How will you keep an employee fired. Whether to retain an employee who has submitted a resignation letter. Why do they leave

But it is they who are first of all trying to lure competitors, and often the employees themselves leave in search of a better life. Human resources experts believe that it is better to prevent the drain of talented and qualified personnel in advance than to convince those who have already decided to quit.

Why are they leaving?

The vast majority of employees make the decision to quit not spontaneously, but under the influence of various circumstances and reflections. Motives can affect both professional spheres and personal ones. While finances play important role in retaining promising specialists, the amount of wages does not always determine the desire to move to another company.

There is a fairly common misconception that if a smart worker gets a salary increase, he will stop looking “to the left” and stay. Practice shows the fallacy and limitations of this view. In addition, not every company can afford to constantly increase the amount of remuneration, especially in the "overheated" segments of the labor market. Of course, if the amount of financial compensation is below the market, then it is necessary to increase the salary to the level of the main competitors.

An alternative option is also possible, which also provides for an increase, but only for a specifically completed part of the work. At the same time, the salary remains at the same level or changes slightly. For example, a valuable and talented employee is assigned to lead interesting project, per successful execution which the premium or bonus is due. Thus, the issue of financial dissatisfaction is positively resolved and new professional challenges are offered.

If the decision to dismiss is made by a creative employee, then it is possible that he was simply bored with doing his usual work. In this situation, a change of activity, a change in the usual environment, helps a lot. If a person is given more independence in resolving issues, this may increase his interest in the duties performed.

Another motive for switching to new job is the pursuit of higher status. This is not necessarily about vertical career growth. Perhaps the employee needs more recognition and attention from management, colleagues and subordinates. Good results can be obtained in a very inexpensive way - to give such a specialist the status of an expert. It is important to be interested in his opinion during meetings, assign him the obligation to give comments to the media on professional matters and, in certain cases, to offer the role of a mentor for young professionals. However, the effect of such measures can only be if the employee is initially loyal to the company.

Game ahead of the curve

Many experts in the field of personnel management believe that it is easier to prevent the desire to move to a new job in advance than to persuade someone who has already decided on his decision. It is important here not to miss the first symptoms that the employee is beginning to think about changing employers.

To prevent the leakage of talented specialists, it is necessary to know what motivates each of them to work in this particular company. Factors can be very different and do not always coincide with the opinion of the manager or standards corporate culture That's why individual work is so important.

The ability to independently control and direct the course important events in life is inherent in human nature. Even if the employee declares in words the desire for constant change, he still has a need to manage them. Experienced managers know that the predictability of the company's future development is important for the formation of staff loyalty.

The involvement of employees plays one of the key roles in the formation of the motivation system. If a creative and enterprising person all the time offers ideas that are left without attention, then one day he will simply get tired of it. Seeing no further prospect for an informal approach, he will mechanically carry out his duties. A decrease in the level of involvement directly negatively affects the level of loyalty.

In time decision promotion of a valuable employee can prevent him from being fired. However, not all companies have such an opportunity, and in structures with a rigid hierarchy it is almost impossible to create a new position “for a person”. The way out in this situation is seen in horizontal growth. An employee interested in self-development can always be “tempted” with advanced training courses, interesting training or a master class. Some employers offer training at corporate universities or have partnership agreements with universities. However, it must be understood that with professional growth will increase and market price specialist. So, unless we are talking about weekend training, training an employee implies an increase in his salary, even if only symbolically.

Dealing with motives for leaving

If an HR specialist is faced with the task of retaining a valuable employee, then at first it is necessary to determine the motivation. simple question“Why did you decide to leave our company?” is usually not enough. Such a conversation is always stressful, so usually a person tries to diplomatically avoid direct answers.

To understand the real reasons for an employee's dissatisfaction with his current place of work, you can ask how he sees his future employer and what reflects his current unfulfilled expectations. If a person focuses on career growth or greater independence, a parallel should be drawn with his current position.

