8 Reasons Why Good Employees Leave

Even good employers lose good employees, including employees who leave because their spouse takes a new position in another city or country.

However, there are poor, foolish, and costly reasons why employers lose good employees. Here are 8 of them to avoid in your company:

1. An abusive, critical, or non-supportive boss

A poor relationship with their immediate boss is the number one reason good employees leave, yet this is an area where employers can take real action, but often don't.

2. Not enough consideration for new ideas and creative proposals

Especially if the employee has an area of expertise they want to develop, a new product or service to experiment with, or a highly desired project.

3. Being passed over for a promotion--and it was handled poorly

Plan promotions and their announcement carefully.

4. Just really petty stuff

At one company I know well, a loyal and capable employee with over 5 years of service was not allowed to leave 20 minutes early on Fridays to play in a golf league--even though he was willing to make up the time. His boss, however, regularly left at noon on Fridays.

5. Reasonable requests not granted for matters related to family or other important concerns

This is not as much of a problem as it once was. However, one company lost a valuable employee by refusing her request for time off to take her son to college for the start of freshman year.

6. A lack of recognition, including not acknowledging the value of the work employees do

Some people suggest high performers don't care about recognition, but I've found it to be important on all levels of every company.

7. Obstacles or a lack of cooperation from individuals or other departments

This often isn't seen as an employee retention issue, but it is. Who wants to continue to work with individuals or other departments that interfere with the ability to get important projects completed?

8. A lack of career development

Few capable employees want to continue doing the same work in the same way for long periods of time. Seeing little or no chance for advancement, they leave for employers who are willing to figure out how they can provide this.

There are other reasons employees leave, of course. However, here's a very important point this list underscores: the fact that most of the reasons good employees leave are correctable by employers!

How many of these items, or others like them, are causing good employees to leave your company?