You are likely wondering where my high performers went as you walk around your somewhat empty office. You check office after office, cubicle after cubicle and they are as barren as the tundra in the far north. It seems like a revolving door here sometimes or at least that is what you think. You woke up this morning asking yourself how many of us will there be today to keep the lights on and the pulse of the organization beating. You don’t understand why this is as you pay well – your pay scale is in alignment with the competition and yet your top performers will go and work for your competition in a heartbeat. You hear stories that the competition down the street boast of a workplace that is fun and you wonder if they are having that much fun they can’t be very productive. Some of your high performers who are now ex-employees have since been promoted a couple of times in the organization that they are now working for. You did pay them well.

I met with a young professional the other day and we were discussing a recent employment opportunity that she had experienced. The work was good, the money was good but she would not go back there again to work. She stated that the culture was not what she wanted to be subjected to for a long period of time. In fact it was like a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders on her last day. I can recall being in a few organizations where you felt like doing cart wheels down the street on your last day in the office. Here is the interesting part of all of this is that it was not about the money!

We seem to be channeling our energies in the wrong direction. Gallup research has shown that the top five predictors of turnover are: 1) The immediate manager, 2) Poor fit to the job, 3) Coworkers not committed to quality, 4) Pay and benefits, and 5) Connection to the organization or to senior management.

In “Leading at a Higher Level”, Ken Blanchard has indicated that the primary reason for disconnection in an employee is behavior of the leader and/or the organization. All of this chatter about the disengaged employee in the work place is actually something that is preventable. Go figure!

Let’s look at the top five and see what we can do to alleviate some of these challenges. The immediate manager is seen as one of the main reasons that people will look for employment elsewhere. I can recall years gone by that we would just live with it but life is truly too short to have to go through that. As a result we have no fear of job hunting and moving on to what is hopefully greener pastures and a better manager. We do nothing though to address the behaviors of these bad managers. If we don’t have a leadership development program then we certainly need to get one in place. We also need to look at mentoring and coaching as a means to change the behaviors and lessen our turnover rates. Sometimes there is a good leader just begging for some guidance and through an effective mentoring relationship we can help that good leader emerge. Providing challenging opportunities – creating engaged, empowered and accountable employees through a positive and engaging culture will help us address the “poor fit to the job”. I can tell you honestly if an employee feels as though the culture is not working for them they will move on. We need to be more engaged with our employees to understand what they are seeing and feeling in the organization. This will certainly help in minimizing the turn over.

The coworkers not committed to quality are a bigger challenge than what we imagine. This certainly speaks to the disengaged and actively disengaged employee in the work place. This has been attributed to a leadership and/or organizational void that need to be addressed quickly. This does have an impact on productivity and the challenge is not getting any smaller in fact continues to grow. Creating a culture where mentoring and coaching flourish will assist in creating engaged, empowered and accountable employees. Imagine an organization that is charged with energy, every day is a learning and development opportunity and as we learn so do our coworkers.

We have talked before about the role of a great leader. That role is to be connected to the most valued asset your organization can have – its people. One of the reasons that employees will leave an organization is as a result of disconnect from where the organization is going and just as importantly – from its leadership. Looking at your leadership development program and enhancing it with effective mentoring and coaching can instill the right behaviors in your leaders and perhaps help them become good leaders.

Organizational turnover is something that we can prevent. We do need to get our heads out of the sand though and realize that employees are leaving for more reasons than money. Look at your culture in the mirror tomorrow morning and ask yourself all of the questions that we discussed in this article. If you do not have effective mentoring incorporated into your organization then I strongly suggest that it is time to do so. Work into that powerful equation coaching programs then you are on the road to reducing turn over in your organization. Embrace the “power of mentoring” – after all, “can you afford not to?”

References:

1. http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/106912/turning-around-your-turnover-problem.aspx#2

2. Leading at a Higher Level, Ken Blanchard – The Ken Blanchard Companies