colleagues may hinder their productivity and creativity.

Lack of culture

Some believe that it’s not necessary to build a company culture when some members of the team are home-based.

On the contrary, a good company culture keeps employees engaged with their job. This engagement makes your people committed to the business.

Monotony

For remote workers, it’s easy to get into a tedious routine of work-eat-sleep-repeat. There’s no regular commute with changing faces or water cooler conversations with fresh news.

At some point, they begin thinking that they’re just disposable cogs in a wheel.

What should you do?

Now that you have an idea what could cause your best talents to walk out the door, you must implement countermeasures to keep them on board. You can start with these:

• Praise them more. Set up an employee of the month program wherein a selected individual will receive recognition for their achievements. If you can afford it, pay for a dinner out along with a certificate.
  
  
• Ask for input. Your team can be a gold mine of great ideas for growing your business and keeping both customers and employees happy. They’re able to see things from a different perspective, so it pays to seek their opinion and ideas.
  
  
• Give continual feedback. Keep the lines of communication open by providing periodic feedback. Your staff need to feel that you hear them, especially as their tasks grow more complex. Schedule regular one-on-one meetings if you have to.
  
  
• Follow through commitments. Never make promises that you cannot keep. If you’ve mentioned that you’re going to do something for them, do everything in your power to fulfil it. Note down all that you’ve said so it’s easier for you to keep track.
  
  
• Keep them informed. Internal communication is crucial to successful teamwork. Share your plans and thoughts with your employees to encourage an open atmosphere. Let them know of any changes made to administration and so on.
  
  
• Provide necessary tools. Think about the software they need to work as efficiently as possible and prepare them. If necessary, create accounts for the programs and apps for them so their hours aren’t consumed with filling up forms.
  
  
• Develop your culture. Company culture is important in all organisations, remote or otherwise. It especially helps virtual professionals bond with each other despite not seeing each other physically. Plus, it aids in getting everyone to adhere to your mission and vision.
  
  
• Loosen workplace policies. Look at your handbook and see which rules you can ease up on. Maybe a department can be allowed flexible working hours since they don’t have to interact with clients directly. Perhaps you can do away with time tracking and be output-based instead.
  
  
• Prepare your leaders. Provide the necessary guidance and training to turn your talented specialists into great managers. Never leave them to fend for themselves after promoting them. Rather, continue to give them your support and teachings.
  
  
• Let them grow. As brilliant they may already be, there are surely things they are interested in learning or skills they are thinking of honing. Aid them in their quest for growth by arranging for training sessions and giving access to resources.

How to find good employees

Raise your chances of retaining your best workers by keeping in mind the common reasons why people leave their jobs and implementing the tips we’ve outlined above. It’ll help you reduce recruitment costs and maintain overall productivity levels.

But maybe you’re looking for top talents to hire? Whether you’re replacing someone who left or filling in a new role, Remote Workmate can assist you with your needs.

Unlike freelancing marketplaces where you do everything yourself, we handle all the heavy lifting for you, including payroll and onboarding. This means finding great talent becomes so much easier.