The Metiss Group's Blog

In a Wall Street Journal article on May 25, 2010, Joe Light wrote, “In February, the number of employees voluntarily quitting surpassed the number being fired or discharged for the first time since October 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Before February, the BLS had recorded more layoffs than resignations for 15 straight months, the first such streak since the bureau started tracking the data a decade ago.”

Leaders who have treated, or continue to treat, direct reports as though “they should be lucky they have jobs” are more likely to experience hearing “I quit” as the economy and the options improve.

Of course, the employees who are most likely to leave are the superstars, because they are most desired by other employers who promise to treat them like gold.

What’s important to understand is this isn’t all about money.  Have you been providing positive feedback and course corrections that allow your best direct reports to hone their skills and reach exceptional levels of performance?  Are you encouraging personal development plans and succession plans?  Are your goals aligned?  Even if there hasn’t been money to spend at review time, have you been providing candid, timely performance reviews?  And do you meet regularly with your superstars one-on-one to know what’s important to them, their success, and build a strong foundation for an on-going relationship?

Empower your direct reports for success to benefit them and your organization, as well.

This entry was posted on August 30, 2010 at 11:26 am and is filed under Leadership, Performance Acceleration. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.