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Do you know why good employees leave or do you make assumptions about why they leave? 

HR Professional magazine (Aug. Sep. 2009) reports that a survey conducted by David Aplin Recruiting found that people left their jobs because of:

1. Lack of trust in senior leaders
2. Insufficient pay
3. Unhealthy / undesirable culture
4. Lack of honesty / integrity / ethics
5. Lack of opportunity for training and development.

When managers and HR professionals were asked why they thought people left they responded:

1. Insufficient pay
2. Unexpected job / career opportunity
3. Decision to change careers
4. Lack of work / life balance
5. Lack of opportunity for training and development

It is interesting to note managers assumed the main reason people left was because of money.  If this was the case, management or HR would focus on compensation issues (insufficient pay), followed by designing succession plans (to offer more career opportunities), instead of the root cause which is “lack of trust in senior leaders.”   They should concentrate on training leaders how to build trust through effective communication and relationship building. 

How do organizations obtain this information?   By conducting exit interviews with a good set of questions.  Research shows that departing employees are more comfortable giving detailed feedback to a third party provider who is experienced at conducting exit interviews and who can ensure confidentiality.  Whether you do it yourself, or partner with a third party provider, exit interviews can provide a wealth of information which, when acted upon, can help reduce turnover and costs.   Each organization and each industry have their own unique set of retention issues and your exit interview results might not be the same as the results listed above but you might find similarities.   Click here to contact us to obtain more information about exit interviews and discover the real reason good people leave your company.     

Next time, I’ll share a values based retention strategy that appeals to workers of today.

Til then,  Joanne

Joanne Royce is the Founder of Royce & Associates, a Human Resources and Training Solutions consulting company.   She is committed to Creating Happy, Healthy and Productive Workplaces.  She conducts exit interviews for organizations who want to want to find out the real reason employees leave.

While I have learned much from great managers and mentors, the first bit of career advice I actually discovered on my own.  When I was a teenager, I worked as a grocery store cashier in in the small village where I grew up.  One customer came in regularly.   This dreary woman never smiled and I (and my fellow teenaged cashiers) thought she was a “grumpy old woman.” 

I don’t know why, but one day I decided to do something different when she came through my line.   I smiled brightly at her and said that I admired the tulips in her front garden.   She was surprized and hesitantly said that she liked them too.   No smile from her, but at least a response.   The next time she came in I smiled and asked about her garden again.   This time she smiled back and told me about some other flowers in her garden that were yet to bloom.  As time went by, this “grumpy old woman” waited patiently in my line even when other cashiers were free.  I learned that her husband had died recently (no wonder she was “grumpy”) and they had planted the tulips many years ago.   

I noticed her transformation to a bright and smiling person asking me about my life, and my school, and I looked forward to seeing her.  I discovered that “I have the POWER to change another person, by changing my own attitude!”

This lesson has been useful throughout my career (and life) and it is amazing to see how the world and people in it blossom because of it! 

So tell me –  What is your power of attitude story?   Please share it.

Brighten the day with your smile,   Joanne

There are many headlines in the news about layoffs and job cuts.  However, its good to see some positive news about hiring and new job creation such as RIM recruiting 3,000 new hires and Unisoft opening up shop in Toronto and creating 800 new jobs!   Statistics Canada indicates that only 7,400 jobs were lost in June, compared to their original prediction of 35,000 job losses.   Unemployment is currently at 8.6 percent or 9.6 in Toronto.   Does anyone remember the early 1980′s when unemployment hit double digits?   Are you hiring the best in the next six months?   

Best practice organizations continue ongoing recruiting efforts because they know that great hires will help them survive and thrive during uncertain times.  It’s wise to be careful with expenditures, but it is also risky to take a “hunker down and hide” mentality.   Efficiency doesn’t mean cutting costs to the point that it’s difficult to climb back up.  Now is the time to actively recruit and Hire the Best candidates out there to fill any critical gaps you may have.   You will be investing in success.   I wrote the following article for an earlier newsletter, but even during economic uncertainty it is worthwhile to review how to Hire the Best.    

Of course you want to Hire the Best!  But …

• Do you have a Recruiting Strategy?
• Are your people trained to Hire the Best?
• Do you delegate this important task to someone who already has a full workload and who doesn’t have the expertise to Hire the Best?

A Conference Board of Canada study notes, leading candidates want to work for organizations that offer more than just a pay check.  To attract quality people to your organization, it is important to have a clearly defined recruiting strategy and a best practices HR program /system.  People responsible for hiring should be trained to Hire the Best.  If you outsource this role, ensure your provider understands your recruiting strategy, the culture, attitude, skills and knowledge necessary to succeed.  Competition to hire and retain the best leaders will continue to be fierce.  Be on the lookout all the time for candidates that will excel in your organization.   Make sure you are in the race (now and when the economy turns around)!

