Organizations Have All Kinds Of Employees. Each Employee Has A Different Level Of Skill Set, Aspirations, And Needs.
While it is imperative for organizations to create rich employee experiences for all, what about those who’ve actually got their s%$t together?
I’m talking about employees you never worry about. Employees who are disciplined, reach for the stars with each project, set high standards of professionalism and do it all without the need to be constantly pushed. The real stars of your organization.
The most basic instinct would be to not really pay attention to these superstar employees. Because let’s face it – there are many things that need scream for more attention. But if your organization functions on this belief, that’s where you’re wrong. Your happiest employees can also leave even if you think everything is going right with them. And this happens mostly when you ignore these high performing employees in the following areas.
1. Too Many Changes Within The Company
Change is the only constant. While change is not always welcome, it is bound to occur at different phases in an organization’s journey. But some changes have a bigger impact than others. Change in management, teams, interpersonal camaraderie or even company policies can cause a happy employee to put in the papers. This happens when they are unable to get comfortable with the new regime even after the passive time of adjustment is over.
A change in management or a close colleague leaving can have the biggest impact in such a case, depending on how long the relationship was for. Make sure you watch out for such changes and take the necessary steps to make your best employees understand the causes of it and how it will affect the future.
2. Rigid Work Environment
Today’s global workforce is increasingly getting characterized by the gig economy full of contractual staff, freelancers and remote workers. Even full-time employees know the options they have and the lack of flexibility in the job they actually do well it can be a major source of disappointment.
Happy employees are productive and rightly so because they prefer to achieve a work-life balance and give time to their personal life. With too many rules about hours, timings or even the traditional 9-5 arrangement, they might start to feel like their quality of work matters less how much time they do it in. Today’s workforce believes in working from anywhere, and not always when inside the office.
You can control such feelings of negativity by introducing flexible work opportunities for your best employees. This will not only give them more reasons to stay but they will also feel trusted.
3. Their Growth Has Reached A Plateau Period
A plateau period refers to a sociological term that describes any particular process in life in which an individual has squeezed the best out of all possible opportunities, and the scope of more progress starts to seem bleak. If your employees find their growth within the organization in such a condition, they will definitely start exploring other job opportunities.
All employees want to constantly grow, be challenged and learn new things with each passing project. With the lack of advancement, even the best or happiest employee will leave. Stagnation has proven to be the number one reason for employees to feel frustrated with their jobs.
Employee growth is not determined just by promotions and raises. Make sure you invest in them and offer them with tools and knowledge that make them raise the bar for themselves. Give employees ways to develop their skills through different techniques like workshops, could training and coaching.
4. Not Telling Them They Matter
A lack of recognition over a long period of time can lead to a massive drop in motivation levels. Employees might also feel like they have lost the connection to the organization. Consistent high performance and not even a word of appreciation is a big mistake pushing happy employees away.
Just because an employee is a high performer does not mean they do not seek recognition or validation from their seniors. As organizations scale up, a lot of changes happen. Keep your employees aware of what is happening and tell them how their role will change accordingly. The goal should be to keep reminding employees that they work they do is important.
Make recognition a crucial part of your culture, irrespective of levels of employee engagement. Leaders have to constantly reassure their employees of their value, applaud them from time to time for their achievements, and tell them how important their contribution is to achieve common goals.