6 Things Leaders Do That Make Employees Quit

IBM is in the process of patenting an algorithm that can supposedly predict when an employee will quit with 95 percent accuracy . This is significant in our candidate-driven market: There are now more job openings in the U.S. than there are unemployed Americans .

Losing an employee can have a drastic effect on team morale and productivity . It takes an average of 24 days to fill a job, costing employers up to $4,000 per hire — maybe more, depending on your industry. The good news is that only about a quarter of employees that leave do so within their first year . This means you have plenty of time to assess flight risks and address them.

During my 15 years working in data science, I’ve run countless predictive models on employee retention. I’ve identified several leadership mistakes that help explain why an employee might quit:

1. SETTING INCONSISTENT GOALS OR EXPECTATIONS: When employees are forced to choose between tasks to meet competing expectations, the result is a team of stressed-out people without clear priorities. Create stability by being consistent and clear with your expectations. Write them down to identify any contradictions or overlap. Then, make necessary changes.

2. HAVING TOO MANY PROCESS CONSTRAINTS: Process constraints often occur when a lack of information or resources stops an employee from doing his job. The employee begins to feel powerless and frustrated. If process constraints are affecting an employee’s performance, use your influence to try and improve the situation. This may require having difficult conversations with other departments or leaders.

3. PUTTING PEOPLE IN THE WRONG ROLES: Be transparent about the roles you’re hiring for and what they require. You may also want to check that your employees’ current workload matches the description of the job they were hired to do. Together you can create a plan to bridge the gap and help them take on more meaningful and fulfilling responsibilities.

4. FAILING TO CREATE A PSYCHOLOGICALLY SAFE CULTURE: Show your team you’re open to new ideas. In meetings, ask questions before posing answers and reward those who speak up by thanking them or following up with additional queries. Consider all viewpoints when brainstorming solutions and make sure your team knows there are no wrong answers. Show humility and own up to your faults.

5.thoughtfully , it can give people something meaningful to work toward. CREATING A WORK ENVIRONMENT THAT’S TOO SAFE: A moderate level of pressure at work is healthy for employee growth . If your employees have no pressure, they may start to wonder if their work even matters. One way to create a healthy amount of friction is through regular feedback — both positive and negative. When delivered

6. LEADING WITH BIAS: Leaders who are fair and without bias are leaders who employees can trust, and a trusting manager-employee relationship improves performance. Managers who recognize their implicit biases and make adjustments to overcome them are more likely to lead in a fair and just manner.

Focusing on your own behavior will do wonders to improve the performance and cohesiveness of your team. The better you manage, the more productive, innovative, satisfied and loyal your team will be.

Copyright 2019 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate.