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I personally think it’s worse to have the ideal team in place and then have someone leave that team. It’s essential to have a contingency plan in place, just in case. Adding staff is a good problem to have, especially with the current job market. It’s no longer a “buyer’s market” out there when it comes to acquiring talent.
Companies should be concentrating on the value that their employees are bringing to the table, rather than viewing them as an expense. All too often, businesses consider their people to be commodities rather than valued assets.
And, although many people leave their jobs because of a perceived – or actual – lack of adequate compensation, most people are leaving leaders, not jobs. In other words, the number one reason employees leave jobs is a lack of leadership and/or lack of trust in leadership.
So, what actions can leaders take to avoid turnover? In my opinion, an important first step is to look in the mirror and identify what you need to do to become effective as a leader. Ask yourself how are you going to do it and why is it important?
The second step is to start engaging with your employees through communication. Because, at the end of the day, your company’s greatest asset is its people. How they measure up – which by far has the greatest effect on your organization – is in direct correlation with how effective you are as a leader.
And finally, rather than focusing on why people are leaving your organization, then worrying about replacing them, there is a better way to approach the situation. Instead, do a “diagnosis” and subsequently develop interventions to resolve leadership issues once and for all. You’ll want to do this, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes you feel or how hurtful it may be to your personal ego. It’s so important to make changes and put them in place if you want to make a real difference in your employee retention rates. Otherwise, you’re just going to repeat the process all over again.