You can also go back to the first weeks of work in this company and ask about the expectations for that period. Based on this, analyze how he managed to realize his plans.

In a conversation with an employee, it is important to pay attention to the wording used. A large number of “not” particles directly indicates that he does not like it. For example, when describing his future job, he says that he "will not have to write reports most of the working time," and this clearly indicates a dominant motive.

Sometimes it can be difficult to recognize in time that a valuable employee has decided to move to another company, and it is not always possible to make an adequate counteroffer. But in any case, this dismissal should be a strong signal to management about the need to revise the talent management policy. Even if it is not possible to persuade a person to stay, it is important to diagnose the reasons why he decided to leave, and, possibly, to prevent the beginning process of a massive outflow of staff.

One of the most unpleasant management procedures is dismissal. Okay, if you yourself decide to part with a negligent employee: get ready, select words and grounds. But it happens that a valuable employee writes a statement on own will. For a leader, this moment usually comes unexpectedly. What to do - try to hold on or let go in peace? This dilemma will be discussed in the article.

Why would a valuable employee want to leave?

First of all, when you have a statement of your own on the table, you need to figure out why such a decision was made. Various sources give almost the same reason:

Resignation as a form of protest

Once, the director of company "A" received a letter of resignation immediately from a whole team of installers (5 people). Taking into account the fact that the company's staff consists of 30 people, such a loss of qualified workers would be very tangible. There was a frank conversation with each of the resigning. The reason for the mass exodus was the management style of the new boss, who was appointed a year ago in the hope that he would establish discipline and a system of effective work.

The director talked to the boss and asked him a simple question: “What way do you see out of this situation?”. The boss blamed the installers, the secretary, the director himself, in general, everyone except himself. The director decided to fire the chief, the team remained to work. After some time, another leader was appointed, who found an approach to the installers, and the work went more efficiently.

Resignation letter as manipulation

Another example: a key employee comes in with a letter of resignation and announces that competitors are offering him a higher salary. What do we do? The employee is really valuable and brings profit to the company, let's raise his salary! Great, but where is the guarantee that in six months his appetites will not grow again? How to understand if this is blackmail or if he really needs money, and everything else in our company suits him?

Managers recommend offering an increase in salary levels, but at the same time adding responsibilities, functions, subordinates, etc. If an employee agrees to take on an additional load, we will breathe a sigh of relief and continue our cooperation. If “bargaining” or whims begin, let him go in peace, attempts to retain the “star” usually do not end in anything good.

Personal reasons for leaving

It happens that personal reasons related to the employee’s family also encourage resignation: the illness of a close relative, moving to another city, the birth of a grandson, etc. problems.

Of course, we are for philanthropy, but business first. The main goal is to keep the employee and the established business processes that are associated with him. Acceptable solutions may be a free schedule or a reduced work day, an additional workload to be able to hire a carer, or the appointment of an assistant - there are a lot of options.

Keep the employee or let go? You decide!

The situation with the dismissal of a key employee is always delicate, and the employer must weigh all the pros and cons, consider the situation and its consequences from all sides.

Here is a table to help you. You can supplement it with arguments from your leadership experience.


Each dismissal situation must be analyzed and a decision made, taking into account all the nuances. Yes, it is not easy, but who will do it if not the leader!?

How to protect a business from dismissal of a key employee?

As a pioneer, a true leader should always be ready for these risks. Do not take the dismissal of a key figure personally as a betrayal or a knife in the back. To be a bit of a Buddha or Solomon, who always knew that "this too shall pass."

To minimize risks and protect yourself, you need to debug the system, register all business processes in order to new person I was able to get into it as quickly as possible and start working effectively. And, most importantly, to look closely at key employees, to know what they breathe, who has what problems, what goals, interests and fears.

