How to Lose a Great Employee

John Krautzel
Posted by in Management & Business


It is difficult for any business to find and secure the top workers on their team. However, some great employees end up leaving one company for another if they are not satisfied. Consider some of the ways that businesses can lose a great employee.

Offer Poor Pay and Benefits

Businesses can lose great employees by offering them low pay and few benefits. If you want to motivate a great employee to remain on your workforce, you must be prepared to compensate that employee well for his work. Wise business owners are able to find and retain great employees by granting them a competitive pay rate and even offering perks and bonuses for a job well done.

Refuse to Recognize Your Employees

Excellent employees can thrive off the positive attention and recognition they receive at work. If you do not want to lose a great employee, be sure to reward him with praise. Offering a simple plaque or conducting an award ceremony for high achievers on your workforce can make your best employees feel special. Many great employees do not initially complain if their stellar efforts are ignored, but one day, they may walk away to a position with a company that openly shows appreciation for them.

Have a Negative Work Environment

If a great employee is surrounded by a hostile work environment, he is more likely to run for the hills. No employee wants to go to work in an environment where his fellow co-workers and managers act negatively towards each other on a daily basis. Encourage cooperation, collaboration and friendliness among everyone on your workforce to create a beneficial workplace. Cultivating a positive work environment and high employee morale gives a great employee the work atmosphere they need to be most comfortable and productive.

Ignore Their Pleas

Great employees are often willing to reach out for help for a manager of a human resources department professional if something goes wrong or if they have an issue with another employee. If you ignore their pleas for help, you may deeply discouraged and lose valuable workers. Make sure the human resources department responds to complaints quickly to let employees know they are never alone in their work-related struggles.

Overburden Your Employees

It can be easy for managers to ask their great employees to address an important task to ensure it is executed well, but this can quickly become a burden for any worker who is repeatedly called on. If a great employee feels that she is being overworked and taken advantage of, you could lose that worker quickly. Always encourage a fair workload for your employees so that your star workers are not overburdened by tasks. Make sure workers pull their fair share of tasks to balance the workload and reduce stress for everyone.

If you commit to treating every great employee well on every level, you do not have to worry about losing him. Making the investment is a worthwhile effort that allow you to satisfy your greatest workers, and retain them for years to come.

 

Photo courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net


 

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  • Daryl M.
    Daryl M.

    There are literally thousands of companies across the country in which employees are subjected to every one of these points of neglect and mistreatment. I personally had the misfortune of working at a high level position in Bayer CropScience within Regulatory Affairs- Biotechnology. Included were openly expressed sexual discrimination and harassment towards males (especially military veterans), abusive language, overwork, and refusal to award pay increases. Needless to say, all but one of the staff left within a single year. The poor soul remaining was hanging on for her retirement years to be completed. The global manager responsible was finally "resigned" but not her group manager who was equally responsible. I openly put this forth as an example of the extremes tolerated by upper level management when one of their own has gone completely beyond the pale of acceptability. Rather than directly addressing such an unacceptable and potentially litigious situation, they will more often allow a department to fall apart and lose entire staffs. One can hope managers will both read and heed such articles as this and save the company that gives them their livelihoods tremendous backslides that harm both it and the necessary morale needed to maintain the momentum required to hold market share.

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