Your Employees Are Quitting You

Would it surprise you to hear that 89% of managers believe that employees leave or stay based primarily on money? (Saratoga Institute 2003)

Would it surprise you to hear that nearly 90% of employee exit interviews cite either “more money” or “better opportunity” as the primary reason for employee turnover? (Saratoga Institute 2003)



Probably not too shocking, is it? People tell HR or their managers that they are leaving for more money and the managers believe them.

So, would it surprise you to hear that 88% of the people contacted independently stated that the primary reason they left their job was NOT for more money or a better opportunity? (Saratoga Institute 2003)

I don’t know what is more surprising to me about these three facts.

Am I the most surprised that, in spite of constant evidence to the contrary, managers still believe that people are primarily motivated by money?

Or, am I most surprised that 78% of the people leaving an organization (the 90% citing "more money" in their exit interview minus the 12% that independently cited "more money" as their real reason for leaving) are not honest with HR or their manager as to why they are leaving?

Maybe I’m most surprised that managers and HR have not figured out, or don’t seem to care, why their employees are actually leaving. Instead, they hear that someone is leaving for “more money” and they just accept it as a fact.

Employee turnover is costing your business massively every year. Estimates on the cost of employee turnover range from 1 times the employee’s annual salary to 5 or 6 times the annual salary, depending on the level and expertise of the person leaving. Depending on the size of your business, that means that you are easily losing tens of thousands to millions of dollars every year due to turnover.

Some would argue that turnover is just a part of doing business and that some turnover is even good for you. And I would agree with those statements, to an extent. But when 78% of your employees are not being honest as to why they are leaving, it’s time to open your eyes to what is really happening and do something about it. After all, if I told you that a process problem in your organization was costing you tens of thousands of dollars every year, you would jump on it to fix it. If I told you that a billing problem was costing you millions each year, you would put a whole team of people on solving your billing problem. Yet when business owners or executives hear that employee turnover is costing them tens of thousands to millions of dollars each year, they shrug their shoulders and move on to the next problem.

Why are companies overlooking such a major problem? What can be done to reduce or eliminate these unnecessary expenses?

We’ll talk about these issues in the next couple of blog entries.

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/