The document discusses seven reasons why employees leave their jobs and provides suggestions for how employers can counteract employee turnover. The seven reasons are: 1) Unmet job/workplace expectations, 2) Mismatch between the job and person's skills, 3) Lack of coaching and feedback, 4) Few opportunities for growth, 5) Feeling undervalued and unrecognized, 6) Stress from overwork and poor work-life balance, and 7) Loss of trust and confidence in leadership. To address these issues, the document recommends that employers provide realistic job previews, conduct rigorous hiring processes, offer training, recognize contributions, ensure work-life balance, and build trust with employees.

1. How To Keep Good
Staff From Leaving
The Seven Reasons Employees
Leave and How To Counteract It!

2. As a training provider and
employment specialist, our mission
at Pathway Group is to get more
people into work, successfully.
That means when they find a job, it
is the right match between individual
and business, and that person stays
with the company for a meaningful
length of time and contributes to
that business.

3. Retaining staff is vital. The costs in time
and money to an organisation when they
cannot hold onto their staff is significant.
Think for a moment about the recruiting
costs, the management time in recruiting,
the time it takes for staff to learn and be
trained in their new job. Holding on to you
staff therefore, needs to be one of the key
business focuses for any business,
whatever their size.

4. There is a seminal piece of work by Leigh Branham entitled ‘the Seven
hidden reasons employees leave’ In her book Branham begins by looking
at the basic needs of any staff member; these needs set the tone for the
seven reasons why staff leave.
They are:
• The need for trust – In the company to deliver on its promises
and to be open in their communication
• The need for hope – To believe that you can develop your
skills and advance your career with this business
• The need to feel a sense of worth –To know that if you
contribute in a meaningful way you will be rewarded
accordingly, and that your work makes a difference
• The need to feel competent –Expecting to be matched with a
job that suits your skill set and gives you a challenge

5. With these in mind, let’s look at the seven reasons
Branham gives for why staff leave, and explore what
businesses can do to prevent this from happening:

6. 1. The job or the workplace is not as expected:
So often, a new team member joins and finds
that the job and the business has been mis-sold
to them. What they thought they were coming in
to do is not the main part of their role and the
work environment is different from what was
described.
In order to address this issue, businesses need to
be open about the workplace and the job from
the outset and create realistic job descriptions. If
you have a difficult team environment that this
person will be addressing, let them know in
interview.

7. The job or the workplace is not as expected:
Continued
If the first few months of the job are going to be
getting the right systems in place, then this needs
to be part of the job description. Do this and the
right people will join you.
Getting team members involved in the interview
process can help with this, as you will get a better
view of chemistry and whether the person will fit
in with the group. Another way, is to hire from
within. This inevitably reduces the possible issues
regarding team and job expectations.

8. 2. A mismatch between the job and the person:
In Branham’s book she points to research showing that 80% of staff aren’t
using their skills on a daily basis! The research suggests that this is down to
managers not understanding the skills a person has and then matching that
with jobs within the business.
This can be improved by having a commitment to upgrading talent,
meaning businesses should be consistently looking to improve the talent of
the people they have and add talent where it is needed.

9. A mismatch between the job and the
person: Continued
When recruiting and interviewing, it’s
important to cast a wide net for your
talent, and to conduct a rigorous interview
procedure. Managers, and anyone else
involved in recruiting should be trained in
this area, but also be clear on what skills or
talent are required for the role.
Tracking the success of recruitment is also
important, not just how much it costs, but
the results of that recruitment for your
business. This way, your recruitment
continually improves.

10. 3. Too little coaching and feedback
For employees to be engaged with the company and its
success, their effort’s need to be aligned with the company’s
goals. In order to achieve this a culture of feedback and
coaching needs to be instilled in a business.
For new hires, this should be an intensive process. When an
employee joins the business, getting that person on board with
what the company is looking to achieve and working with
them to have feedback in both directions is vital. This early
stage coaching and feedback will set the staff member off in
the right direction.
Managers who are giving feedback and coaching need to be
trained. If you had a new piece of equipment worth £30,000,
would you let a member of staff work with that equipment
without giving them training..., not training your managers
correctly is the equivalent of doing exactly that.

11. 4. Too few growth opportunities
If a staff member cannot see how they can grow them selves or
further their career, then it is likely they will leave.
In order to address this, businesses need to commit to ‘growing
employees’. This can be by providing training opportunities, by being
clear on possible career progressions in the business and by keeping
staff informed of business plans.
Hiring from within also dangles a real carrot of opportunity for many
staff. If people can see that they can progress internally as others
have done, this example keep employees
engaged and asking how they can achieve this growth.
Don’t fear training staff who might then leave; instead consider the
effects on the business if you don’t train them and they stay.

12. 5. Feeling devalued and unrecognized
One of the most underused words in business is ‘Thanks’ This small
but important word is
significant. It shows staff that you have noticed their work and are
pleased by it. It shows that you recognise that what they are doing
is valuable.
In order to make staff feel valued, businesses should offer good
wages – ‘ you pay peanuts you get...’ it’s not that the people you
employ aren’t capable when you pay poorly, just that they are less
motivated to work hard for you.
It’s important to reward achievements with financial rewards,
immediately. Small bonuses say a huge amount and make staff feel
that you place a real value on the work they have done. Waiting six
months disassociates the achievement from the bonus and
devalues it – even if it is bigger.

13. Feeling devalued and unrecognised: Continued
Engaging with your staff is another important tool
for employee motivation. It’s important to ask for
employee input, and when you get that input, it’s
even more important to listen to it and act upon it.
In addition, to really engage with staff well and
make them feel valued, sharing information within
the business, generates a real cultural difference.
Last but not least, give your staff the tools they
need to do the job well. Staff members often feel
devalued when they don’t have the right tools for
the job. It is an investment in your staff and your
business.

14. 6. Stress from being overworked and having
poor work-life balance
People often look to the team members who
start early, finish late and work through lunch
as examples for others to follow. It’s not to say
they can’t be, but often this isn’t a good sign.
Very often you will observe their frustration at
this situation coming out in strange ways –
whether that’s their relationship with team
members or how their personality changes.
In order to keep your staff on a long term basis,
you need to ensure that they have a
balance. Working hard for your business is great,
but not if they don’t last.

15. Stress from being overworked and having poor
work-life balance: Continued
Provide your staff with flexibility; that could be
flexible benefits such as extra holiday days or more
flexible work practices like working from home.
In addition, small things such as a comfortable and
rewarding office environment can be a huge factor in
showing that you recognise the people in your
business work hard, but that you appreciate that.
Work towards giving your employees better life
balance and you will get hard working employees,
which stay with you.

16. 7. A loss of trust and confidence in the Leaders
If your staff don’t believe in your ability as a leader to follow up what you say
with what you do, or that you have the capability and competence to
actually deliver the results – then you will lose staff. In short – staff need to
believe in their leaders and managers.
• Employees want to know that the organisation will be successful – This
is important for their job security and their wealth. Leaders need to
create and deliver a workable plan for growing the business, only then
will staff follow.
• Do what you say you are going to do – If you back up your words with
meaningful actions, then your staff will have no reason for cynicism.
• Trust your staff by giving them real responsibility – You can significantly
increase people’s value by trusting them to deliver. Don’t give them the
authority but then undermine them, give full responsibility and you will
create an empowered and powerful workforce.

17. Pathway Group work with organisations
of all sizes to recruit and retain the best
staff for their business.
To find out more visit:
www.pathwaygroup.co.uk
Call: 0121 707 0550
E-mail: info@pathwaygroup.co.uk