Bye-bye, Boss: Why good employees leave and what to do about it.

• Date: 01 February 2023
• Author: Zabriskie, Kate

Thoughts like these happen many times every day in organizations large and small. While a certain amount of turnover is healthy and normal, when an employer hemorrhages staff, it can take years to recover. And let's face it, retention is tough in many places. While you can't make people stay, you can take some critical actions to address the main reasons people say sayonara, so long, and see you later.

GOODBYE REASON ONE

Employees want a better relationship with their managers

If you haven't done a good job cultivating a good relationship with your direct reports, today is the day to start. Evaluate your behavior. Would you want to work for you? Would anyone else? Look for patterns. If people don't stick around and they don't cite another plausible reason for their decision, guess what? It's probably you. You never hear from any of them after they depart? It's definitely you. Get honest with yourself. Are you a yeller? Inconsistent? Punishing? Self-centered? Uncommunicative? It's time to get to work. Identify the behaviors that would cause someone to leave and stop doing them. Next, identify the behaviors that will...