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The top 5 predictors of employee turnover

Findings from Gallup Research

📋 Introduction

Title: Turning Around Employee Turnover
Published at: Gallup.com
Authors : Jennifer Robinson

Why this matters

Having a comprehensive survey of opinions showing the top 5 reasons for employee turnover can help you think more intelligently about your own teams, and inform your approach towards leadership.

Findings

According to Gallup's research, the top 5 reasons for employee turnover are:

The immediate manager: If employees report that their manager's expectations are unclear; or that their manager provides inadequate equipment, materials, or resources; or that opportunities for progress and development are few and far between, watch out: Trouble is on the way.
Poor fit to the job: Another sign of trouble appears when employees perceive that they don't have opportunities to do what they do best every day.
Coworkers not committed to quality: Watch for employees who perceive that their coworkers are not committed to a high standard of work.
Pay and benefits: Engaged employees are far more likely to perceive that they are paid appropriately for the work they do (43%), compared to employees who are disengaged (15%) or actively disengaged (13%). And pay and benefits become a big issue if employees feel that their coworkers aren't committed to quality; they may feel entitled to extra compensation to make up the difference or to make them feel like they are truly valued by their employer.
Connection to the organization or to senior management: Another key sign that turnover may be looming appears when employees don't feel a connection to the organization's mission or purpose or its leadership.

💡Our recommendation

If you're having a high amount of regrettable exits (i.e, employees who are leaving that you wanted to stay), then the top reasons to think would be from the findings above.

When it comes to regrettable exists, reflecting on what could be done better by their manager might be good. If they were a poor fit for the job, then it might be good to look at how they were hired and whether the hiring process needs some work. Were they supported during onboarding?

If your reflection found that the regrettable exit left because they percieved that coworkers were not committed to quality, then larger cultural factors might be at play, it might be good to dive deep into what could they be. Look not just at the quality of the output (hard skills) but also the way teams work and whether there are any major dysfunctions.

What may seem like a pay and benefits issue on the surface, might not be the case if you scratch the surface. Reflect on how engaged or disengaged they were in the weeks prior to them sending in their resignation. However, sometimes it just might be simply about the pay (and the market offering more), in which case, it's a signal that you need to correct your pay levels to match the market.

Finally, take look at motivation levels and see whether employees truly connect with the mission or not. Whether they can truly understand and connect with company leadership, and understand and agree with the strategy or not.