Why do Employees Leave?

“Employees don’t leave their organizations; they leave their supervisors.”

When I first was introduced to the above statement, I disagreed with it.  But after reading the book First, Break All the Rules (What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently) by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, my thinking has changed.

Think about the great managers you have known over your career.  In many ways they are different (age, race, gender, management style, etc.).  But according to the authors, great managers “Break All the Rules.”  For example, great managers:

·         Do not believe a person can achieve anything he sets his mind to

·         Do not try to help a person overcome his weaknesses

·         Disregard the Golden Rule

·         Play favorites

At first glance (even second glance), these statements seem to be troublesome.  But let’s drill down a little to see exactly what the authors have in mind.

This book is based on data gathered by the Gallup Organization.  Gallup surveyed over a million employees between 1974 and 1999 from a broad range of companies, industries and countries.  Bottom line from the data: talented employees need great managers.  How long a talented employee stays and how productive she is while she is there is determined by her relationship with her immediate supervisor.  (Here is a good time to pause and reflect on the quality of each supervisor in your organization.)

In addition to the above data gathering, Gallup also conducted 1 ½ hour interviews with over 80,000 managers.  And what were some of the characteristics of a great manager?

·         Desire to help all employees become more of whom they already are

·         Willingness to treat each person differently

·         Desire to become close friends with employees

·         Acceptance that he cannot change people; all he can do is facilitate

·         His trusting nature

Would you agree that the only way to generate enduring profits is to build the kind of work environment that attracts, focuses, and keeps talented employees?  If so, then we need to understand what talented employees always need and what great managers always do to turn talent into performance.

Analysis of the mountain of data gathered by Gallup revealed that the strength of a workplace can be determined by using 12 questions.  Here they are:

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
12. This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

If you can create a work environment where employees answer positively (e.g., Strongly Agree or a 5 on a 1-5 Likert scale) to all twelve questions, then you will have built a great place to work. 

You may wonder why none of the above 12 questions involve things like pay, benefits, senior management, etc.  These are important issues.  However, they are equally important to every employee—the good, the bad, and the mediocre.  Certainly if you are paying below the market average for any position, you will have difficulty attracting people.  But bringing pay and benefits up to par only gets you into the game.  They will not help you win.   

Before we get too much further into the book, I thought it might be helpful to look at a few of the above 12 questions through the lens of Scripture. 

Do I know what is expected of me at work? 

As a Christian in the marketplace, do I know what the LORD expects from me at work?  Being honest and truthful come to mind right away.  But what else might the LORD require of us?  

 “But we exhort you, brethren, to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you; so that you may command the respect of outsiders, and be dependent on nobody” (1 Thess. 4:10-12). 

Here I think the Scripture points to the Christian’s charge to be excellent in the marketplace (“… that you may command the respect of outsiders…”).  I contend that we, as Christians in the marketplace, need to “earn the right to be heard.”  Excellent performance plus a winsome attitude create a powerful combination and provide a platform for our ministry at work.  Think about it this way: those who perform well at work and are a pleasure to work with “earn the right to be heard” when a coworker is suffering or confused after being dealt a blow by LIFE.   

I am expected to develop excellence at work so that  “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1Cr 10:31)  That is what is expected of me at work. 

In closing, do I truly understand what God expects from me at work? 

Do my employees truly understand what I expect from them at work? 

Keith 

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