Wouldn’t your work life be so much easier if you didn’t have to worry about turnover? As a recruiter, I find candidates are often very open and honest with me about why they are looking for something new. Initially, I hear something like commute or compensation. But most of the time, there is something else. Come to find out, most people will stay in a great job even if the commute is a little long or the compensation is a little low. Underneath these quick responses are the two most common answers I hear. On a positive note, both are very fixable using the same model of training.

Poor Management / Leadership

Very often, I hear something along the lines of the candidate being unhappy with their current manager, general management within the organization, or simply a lack of leadership. Gone are the days of management training programs. Today, most managers become managers simply because they were good at their jobs. People are rarely trained to manage people. Therefore, some do it very poorly – often unintentionally.

At times, employees see leadership as lacking, as confusing, or as ever-changing. Strong leadership will establish company direction, align the people, and provide the motivation and inspiration necessary to exact change. Many leaders are great at vision and leading themselves. However, many have not received the required skills to lead others who think very differently from them.

Lack of Opportunity for Advancement

Most employees are looking for personal career growth opportunities within their jobs. I often hear from candidates they feel like there is no room for them to move up the ladder. No ability to learn new things. A lack of new challenges to take on. Or they simply feel like they are not advancing in their career and have become stagnant. I find when candidates have any of these feelings about their current work situation, they feel the only option available to them is to move to another company. Employees see training and development efforts as an investment in them.

Types of Training to Offer

The modern workforce knows what is important to them, and they are not going to settle. If it isn’t obvious to you what types of training you should be offering, simply ask them what they want. This doesn’t mean you have to provide the specific training they requested, but at a minimum they will feel good you even thought to ask. And if by chance they end up getting the training they want, you may have turned an at-risk employee into a long-term keeper. To me, this sounds like a very easy, and cost-effective, solution.

Written by Tiffany Appleton
Director, Accounting & Finance Division