“WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US.”
The animal characters Walt Kelly created for his classic newspaper comic strip Pogo were known for their seemingly simplistic, but slyly perceptive comments about the state of the world and politics.
None is more remembered than Pogo the possum’s quote in the poster Kelly designed to help promote environmental awareness and publicize the first annual observance of Earth Day, held on April 22, 1970: “WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US.”
So, what does this famous quote have to do with organizations today?
“More U.S. workers are quitting their jobs than at any time since the numbers have been recorded. In 2000, the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) began recording what’s known as the quits rate and the number of employee quits has increased now for nine consecutive years.” (1) Why?
Google the words, “Why Employees Quit” and you’ll get about 70,000,000 results. I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to read that many reports, studies, or surveys. But, of the dozen or so articles I did read, there is a major underlying theme as to the why employees quit or are thinking of quitting – it’s management. “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
I really want to be really clear about one thing – there are a number of reasons why employees quit for which management isn’t responsible; e.g., in small organizations there are limited opportunities for advancement, some positions don’t lend themselves to flex time which is very important to some employees, an employee’s desire to pursue a completely different career path, an employee moves with a spouse who has taken a job out of state, etc.
But, the vast majority of reasons employees give for quitting their job can be laid at the feet of management. Depending on the study, 60% (2) to 75% (3) of employees who quit or are considering quitting did so because of their boss; i.e., what their boss (or their organization’s management) did or didn’t do.
Why do They Quit?
Here is a sampling of what I found:
• 79% of employees who quit their jobs claim that a lack of appreciation was a major reason for leaving. Source: OC Tanner (4)
• 76% of employees who don’t feel valued at work are seeking other job opportunities. Source: Lifeworks (5)
• 43% of 2000 employees surveyed said they are looking for a new job and corporate culture was the main reason. Source: hayes.com (5)
• 65% of employees claimed they weren’t even recognized one time last year. Source: OC Tanner (4)
• 12% of employees actually leave their job because they want more money. Source: CareerBuilder.com. This is most interesting since “89% of bosses wrongly believe their employee quit because they want more money.” Source; Leigh Branham, author of The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave. (5)
• 92% of employees said they would be more likely to stay with their job if their bosses would show more empathy. Source: Businesssolver (5)
• 82% of employees feel their supervisor doesn’t recognize them for what they do. Source: oGoLead (5)
What’s even scarier is the other insidious problem many of these articles highlighted – the lack of engagement. According to Gallup, which has been reporting on employee engagement since 2000, only 33 % of workers are currently engaged in their jobs and this is incredibly costly to employers. In summary, lack of appreciation, not feeling valued, culture, recognition, lack of empathy (and the list goes on and on) are all things over which management has control.
All of which begs the Question, “What must Organizations do?”
This isn’t rocket science, basic foundational things must be in place; if they aren’t, then it’s time for management to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
Company Culture is Key
“A new survey by Glassdoor shows that more than three-quarters (77%) of adults would consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there and well over half (56%) say company culture is more important than salary when it comes to job satisfaction.” (6)
Employees really do want to love their job and their company. In order to retain more and better employees, companies need to take their culture seriously. An organization’s work environment, its personnel policies, and the relationship an individual has with their boss and their fellow employees are issues seriously taken into consideration when that person is thinking about quitting a job.
Improve the Quality of your Managers
Quite simply, organizations need to do a better job when they promote or hire managers. The role of a manager is to be accountable to their senior executives for performance and to their front-line employees for providing guidance, motivation, and support. “CEO Jim Clifton named the real reason why people quit. He said this in the State of the American Workplace report:
The single biggest decision you make in your job–bigger than all the rest–is who you name manager. When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision. Not compensation, not benefits–nothing.” (2)
In far too many cases organizations find it easier to promote someone currently performing well within a department where there is a managerial vacancy and they end up losing on both counts – they’ve lost a good employee and ended up with a poor boss. When hiring managers, organizations often fall in love with the person who interviews well and/or has the most polished resume and then about 90 days later the “evil twin” shows up because the person got tired of faking it.
Once placed in the role, organizations must make sure their new (and current) managers have the training and soft skill sets required to be effective. If managers are trained to “give their people the recognition they’ve earned, show genuine appreciation, and acknowledge the unique things people have to offer and do, then they will drive significantly better results.” (4) Employees want to know that what they do is valued and matters and, when that happens, employee engagement improves significantly. If you’re serious about engagement, you’ve got to start taking these kinds of “soft skills” in your managers very, very seriously.
Build Strong Cohesive Teams
Recent research by Deloitte Consulting shows that organizations are moving from rigid hierarchies of individuals to ones based on teams. Whether it’s a departmental team, a cross-functional team, or a project team, it’s critical the individuals involved become better teammates. Obviously getting the right people on the team is essential as well as making sure the team has a clear definition of purpose, clarity on the roles of those involved, and the necessary support. But beyond that, it’s also critical that management helps the individuals become better teammates by using the team-developed process described in Patrick Lencioni’s best-selling book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
How We Can Help:
We offer a full suite of assessments (including emotional intelligence), surveys, and training programs (including The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team® Model) designed to help your organization do a better job of selecting, developing, and retaining top performing people.
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References:
1. Why Are Workers Quitting Their Jobs in Record Numbers? SHRM, December 2018
5. Why Employees Quit: 20 Stats Employers Need to Know – By Marvin Russell in Medium – August 8, 2018
6. “Culture beats salary” – By Heather Nezich in SBAM, July 18, 2019