5 years ago
April 16, 2019

Why Do Employees Quit? 5 Brilliant and Cost Effective Ways to Keep Your Star Employees From Quitting

Employees quit. They are more willing than ever to change jobs. In many industries, it’s common for professionals to change jobs every 3-5 years. People today have myriad options. It’s…

Claire McConnachie Recruiter
Claire McConnachie

Employees quit. They are more willing than ever to change jobs. In many industries, it’s common for professionals to change jobs every 3-5 years. People today have myriad options.

It’s a candidate’s market, and people are no longer willing to stay put if they are not satisfied with their current job. According to a 2018 Mercer study, about one-third of ALL employees plan to quit their jobs and look for new opportunities in the next 12 months. That’s one-third of your sales team, including your star sales talent.

It’s not only the fact that you will have to replace your star talent that is alarming. It’s the cost. It is estimated that the cost to replace a top talent will cost your company 200% of that employee’s annual salary.

Rather than having to constantly be concerned about losing your top talent, companies need to take a proactive approach to retain their top talent. Before we get into strategies for keeping your top talent, let’s outline the reasons top employees quit.

Why Do Employees Quit?

Do you understand the reasons why employees quit your company? You should. If you know why they leave, you’ll know what needs to be fixed to prevent it from happening in the future.

There are a number of common reasons people quit their jobs. The first has to do with their boss or direct manager. As you’ve heard many times before, people don’t just quit a job, they quit their boss. Management is one of the top reasons sales talent exit your company.

Beyond this, there are a number of other specific reasons people leave:

  • Over-promise and under-deliver: Remember those promises you made during the recruiting process? If you don’t deliver, your employees will leave.
  • Lack of engagement: People are 59% less likely to look for a new job if they are engaged.
  • Culture: 43% of employees look for a new job because of the company culture.
  • Flexibility: 82% of people say they would be less likely to leave if they had more flexibility.
  • Don’t feel valued: 76% of employees say they don’t feel valued.

To the surprise of many, while money is important, it’s NOT the main reason why people quit their jobs. This is a reason why offering a raise alone is not an effective or long term solution to improve sales employee retention rates.

 

I Quit GIF by Lethal Weapon

 

Signs They May Quit

Knowing why people quit is important, but it’s even more important to understand the signs they may quit in the future. Understanding these signs can help you take action and be proactive. Here are the top signs an employee may be on the verge of quitting:

  • A significant change in performance, missing deadlines
  • Being apathetic
  • Poor body language
  • Lack of motivation
  • Change in behavior and poor mood
  • Taking more time off
  • Something just seems off about the employee

If you see these signs, it’s important to take action and see what can be done to re-engage and motivate the employee before it’s too late.

Brilliant Ways to Keep Your Star Employees From Quitting

Asking your top sales star to stay, offering them more money, and promising things will change is not an effective strategy to prevent your employees from quitting. It’s reactive, and too little, too late.

Losing a star employee can have a detrimental effect on your sales team and overall sales performance. Losing a top sales performer is not something you want to happen. The good news is that it’s preventable if your organization is proactive.

Here are 5 brilliant ways to keep your star sales employees from quitting:

1. Figure Out What They Value and Give It to Them

While there are shared values among your sales team, each person has unique values and things that are important to them. For some, it’s compensation; for others, it may be a flexible schedule, the ability to work from home occasionally, more vacation time, or it could be access to professional development.

Everyone is different. At the end of the day, it really comes down to how they do their job. Are they always meeting sales quotas? Are they a top performer? If they are, giving them more of what they value will keep them motivated and engaged.

2. Provide Internal Promotion Opportunities

While it’s natural to want to keep your top salespeople on your team, there will come a time when they want to take the next step. It’s vital you provide your employees with the opportunities to grow and develop their skills. Give them the chance to try out other roles, types of sales, and work in other departments.

When you promote from within, it gives your employees something to strive for. They will know there is an opportunity if they prove themselves. This will help keep them motivated to perform and know there is a reward for their hard work.

3. Provide Open and Honest Communication

No one likes being left in the dark, especially at work. They want to know where they stand. They want to be recognized for their efforts and they also want constructive feedback for ways they can improve. Top performers are ambitious and they want to get better. Providing them with coaching and training is a key tool to openly communicate with them. But annual feedback is not enough. It needs to be more regular, constructive, and actionable.

4. Give Recognition and Praise

Recognizing the good work of your employees is one of the most affordable and easy ways to keep them happy and productive. It’s also one of the most overlooked. Make sure to recognize your team for putting in extra effort, having great sales performance, and going above and beyond.

5. Get Their Input

People want to make an impact. Therefore, it’s important to give your employees a voice. Create a forum for them to express their concerns, ideas, and get their input about what is happening in the business. Allow them to take part in strategic planning; be transparent about what is happening in the business. Your top sales people have invaluable insight about best practices, what works, what doesn’t, and what your customers want. Get their input and put their good ideas and insights to work.

Get More Sales Recruiting Tips

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SalesForce Search is a sales recruiting company which specializes in the recruitment and placement of sales professionals. We recruit salespeople in every sector of the economy including, software, manufacturing, financial services and medical devices. Find the right salesperson for your organization, start your search here.

 

Claire McConnachie Recruiter

Claire McConnachie

Claire has 4+ years of experience in sales and recruitment. As a Director of Client Services, her main objective is to connect great people to great companies by building strong relationships with both top clients and candidates in the sales industry. She specializes in sales roles of all seniority levels for both enterprise and start-up clients North American wide. When Claire isn't networking with top talent, she enjoys being outdoors, traveling and spending time with friends & family.

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