Best Ways To Lose Your Best Employee

You know who your star employee is. They are the one whom you can always count on to stay late to help you meet a deadline or pick up a crucial item you need for your presentation at the last minute.

The truth is, without your best employees, you’d be screwed. So you’d better be doing everything you can to ensure they are happy and feel fulfilled working at your company — or else you might lose them.

The Cost of Your Best People

A CAP study estimates it can cost up to 20 percent of a mid-range employee’s annual salary to replace that employee.

For example, for an employee making $40,000, the cost to replace that employee would be $8,000. That’s just for a mid-range employee. For highly educated executive positions making $100,000 annually, that number jumps to 213% of the salary. That’s $213,000 lost if your best executive quits.

Even more startling, it takes at least a year or longer for a new employee to reach full productivity, according to a study by the 2012 Allied Workforce Mobility Survey.

With these numbers, it seems no company can afford to lose its best talent.

Avoid these simple mistakes so you don’t lose your best talent:

1. No Recognition

Employee recognition has been proven to improve employee morale and reduce turnover.

Yet, only 12% of organizations provide employee recognition training for managers, according to World At Work’s 2013 Trends In Recognition survey.

Organizations offer an average of 3.9 recognition programs, but the objective of these programs seems to be skewed in a direction that isn’t working. The majority of respondents in the survey (77%) said the objective of their recognition program was to recognize years of service. Further down on the priorities list lies “increase morale” and “increase retention or decrease turnover.”

Your best employees don’t want to know how much you appreciate them annually. They want to know on a daily or even weekly basis. Give them a hand-written “thank you” note or a nice eCard. Recognize them publicly in front of the whole team, too. Your employee will feel more valued for his or her contributions and continue to produce great work.

2. No Rewards

Verbal thank yous are effective, but small rewards can go a long way. You might choose to reward the whole team with a trip to a nearby theme park, or a company dinner at a nice restaurant. Whenever possible, also reward employees individually with a small treats like movie tickets, memberships that provide discounts, or a free service like dry cleaning.

3. Dishonesty

Being dishonest with your employees might be one of the fastest ways to get rid of your best employees.

Generally, your best employees are confident, skilled individuals who possess enough self-respect to place themselves in relationships with trust and respect. If those things are not present in their current workplace, they won’t stick around long. They’ll set off to find a team of people who treat them right.

4. Lack of Training

A Deloitte study found 75% of employees believe offering employee development programs incorporating training, education, and mentorship help achieve a sense of important purpose at a company.

If you aren’t providing the training new hires need to adjust and current employees need to grow, it will cause more stress on your best employees who carry the majority of the weight. Take the time to access growth opportunities among your current employees. Pair employees with mentors to help them learn new skills. Keep an eye out for free or low-cost local seminars or webinars your employees can attend to learn valuable skills they can apply to your company.

5. No Visible Career Path

If your employees can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, they might feel stuck. Research by Catalyst cites “individual’s perception of limited opportunities” as a top reason for an employee leaving a company. Usually ambitious, your best employees might have big career goals they’re hoping their star performance at your company will help them reach.

Ask employees what their goals are and think of what you might do to help them take a step forward. Maybe they want to be an entrepreneur someday and you know a thing or two about running a business. Teach them as much as you can and keep an eye out for opportunities for advancement.

6. Ignoring Feedback

When your star employees notice something’s wrong and say something, listen. Don’t just laugh it off or invalidate their concerns. There’s a reason why they are your best employees. They might have a better idea of what’s going on in your organization than you because they work more closely with the other employees.

When they present a concern, sit down and talk with them about it. Find out why they are concerned and any actions they suggest. Tell your employees you would like to work with them to find a solution, and if you cannot make a requested change, fully explain why.

7. Micromanagement

New research from the University of Pennsylvania found that highly educated employees work more when given autonomy over their schedules.

You might already notice your best employees work well under minimal supervision, so there’s no need to interfere. Of course, when you’ve got a deadline to meet or an important presentation to prepare for, you might be looking over the shoulder of employees more often than usual. Checking in occasionally is OK; it ensures everyone’s on the same page. But if you ever get the urge to crack the whip, take a step back and practice some mindfulness.

There’s no doubt you can’t afford to lose your best employees, especially when fully engaged, skilled employees are hard to come by in today’s workforce. Check with your star employees regularly to ensure they are happy and ask if they have any suggestions for improvement within their roles or the organization. They’ll be happy you’re willing to involve them in the direction of the company and feel more committed.