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    You are here Home » hiring

    When Employees Quit, Take a Good Look in the Mirror

    Last updated on Apr 5, 2018 by Dan McCarthy · This post may contain affiliate links

    Guest post from Jeff
    Hyman
    :

    It’s
    hard to say goodbye. But understanding why people leave your company is a
    crucial part of developing a best-in-class workforce. Regardless of whether the
    individual is an underperformer or a Rockstar, departures frequently point to
    broader organizational issues that need to be addressed.

    Managers
    often react emotionally when an employee gives notice. If the person is an
    up-and-comer who has been given promotions and raises, the manager likely feels
    angry and betrayed. If the person failed to meet expectations, the manager may
    feel relieved. Either way, there are lessons to be learned. And in either case,
    the manager may worry about the optics of the departure – both internally &
    outside the organization.

    It’s
    important to recognize that attracting and retaining Rockstar performers is
    vital for organizations to grow, innovate, and outperform the competition. That’s
    not just my view. A 2016 Conference Board survey revealed that attracting and retaining
    talent is the number one concern amongst CEOs, regardless of their company size
    or industry.

    Noam
    Wasserman, professor of clinical entrepreneurship at the University of Southern
    California, estimates that
    65%
    of growth companies
    fail because of people problems. They either hire the
    wrong people, put people in the wrong roles, or fail to create an environment
    that inspires people and enables them to work together harmoniously.

    With
    unemployment at the lowest levels in years and a growing shortage of highly
    skilled workers in many job disciplines, getting the people equation right is
    particularly critical. From top to bottom, employees have more options than
    ever before. So, companies that excel at hiring & retaining top performers
    have a huge advantage.

    Hiring
    the Wrong Person

    If
    a poorly performing employee leaves, it’s an opportune moment to examine the
    decision-making process that led you to hire the person in the first place and
    to create a new process that will prevent you from repeating the same type of
    error.

    Here
    are the common mistakes that organizations make in hiring:

    -     Focusing
    too much on experiences and competencies, and overlooking the match between the
    company’s culture and the employee. For example, a person who prefers to work
    in teams may make a poor fit for a sales organization that fosters competition
    between sales people.

    -     Overemphasis
    on the interview.  Some people,
    particularly in sales, give great interview performances. They can read your
    body language and tell you exactly what you want to hear. Once in the job,
    however, these same people may talk a much better game than they actually
    deliver.

    -     Confirmation
    bias. We tend to prefer hiring people like ourselves and we often
    subconsciously make up our mind about somebody within the first few minutes of
    the interview. To counter that tendency, develop a standardized list of
    interview questions, gather information on each candidate without bias, and
    fairly weight all the candidates against objective criteria for the position.

    -     Lack
    of clarity about the needs of the position. If you don’t know what you’re
    looking for, you won’t find it. You should develop a very precise description
    of the skills, experiences, and qualities that are necessary to succeed in the
    position. I (literally) keep a Scorecard that allows me to meticulously track
    how well a candidate meets the job requirements and then use the Scorecards to
    compare candidates against each other.

    -     Overweighting
    titles and companies. It’s natural to be impressed by a senior executive from a
    Fortune 500 company, particularly if you’re running much smaller organization.
    While the person may bring a wealth of valuable experiences to your company,
    you should take care to determine exactly why the person left or wants to leave
    that Fortune 500 position, how their specific skills translate to the job
    you’re seeking to fill, and whether the person will thrive in your organizational
    culture – often one with less resources and formality.

    -     References
    are given short shrift. Many organizations do not check references until after
    they’ve decided on a candidate. In those cases, negative or lukewarm comments
    from references are often ignored. It’s best to talk to references early in the
    evaluation process and give them due consideration.

    When
    a Rockstar Leaves

    As
    an organizational leader, one of your most important jobs is to keep your
    A-players engaged. Take the time to get to know your top performers. Uncover
    the challenges and opportunities that will make them thrive and ensure they are
    rewarded fairly.

    When
    a Rockstar leaves, the loss can be demoralizing to the rest of the team. If
    people perceive that the departure was motivated by something negative within
    the organization, you need to work hard to correct the problem and to make sure
    other A players are inspired, challenged, and happy in their work.

    I
    insist upon conducting exit interviews myself with A-level employees. I want to
    find out exactly why they left and to leave the door open for them to return to
    the organization. There’s no sense in burning bridges with departing employees,
    particularly those who have contributed so much.

    It’s
    an axiom that people don’t quit their jobs; they quit their managers. For
    example, if you’ve recruited a Rockstar director of marketing and that person
    works under a B-level vice president of marketing, the new hire will likely
    become frustrated and disengaged.

    Studies
    indicate that an employee’s relationship with their manager accounts for about
    half of their job satisfaction. Lousy managers are toxic to organizations. Get
    rid of them.

    I
    know a CEO who makes it a point to meet 1:1 with every manager in the
    organization. Afterwards, he asks himself: “Would I want to work for this
    person?” If the answer is No, he finds a way to discharge the person or remove
    their managerial responsibilities.

    Besides
    suffering under a bad boss, Rockstars leave for other reasons:

    -     By
    definition, Rockstars are ambitious. If you don’t provide them with growth
    experiences, challenges, and a career path, they may be enticed by the Siren
    call of a recruiter offering a higher-level position and greater
    responsibility.

    -    
    Rockstars
    do not want to work in a dysfunctional organization that lacks effective
    leadership and is filled with “C” level players. Winners want to work with
    other winners.

    -     Poor
    Work/Life Balance. Rockstars will invest the extra hours to go above and beyond
    their duties to achieve the organization’s goals. In return, they expect some
    degree of flexibility in integrating their personal life with their work life.
    If you don’t offer that flexibility, another organization will.

    The
    Grass Isn’t Always Greener

    When
    a Rockstar decides to leave, I wish them every success and thank them for their
    contributions to the organization. I also tell them that if the opportunity
    doesn’t work out as planned, I would be happy to talk to them about coming back
    to our organization. I then reach out to them in a few weeks later to ask how
    things are going. If they say, “I’ve made a mistake,” I welcome them back with
    open arms.

    From
    an employee recruiting & retention perspective, a Rockstar who returns is a
    great event. It signals to the team (and prospective hires) that the grass isn’t
    always greener and that you have a terrific organization.

    Jeff
    Hyman
    is bestselling author of Recruit Rockstars,
    Professor at Kellogg School of Management, host of the 5-star-rated Strong Suit
    Podcast, and Chief Talent Scout at Strong Suit Executive Search.
     
    « Leading the way to Sustainable Negotiation
    Is Your Brand Hurting Your Recruiting? »
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