High Stress Levels

Everyone knows that stress levels can get high in the corporate office, or any office for that matter. If you want to lose your employees, go ahead and maintain high stress levels without allowing breaks or rest periods. High stress can serve to be a great driver for employees, but only as long as it is staggered--you can’t sprint for miles, after all. Companies with low turnover rates, and satisfied employees enjoy those perks because they allow their employees to take breaks, walk around the office, eat lunch, and generally relax in between their strenuous activities of the day.

Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is becoming increasingly important to staff in all different business demographics. Whether that means allowing flexitime scheduling, telecommuting, working from home, or varied hours it is important that companies embrace this competency. As technology increases and becomes more intrinsically connected to our business practices, we need to make sure that we are using it to its full potential. Being stubborn and staunch about employee scheduling, especially when they are helping to make your company what it is, is a great way to lose employees. Try to be understanding of employee needs as they fit in the range of appropriate and successful business practices.

Benefits & Pay

Employees will leave if they do not think they are being paid enough; that’s a well-known fact. Most employees, in fact, are looking for new jobs in a general sense just because they feel that they could be getting paid better elsewhere. The same goes for health insurance and other company benefits. Many new companies are offering some kind of entertainment within the office (foosball tables, video games, etc), but even a reserved parking space on a busy city block can help to assure your employees stay where they are. Refusing to provide your staff with the reimbursement and benefits that they think (and the standards dictate) they deserve is a sure-fire way to lose them.

Boring/Unfulfilling Work

Drudgery is for drones. In the office it is important to make sure that your top employees are being invigorated and fulfilled by their tasks on a daily basis. This can just mean increasing energy about menial, everyday tasks, or selecting candidates for employment based on enthusiasm levels. Either way, hiring people for jobs that make them feel bored, worn-out, or uninspired is a fantastic way to have a high turnover rate, and lose some of your best, most driven employees. No one likes to be bored, no matter what the situation; give them something exciting to look forward to, and it will be difficult for them to think about leaving.

Acknowledgement/Valuation

Recognizing your employees for the great things that the do, and letting them know they are valued is incredibly important. If they feel like they are not making a difference, or could be more of a valued contributor at another company, they will definitely start looking. Recognition could be as small as a pat on the back, or as big as an award at the annual party, but it is one of the most important ways companies keep their employees. Make sure your managers, executives, or other “higher ups” know that recognition is one of the most important ways to assure happy staff, and that ignoring them or making them feel cheap or unnecessary is one definite way to lead to a mass exodus to your rival company.