Well, the top of the manager's professionalism is to anticipate possible reasons for dismissal and eliminate them even before the employee has a desire to quit. Remember, in Sun Tzu: “Being in order, they expect disorder; being in peace, waiting for unrest; this is the control of the heart.”

What can be done?

  • take care of timely career advancement, salary growth and training of key figures,
  • set interesting and challenging tasks,
  • bring up personnel reserve, always have "reserve players" who can quickly take the vacant place and prevent failure,
  • give earning based on a system of understandable KPIs,
  • prevent conflicts in the team due to the leadership style of managers,
  • praise and recognize merit and success.

    How do experts solve the "can't fire you can't keep" dilemma? We asked if it's worth keeping employees, and if so, by what methods, and here's what we learned ...

    We have been recruiting for over 12 years. Plus, I'm the leader consulting company. I am a supporter of dismissal without ceremony. Experience has shown that no persuasion, KPIs help. If the employee began to look "to the left", the outcome is certain. It's a question of time.

    I will give three examples.

    1. Internal auditor. Her job was to check the correctness of the accounting ordinary accountants to customers who applied for accounting services. She was divine in her work. Not a single complaint.

    One day he comes and puts his resignation letter on the table. I ask what happened? She just got fed up with bookkeeping. In my free time, I took photography courses. As a result, she completely changed her profession. She worked as a freelance artist for 5 years and is now back to work as an internal auditor in an accounting firm.

    The reason for the dismissal was a change of profession.

    2. Leading specialist in accounting. Led one of the objects as an accountant-outsourcer. We alerted her to be ready for our internal auditor's review. On the second or third day puts a letter of resignation. We ask what's the matter, answers that the husband does not allow to work. This is a typical answer. Mom, dad, husband. We reminded her that a quality check of her work was scheduled. We will conduct an audit, after 2 weeks of working off, please.

    It should be noted that a clause was agreed with the customer in the contract that we do not have the right to change the accountant who is the contractor of the contract during the year (contract validity period), otherwise the contract will be terminated.

    After our reminder, the girl stopped communicating and working altogether.
    She conveyed through couriers that she was pregnant for three whole days and was ordered to lie down. We told her, ok, work lying down. We will bring you documents and a laptop. Nothing helped.

    We have been suing this girl. The court, as the employers lost, lost the contract with the client. There have been continuous losses and sediment so far.

    Here the reason was the incompetence of the specialist and the lack of total control. The audit was decided to be held six months after the start of its work. And it should have been once a month.

    3. A case from the practice of a client that we observed. A novice accountant by experience, a chief by position, was assigned such a volume of work that she was unable to perform. 8 hours of work time was too little.

    For the first time, they persuaded me not to quit, making a rotation. The second time they persuaded, explaining what a dizzying career success awaits her. The third time they persuaded, putting pressure on the sense of responsibility. There was no fourth time. Silently she wrote a letter of resignation, quickly signed a bypass sheet for everyone and left. No processing. For 15 minutes.

    The reason is multitasking.

    If an employee decides to quit, sooner or later it will happen. Don't hold on to a key employee who decides to leave. You can give him a chance to return, after a hasty decision to dismiss. Do not drive him away, but give time to evaluate and think everything over. After all, no matter what you say, he has already made a decision, and he still will not hear your arguments. Even if you keep him for a while, he will still leave.

    In another company, he will evaluate and compare the atmosphere and will finally decide where it is better for him to work. If the decision is in favor of your company, then act and offer real conditions that will be comfortable for both parties as partners. Only in this way, the employee you need will remain in the company.

    But if you understand that the decision is in favor of another company, it is better to stay in good relations with him. If anything, you can always contact him. If he asks for a letter of recommendation, do not refuse, but recommend with better side. He will appreciate it.

    Do not be upset that a key employee has left, even if he works with clients. Attract a new employee, and prepare your customers for this. It happens that an employee tries to take your client away, intercept this initiative and offer clients the best conditions for working with your company. Reliable clients will appreciate it.

