The Number 1 Reason Companies Fail to Retain Employees

Posted on

November 23rd, 2021

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The pandemic forced many employees to reconsider their work situation. More time at home allowed people to view their career through a different lens, and many workers decided they’ve had enough of the stress of their job. However, a high rate of burnout isn’t the primary cause of the sudden deluge of employee turnover. Companies that are struggling to retain their workforce need to focus their efforts on the right place to reduce the number of resignations.

Don’t Bandage the Burnout

No company can afford to lose employees at a cyclic rate. However, the knee-jerk response to fix the perceived problem is often unhelpful. Offering better benefits or upgrading workspaces won’t sway the staggering 41% of workers considering leaving their job if their employers don’t address the root cause of their frustrations.

More often than not, a bad manager is the source of the problem. A recent study found that nearly two-thirds of employees considering a career change noted bad relations with their managers. Bad has multiple meanings for employees. They may feel that their managers don’t appreciate or value their work, that their primary boss is narcissistic, or that otherwise pleasant managers lack enough training to perform their job well.

How to Avoid Mass Resignations

The current job market is at direct odds with conventional beliefs about the employee-employer relationship. In the past, economic instability meant employers had most of the bargaining chips. Employees were often thankful to have a job at all and accepted situations they ordinarily wouldn’t to remain gainfully employed. In the pandemic era, employees are putting themselves first and refuse to remain in intolerable working conditions.

Avoiding resignations requires businesses to identify pain points, such as detrimental managers, and implement benefits that show the company cares about its employees. However, detecting toxic managers poses a significant challenge. Many employees would rather leave than face potential backlash for speaking out against their supervisors.

A simple way to find potential problems among the staff is to track attendance. Unhappy employees are more likely to arrive late, leave early, or miss work altogether. Businesses can use this information to identify troubling trends, such as an uptick in absences within a specific department. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about improving employee retention with absence reporting software.