You’re Fired!

When employees leave, they’re essentially firing their workplace. On occasion it’s for a better job offer (that came looking for the employee) or because of extraordinary circumstances (family illness, family move etc.) More often than not, though, it’s because an employee is not engaged and has chosen the uncertainty of not having a job over the certainty of a job he doesn’t like (which usually translates to organization or boss he doesn’t like.) And if an employee is looking for another job, and your organization is stuck in a position of making a counter-offer, your organization has already lost the battle. Happy employees don’t look for other jobs.

After 20 years in the employee engagement business, CustomInsight has a pretty solid understanding as to why you’re getting fired. Time and again, the same themes pop up with employees as to why they are jumping ship. Is your organization, or are your managers, committing any of these 3 blunders?

1. Lack of Respect: Respect must be a deep-seeded core value in every organization. Leaders have to embrace, demonstrate, and communicate respect from day one. This includes respect for time -- understanding work/life balance (employees do have lives outside the office!), being strategic about when to plan staff meetings (please, not at 5:30 pm on a Friday afternoon or 8:00 am on a Monday morning), and setting reasonable deadlines. Respect others’ work. A Harvard Business Review study discusses the necessity of giving candid feedback. Moreover, lack of respect entails everything from bullying, fraternization, and egotistical managers, all of which create an insecure work environment.

2. Lack of Purpose : Every employee needs to be clear about the bigger picture and how her job, the tasks she does every day, makes a difference. This spills over into how critical strategic alignment is for an organization – employees understanding what the organization wants to accomplish and how their work contributes to that. Moreover, younger generations want to be change-makers and feel like their work has put an indelible print on an organization. This leads to a more horizontal workplace and grassroots organizational changes. Build a purpose-driven community.

3. Lack of Trust: An organization, or boss, that doesn’t inspire trust and confidence will experience a high turnover rate. Being inconsistent, seeking personal gain, not being transparent, unfulfilled promises, lying, and being closed-minded are all behaviors that will create an environment of mistrust. Strong communication, integrity, and putting team and organization goals over personal ones are ways to build trust and confidence in an organization.

Most of these organizational blunders overlap. Trust, respect, and purpose all depend on strategic alliance, organizational culture and communication. Finding great managers might feel like a magic trick, pulling rabbits out of a pool of candidates. Once an organization, though, makes an objective analyses of its culture and needs, creating a culture of engagement can be attained. Change won’t happen overnight. But change won’t happen at all if these issues aren’t addressed.