    And so that the employees you need do not leave you, monitor the staff, encourage, set new tasks, arrange holidays.

According to HeadHunter, the number of vacancies in sales by the end of 2013 increased by 25% compared to 2012. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine a situation where a key sales person decides to leave the company. However, do not try to keep him - sometimes it is better to let the employee go. How to understand the reasons for the departure of a valuable manager and prevent the loss of personnel in the future?

If a letter of resignation from a valuable or even a key employee of the commercial service has landed on your desk, do not worry: from time to time it happens with any leader. As a rule, in such cases, each company has its own corporate policy: somewhere it is not customary to persuade employees to change their minds, whether it be an ordinary manager or a top manager, but somewhere they retain valuable specialists, preparing the so-called counterfeiter. By the way, employers are making counteroffers more and more often (more on this in the article "Trends-2014", "KD" "No" 1 for 2014. - Ed.).

Before responding to a letter of resignation, swipe primary analysis situations, try to understand the reasons why the employee decided to leave the company.

We conduct an interview with an employee: the main thing is trust and honesty

At this stage, your main task will be to find out the true reasons for the departure of a specialist. There are two ways to get information. The first is to invite an employee to open dialogue. Such a conversation can be held by the commercial director himself, if a trusting relationship has developed between him and the employee. It is important not to put pressure on the employee, you should not reproach him, condemn his act and accuse him of ingratitude. Listen carefully to the interlocutor, ask more open questions that do not require monosyllabic answers. Try to find out why he made such a decision, whether it is final or the situation can be corrected, what exactly served as a catalyst and other points. However, not everyone trusts the boss, so the employee may be insincere or not make contact at all. Then it will be better if an HR manager or a colleague whom he trusts will communicate with him. Such conversations are very useful, because even if the employee cannot be dissuaded from quitting, management will be able to identify problems that need to be addressed in order to avoid similar situations in the future.

The second way is to use the "Secret Recruiter" method. It cannot be classified as ethical, but it is used by some companies. So, the manager is approached by a representative recruiting agency, wondering if he is considering job offers, promising to help in finding vacancies and, along the way, finding out the reasons for dismissal from former place work. In addition to the ethical aspect, there is a risk that the employee will suspect something, therefore this method can only be used if the employee's resume is publicly available.

We analyze the received data

Exit interview data should be recorded. It is not necessary to use special programs for this - a table in Word or Excel is enough.

The classifier table will help identify systemic causes layoffs: ill-conceived scheme of motivation, lack of prospects career development or relationship problems within the team. For example, we keep a card of laid-off employees in the 1C:Enterprise program (table). In this case, specific information is very important, so two levels can be distinguished in the classifier - general and particular.
If desired, the manager can leave comments in the table in free form. Let's take a closer look at the three most common reasons for dismissal and the algorithm for working with each of them.

Reason 1. Low wages

It's no secret that sales managers are primarily focused on good material rewards. If the employee who submitted the resignation letter is dissatisfied salary, there is reason to think: is it worth keeping him, revising the level of remuneration only for him? As practice shows, even a salary increase in such a situation can only keep an employee for a short time - he will quit anyway, just later, in a maximum of six months. However, some companies are going to review salaries in order to find a replacement for a specialist during this period.

It is important to find out if the manager told his colleagues about his decision. If yes, it is all the more not worth keeping, otherwise the group of the most valuable employees will receive leverage on the management.

preventive measures. One of the main ways to keep a sales manager in a company is to control offers in the market. This includes an analysis of not only the average wage, but also the ratio of salary and percentage, the composition of the social package, the degree of comfort of working conditions.

Such monitoring must be carried out at least once every six months and it is imperative to include comparable companies in the study, that is, competing firms that may be potentially interested in your employees. A sales manager is, first of all, a businessman who knows how to count well. And even if competing companies offer employees the same wage conditions, additional benefits, such as a company car or reimbursement for fuel and mobile communications costs, may be a significant factor.