 Recruiting Tips

1. Create a recruiting strategy outlining the process and requirements for the recruiting campaign from Job Profile to Orientation.  What sources work the best?
2. Be clear about the competencies and responsibilities of the position.  Create a Job Description / Job Profile that is an accurate reflection of the job. 
3. Treat potential candidates like they are your most important customers.  The message you are sending is simple – you are important.
4. Don’t oversell the job. The new hire will be disappointed at the onset and will move on before you know it.
5. Ask “behavioural based” questions during the interview.  Examples of past behaviour are good indicators of future performance.
6. Get the candidate’s approval for reference checks and then complete them.  Check credentials by phoning professional associations and universities.  Probe further when there is hesitation or lack of specific feedback! 
7. Train your managers how to Hire the Best.  Don’t assume everyone knows how to recruit!  
8. Use candidate assessments to measure skills such as sales, customer service, communication, management, etc.   Assessments will increase your chances of a Best Hire!
9. Don’t underestimate the importance of cultural fit.  A candidate might have excellent knowledge and skills, but if the attitude doesn’t fit with the culture of the organization you have a match headed for disaster.
10. Encourage and reward your employees for referring successful candidates.  No one knows best what it takes to succeed than your employees!
11. Make sure your HR initiatives and policies, such as workplace culture, training and compensation, make you an “Employer of Choice.”   

Recruiting is a two-way process.  The best candidates are assessing you and your organization just as much as you are assessing them!  

Good luck with Hiring the Best,        

Joanne

Joanne Royce is the Founder of Royce & Associates, a Human Resources and Training Solutions consulting company.   She is committed to Creating Happy, Healthy and Productive Workplaces.  

Are you noticing differences between the generations in your workplace?
Do you want to work in harmony but conflicts are on the rise?
Have you heard comments like these before?

That old dinosaur has been working here ever since the cave man!
The kid wants a promotion after six months on the job!
What’s the big deal about coming in a few minutes late?
I’m the boss … just do your job.

This is the first time in history with four generations
working together in the workplace.

We so often bring our own preconceived assumptions – the taken-for-granted notions of how something or someone should be – when viewing generational groups. When we approach others with our own filters and perspectives with a “my way or the highway” attitude we are missing an opportunity to really connect and learn from each other. Often we assume that others should know what we expect them to do, how we expect them to behave, and so forth, without any dialogue about it.

While identifying what’s important to each generational group, we must be careful not to put limiting labels on them. It is not so black and white. It is dangerous to over generalize and make assumptions such as ALL:

• Traditionalists play by the rules,
• Boomers are workaholics,
• Gen X are concerned work/life balance, and
• Gen Y are collaborative and curious.

However, it does help to appreciate the values and history of each group to understand how they might approach a situation or problem in the workplace and, indeed, what human resources practices will help motivate and engage each group.

You can enhance productivity and innovation in a generationally diverse workplace without banning social networking sites! We can start to build relationships, decrease conflict, increase creativity, and enhance productivity, when we throw away our own preconceived assumptions about a group and start to listen with an open mind. If you want to learn more, please to email or call for more information on our awesome workshop - Generations At Work – Valuing Our Differences.

Here’s what participants have to say!

• Your activities got us thinking!
• There was so much discussion and laughter in the room, it was hard to go home at the end of the day!
• The activities really got the discussion going and drove home the point.
• Knowledgeable instruction and the most participative workshop I’ve been to in a long time.

Best regards, Joanne Royce

Founder of Royce & Associates
a Human Resources and Training Solutions company
Creating Happy, Healthy and Productive Workplaces

Related Blog Posts

Social Notworking versus Social Networking

Generational Communication Preferences – Boomers and Gen Y

Generational Networking Preferences

A Royce & Associates Workshop -  Generations At Work – Valuing Our Differences

While reading Raising a Daughter by Jeanne and Don Elium, I came across some interesting information about how men and women differ in handling certain situations.  The authors state that men and women enter situations with different thinking styles.   I thought this was useful information to share when seeking to understand gender diversity in the workplace.

Men think in terms of goals, objects, and tasks to be done.  The purpose of relationships and the reason for interaction is defined by the goal.  A man thinks about who might help him reach his goal, who might get in his way, and the best strategy to follow.   Women on the other hand, enter situations thinking about the group and the potential relationships.  From this, tasks and goals emerge and are achieved.  Strategic thinking occurs within the relationships in the group.     A simplified personal example might be as follows:

A husband and wife go grocery shopping together.   He is there to get food for his family, to get the task done, and to cross the items of the list.  The wife is there to get food for her family and to spend time as a couple, from which the task also gets done.  The wife’s connection or group focus might actually hinder the speed in which the husband accomplishes the task, because the wife might be selecting items not on the list and discussing the merits of organic food and feeding her family.  At this point, she is enjoying time with her husband, while still ultimately completing the goal of grocery shopping.  And he is thinking about crossing the items off the list and completing the grocery shopping so he can get on to accomplishing another task and goal!

Can you see where differences can occur?   Interesting isn’t it.     Being aware of our differences opens lines of communication and enhances and builds relationships!

Best regards,

Joanne

Joanne Royce is the Founder of Royce & Associates, a Human Resources and Training Solutions consulting company.  She is committed to Creating Happy, Healthy and Productive Workplaces.   Joanne enjoys grocery shopping with her husband.