Numerous reasons are behind for leaving current workplace.
Each new day HR starts fighting with posting job advertisement in Website(s), LinkedIn, Twitter, Newspaper, Head-hunters and so on. Question is why? Why employees leaving even
though the work environment is superb, perk and benefits market standard
etcetera. Much has been claimed that, employees leave because of poor HR
policies. If anyone sticks too long to a company s/he is
taken for granted that s/he won't leave and also perceive that perhaps not
getting a job outside. In addition to that organization culture and environment
plays crucial role to retain the employees.
Let me give my own example. I quit from one reputed organization
earlier in my life because of my bad manager. I tried a lot to cop-up with that
manager style of work, attitudes but still unable to keep myself motivated in the
long run. Even though that person completed his Masters from USA but still lack
of positive attitudes like giving right recognition, provide adequate
facilities and never appreciate for good work. However, he is the Head of HR
for that organization. I do believe many of you had the same experience.
Some of you already raised you eye-brew that I am pointing my
fingers to that poor fellow without saying about my lack of skills or others.
Trust me Manager(s) is one of the main reasons for employees’ drives away from
the company. Allow me to share one of the largest studies undertaken by the
Gallup Organization. That study surveyed over a million employees and 80,000
managers and was published in a book called "First Break All The Rules."
The survey result not surprising me as it said if you're losing good people,
look to their manager. Manager is the reason people stay and thrive in an
organization as well as manager is the reason why people leave. When people
leave they take knowledge, experience and contacts with them, straight to the
competition. According to that book authors, Marcus
Buckingham and Curt Coffman: "People leave
managers not companies," Different managers can stress out employees in
different ways - by being too controlling, too suspicious, too pushy, too
critical, but they forget that workers are not fixed assets, they are free
agents. When this goes on too long, an employee will quit - often over a
trivial issue. Talented men leave. Dead wood doesn't.
Allow me to share another case happened in the corporate world.
‘S’, got an offer as a senior HR executive from a reputed business giant
located at Malaysia. Previously, he was working as HR officer in a Singaporean
company based in Jurong, Singapore. He was thrilled by the offer as the salary
is good with re-location benefits, company had all the right systems in place with
employee-friendly HR and e-HRM system, a state of art new office premises,
healthy and renowned caterer for employee canteen and the CEO is very popular
for his awesome charisma. ‘S’ seems happy to get the offer but within six
months he quit from that Malaysian company. He walked out because of his immediate
supervisor’s racial attitudes with him. ‘S’ leaves the company not for better
pay or profile but for the manager.
What HR Can Do To Tackle Such Situations:
1. Ensure good ‘Exit Interview’ practice for every level of
employees.
2. Strict and well circulated ‘Sexual Harassment’ policy.
3. Proper and regular ‘Employee Rewards and Recognition’
practices.
4. Follow-up meeting with every department with HR at least
twice in a year, better in each quarter.
5. Well articulated policy for ‘Grievance Handling’ and have
online option for HR service desk.
6. Ensured career
path for everyone with succession planning and training.
P.S: Any of my articles/write-ups can be shared, modified, used anytime for better Human Capital Management, with or without giving credentials. I do believe: Sharing is Caring :)
© Shaki, Ahmed R (2012), Candidate of PhD in HRM, UUM