We conduct such competitive analysis at least twice a year, and discuss the results with commercial director.
According to d according to a survey conducted by HeadHunter in 2013, 88% of companies hire quit employees, and not even once. Thus, 42% of employers hired the same employee twice, and 22% - three or more times.

Reason 2. Lack of career growth

This is one of the most common reasons for dismissal. Numerous studies confirm that employee development is a key manager's tool to help reduce turnover, increase team engagement and productivity. As a rule, an employee can remain in the company without being promoted. career ladder an average of three years. For sales managers, this period is usually even shorter - about two years.

Create a system of internal growth that would also provide an increase in material rewards. The following stages of development can be identified: junior manager, manager, senior manager, lead manager, supervisor. For each step, tasks and authorities should be described. For example, a senior manager's responsibilities might include training new hires, mentoring a group, or managing a particular product category. It is clear that the system itself may be different depending on the field of activity and the scale of the company.

preventive measures. Even when applying for a job, you need to find out the factors of motivation of the applicant. If he talks about the importance of a career, figure out exactly what he means. Under career growth, some mean an increase in wages, others - getting the opportunity to lead a team, others - performing increasingly difficult tasks, and so on. It is important to find out whether the employee himself made efforts for his own development (for example, received a second higher education, attended trainings, read professional literature, took on additional functions, achieved significant improvements in his field of activity) or his motivation in the field of career growth is purely consumer.

In the first case, we are dealing with motivated specialists - add them to the separate list. Interview these employees with Human Resources about their expectations of working for your company and develop personal development plans. Identify long and short term goals and plans key managers, their opportunities and fears. Many companies provide benefits to their most valuable employees and/or establish wages above the market average.

Reason 3. Poor relationship with management

The employee will most likely indicate this reason only in a personal conversation with an HR manager or with a colleague whom he trusts. Therefore, you are unlikely to hear such an explanation when you are present at the exit interview, especially if the department has a high turnover of personnel.

preventive measures. They come to the company, and leave the head. Not all bosses are well versed in management skills, able to competently set tasks for employees and correctly respond to the results of their work.

Analyze how much time you spend communicating with subordinates, how many times they contact you to clarify the task, how often you evaluate their work and speak about the results. Do you communicate with them on an equal footing, discuss work issues like professionals, or does their opinion not matter to you? To diagnose the level of loyalty and engagement of employees, it is very useful to conduct regular anonymous surveys - again, together with the HR department. This will allow the leader to see himself from the outside, analyze his shortcomings and correct them.

Gamification as a motivational trend

The principle of gamification is becoming increasingly popular in the system of rewards and bonuses. Many large companies, for example, use the idea of ​​"bonus accounts" that employees can replenish by performing some action useful for the company (creating an innovative offer, helping a colleague, showing outstanding performance, taking part in important project). Accumulated bonuses can be exchanged for prizes or other intangible benefits.

Gamification involves employees in activities, activating the so-called competitive motive, hitting the string of competition. For example, our company has a motivational game "Increase your rating". Managers retail network compete with each other according to certain rules. There are both individual and team ratings. Once a month, the best employees can choose an incentive of their choice from the corporate "prize menu". Those who manage to stay at the top of the rankings throughout the year are rewarded with a trip to the fashion capitals of the world, such as Milan or Vienna. The best team at the end of the year receives a fun New Year's party as a bonus.

Another way to implement the principle of gamification is the badge system. Specialists of our retail network, who showed the highest results at the end of the month, receive personalized "gold" badges with the inscription "Best Employee of the Month", which they wear at work.

The principle of gamification is best perceived by young generation Y people; a certain percentage of conservatives who treat him with distrust or even skepticism are, as a rule, older people.

Despite the fact that this technique has appeared relatively recently, it has already gained wide acceptance and many leaders consider it a powerful motivational tool.

