Across the Table: You’re WHAT?
One of your employees—maybe the only person trained to do her job—just gave you two weeks’ notice that she is leaving for a new job at a different company in a different industry. What do you do?
There’s no reason to freak out … if you are prepared. You are prepared, aren’t you?
I mean, I first heard in the 1990s that there was a new paradigm with employment. People were going to change not just jobs frequently, but companies and even industries. The days of lifelong employment with a single company would become a rarity rather than the standard. I felt like a trend-setter! I had already changed industries a couple of times.
Recently, though, I learned this knowledge had not been passed down through the generations. I was in a meeting with a member of the Federal Reserve (Minneapolis) and several local business people, discussing current business concerns and activities. Three people, two HR professionals, and the owner of an employee search firm, all mentioned employee turnover as a new challenge they were facing. When I was invited to speak, I noted that employee recruitment has always been a challenge in North Dakota, way before it became a state. It’s not like it is at the top of anyone’s list of places they want to move to. I also mentioned first hearing in the 1990s of the trend for employees to change jobs frequently. Both of the HR professionals asked me for more information!
If you and your company's HR leader are not prepared for employee turnover, that’s your own fault. It should be standard to have a plan in place to replace every employee. The more difficult it is to replace a position, the more important it is to be prepared. International promotions allow you to replace lower-skilled positions instead.
Here are some nationwide statistics to consider. Numbers in your industry and geography might be different, but employee turnover will still occur:
On average, people change jobs every two years and nine months. The higher the education, the more likely they are to leave sometime.
62 percent have left a job in the first year.
People usually say they are leaving for more money, but usually that’s not true.
52 percent of people just found a better job opportunity. Many employees want job growth; if you don’t provide it, they’ll find it elsewhere.
43 percent left a toxic work environment/culture.
32 percent left because of their boss. I’ve done it. My former boss didn’t want to hear he was a bully, and I wasn’t going to live with it anymore, so I just said this great job opportunity came along.
Separately, 30 percent of people will change their careers sometime in their professional lives.
You shouldn’t feel safe if your employees have been with you for a long time. They are going to retire and take all of their company and industry knowledge with them.
Be prepared, or deal with the turmoil.
Dave can be reached at dwithee@alum.mit.edu or 920-737-8477. All opinions expressed in Across the Table with Dave Withee are exclusive to the author and are not reflective of Lab Design News.