The employee, then, is resigning, and you suddenly decided to keep him, comrade chief? Of course, no one is kept in the company, but this is before the first dismissal of the pros.

Not all leaders appreciate workers in ordinary positions.

When their patience bursts, they, with genuine psychosis, write a statement of their own free will.

The easiest way is to fire an employee, because in an era of unemployment, finding a replacement is not difficult.

It just seems that way. Horseradish can also be replaced with a finger. Just what will come of it?

If you are a wise boss, try to keep an employee by putting into practice 4 useful tips.

* If an employee quits with a clear intention to work at another office, politely ask what exactly attracted him.

If the company's budget allows, throw in a salary, saying that you appreciate everything that the person who decided to quit did for the company.

* In the event that an employee breaks loose, he is simply tired of working in a stupid mess, it will not be easy to keep him.

He can think of anything, knowing in advance that he will be persuaded.

You, as a big boss, also don’t want to stoop to an apology.

And the employee, believe me, is not a fool, because he perfectly understands that there will be no order in your company.

Even the salary increase does not appeal to him.

There is only one thing left: to wait until he “cools down” and withdraws his resignation himself.

If this does not happen, you will lose a valuable employee.

There was nothing to “wear a crown”. The boss means nothing if the lower classes start to work poorly.

* You can keep a leaving employee if his decision is related to a specific person.

Perhaps your deputy did not behave too competently, deciding to subdue an employee involved in several directions at once.

He was fed up with “torn”, constantly looking for excuses.

If it is possible to isolate an enraged worker from a series of stupid teams, give him the opportunity to complete one task first, and then take on the second.

Even I can't stand duality.

The boss must be alone. The rest of the orders, please, through it.

* When an employee quits due to fatigue, no vacation, you must understand that a person cannot work without rest.

And he doesn't care much about the fact that you plow without "passers".

Excuse me, you have a big boss, what is the salary?

Probably 5 times more than the employee who decided to quit?

Then you can die at work, and the one who receives a penny will find himself the office where, at least partially, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation is observed.

Well, now you can try all this in practice.

Any employee from the lowest rank can hunchback for 3 kopecks if his management does not shift other people's duties onto his tired shoulders.

The material was prepared by me - Edwin Vostryakovsky.

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How to stop an employee from quitting

Now I will try to consider the opposite situation. A subordinate came to you and expressed a desire to leave your organization. We proceed from the fact that you need this employee as a qualified personnel, or his departure can destabilize the situation in the entrusted unit, or there is some other very important reason to persuade him to stay.

I’ll make a reservation right away: if a person has already firmly decided everything for himself, mentally burned all the bridges to retreat, agreed on a job at another place of work, then it will be extremely difficult to convince him. If only, for example, do not kneel, tearfully begging to stay ...

Even if the appearance of a retiring employee was not part of your plans and was a surprise, then, first of all, you need to humanly approach this issue and remember that the employee will not work forever for you anyway. Sooner or later, the moment of dismissal may come, and there is nothing you can do about it. At most, move the date of departure to a later or indefinite period.

So, after thinking about the situation, weighing all the pros and cons, you came to the conclusion that it is not time yet. As a result of finding out the reasons for dismissal from an employee, you understand that he was just fed up with work, or he has not yet decided on his future plans, or that he is going to leave you because of a trifling, completely solvable issue ...

In general, you see in the employee a “shadow of doubt” about the correctness of his act. This is your chance. Only on doubt can you play and convince a person of your decision. I would say that from a "spark" of doubt, you can always fan a whole "fire".

The main thing is to choose the right arguments and shake the scales of decision making. I tried to explain the concepts of loosening techniques in the post How to impose your idea on subordinates.

An employee came to you and brought resignation letter at will. It would be stupid if you, without asking the reasons, just sign the application. If I were an employee, I would think that no one really needs me here, and I would be even more convinced of the correctness of my decision.

So it is necessary to find out reason. It is important to remember that the cause can only be a consequence of another problem, which means that what the employee told you is just the tip of the iceberg. To find out the root cause, you will have a long conversation, but by hook or by crook, you need to get to the stumbling block - the main issue that torments the employee.

If you can solve this issue, your authority will grow even more in the eyes of the employee, but he himself, having received an alternative solution to the problem that tormented him (which was the reason for his dismissal), will kindly agree to work under your supervision for some more time.

One of the most frequent reasons desire to quit - search " best place”, the same reason can be equated to the state of “everything is enough”. In this case, you can try to draw perspectives on the new job and compare them with the current job.

Believe me, there are many arguments in favor of staying with him: a familiar, well-established team, long-understood principles of work, no need to retrain, retrain, an understandable and predictable wage system, motivation systems, good schedule, recycling if possible, etc.

What about in the new place? New sensations? And how long will they last - a month, two? And then again a new job? After all, with each new place of work it is more and more difficult to surprise us, and it takes less and less time to adapt. Being in constant search is not an option.

How, then, to solve the problem of obtaining new sensations? Very simple - HOBBY! Any person accumulates negativity from work, sooner or later he stops giving all the best in the workplace. What for? You won’t surprise anyone with this, the leader won’t even praise, and if you can’t see the difference, why tear it up ... spoil your nerves? And energy must be spent somewhere, because we all dream of something, we all want to do great things.

And you need to start small. In your free time, you can try to implement some of your own projects, which in the future can become a source of good income. Or go hunting with friends, but you never know what else you can do? After all, admit to yourself that there is something in the world that brings you pleasure.

So pay attention to THIS in your free time. Just doing nothing on the weekend means giving up and coming to terms with everything that can happen in your life. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Get off the couch and go do THIS through force. Later you will realize that IT really gives you pleasure, and as a result of such personal work, you have a feeling of satisfaction, and not uselessness, as in official work.

Again, there are a lot of reasons that lead an employee to the idea of ​​quitting. You cannot consider everyone, but the leader must be ready to identify them and, most importantly, to solve them, because if he does not offer a practical solution, then he will not see the employee. And a qualified cadre will go to raise virgin soil in another office.

In any case, successful or not, the manager must understand that the precarious balance in which the bosses and subordinates are located is temporary. And don't be afraid to fail. It was not possible to dissuade this employee from dismissing - try your hand the next time someone else “breaks down” ...

Read also: Order on the recalculation of wages - sample

How to retain a valuable employee

We study the reasons for leaving and take effective measures

According to HeadHunter, the number of vacancies in sales by the end of 2013 increased by 25% compared to 2012. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine a situation where a key sales person decides to leave the company. However, do not try to keep him - sometimes it is better to let the employee go. How to understand the reasons for the departure of a valuable manager and prevent the loss of personnel in the future?

If a letter of resignation from a valuable or even a key employee of the commercial service has landed on your desk, do not worry: from time to time it happens with any leader. As a rule, in such cases, each company has its own corporate policy: somewhere it is not customary to persuade employees to change their minds, whether it be an ordinary manager or a top manager, but somewhere they retain valuable specialists, preparing the so-called counterfeiter. By the way, employers are making counter-offers more and more often (more on this in the article “Trends-2014”, “KD” “No. 1” for 2014. - Ed.).

Before reacting to a letter of resignation, conduct an initial analysis of the situation, try to understand the reasons why the employee decided to leave the company.

We conduct an interview with an employee: the main thing is trust and honesty

At this stage, your main task will be to find out the true reasons for the departure of a specialist. There are two ways to get information. The first is an invitation to the employee to an open dialogue. Such a conversation can be held by the commercial director himself, if a trusting relationship has developed between him and the employee. It is important not to put pressure on the employee, you should not reproach him, condemn his act and accuse him of ingratitude. Listen carefully to the interlocutor, ask more open questions that do not require monosyllabic answers. Try to find out why he made such a decision, whether it is final or the situation can be corrected, what exactly served as a catalyst and other points. However, not everyone trusts the boss, so the employee may be insincere or not make contact at all. Then it will be better if an HR manager or a colleague whom he trusts will communicate with him. Such conversations are very useful, because even if the employee cannot be dissuaded from quitting, management will be able to identify problems that need to be addressed in order to avoid similar situations in the future.

The second way is to use the Secret Recruiter method. It cannot be classified as ethical, but it is used by some companies. So, a representative of a recruiting agency turns to the manager, asking if he is considering job offers, promising help in finding vacancies and, along the way, finding out the reasons for dismissal from his previous job. In addition to the ethical aspect, there is a risk that the employee will suspect something, so this method can only be used if the employee's resume is in the public domain.

We analyze the received data

Exit interview data should be recorded. It is not necessary to use special programs for this - a table in Word or Excel is enough.

The classifier table will help identify the systemic reasons for layoffs: an ill-conceived motivation scheme, lack of career prospects, or relationship problems within the team. For example, we keep a card of laid-off employees in the 1C:Enterprise program (table). In this case, specific information is very important, so two levels can be distinguished in the classifier - general and particular.
If desired, the manager can leave comments in the table in free form. Let's take a closer look at the three most common reasons for dismissal and the algorithm for working with each of them.

Reason 1. Low wages

It's no secret that sales managers are primarily focused on good material rewards. If an employee who has submitted a letter of resignation is dissatisfied with his salary, there is reason to think: is it worth keeping him, reviewing the level of remuneration only for him? As practice shows, even a salary increase in such a situation can only keep an employee for a short time - he will quit anyway, just later, in a maximum of six months. However, some companies are going to review salaries in order to find a replacement for a specialist during this period.

It is important to find out if the manager told his colleagues about his decision. If yes, it is all the more not worth keeping, otherwise the group of the most valuable employees will receive leverage on the management.

preventive measures. One of the main ways to retain a sales manager in a company is to control offers in the market. This includes an analysis of not only the average wage, but also the ratio of salary and percentage, the composition of the social package, the degree of comfort of working conditions.

Such monitoring must be carried out at least once every six months and it is imperative to include comparable companies in the study, that is, competing firms that may be potentially interested in your employees. A sales manager is first and foremost a businessman who is good at counting. And even if competing companies offer employees the same wage conditions, additional benefits, such as a company car or reimbursement for fuel and mobile communications costs, may be a significant factor.

We conduct a similar competitive analysis at least twice a year, and discuss the results with the commercial director.
According to d according to a survey conducted by HeadHunter in 2013, 88% of companies hire quit employees, and not even once. So, 42% of employers hired the same employee twice, and 22% - three or more times.

Reason 2. Lack of career growth

This is one of the most common reasons for dismissal. Numerous studies confirm that employee development is a key manager's tool to help reduce turnover, increase team engagement and productivity. As a rule, an employee can stay in a company without promotion for an average of three years. For sales managers, this period is usually even less - about two years.

Create a system of internal growth that would also provide an increase in material rewards. The following stages of development can be identified: junior manager, manager, senior manager, lead manager, supervisor. For each step, tasks and authorities should be described. For example, a senior manager's responsibilities might include training new hires, mentoring a group, or managing a particular product category. It is clear that the system itself may be different depending on the field of activity and the scale of the company.

preventive measures. Even when applying for a job, you need to find out the factors of motivation of the applicant. If he talks about the importance of a career, figure out exactly what he means. By career growth, some mean an increase in wages, others - getting the opportunity to lead a team, others - performing increasingly difficult tasks, and so on. It is important to find out whether the employee himself made efforts for his own development (for example, received a second higher education, attended trainings, read professional literature, took on additional functions, achieved significant improvements in his field of activity) or his motivation in the field of career growth is purely consumer.

In the first case, we are dealing with motivated specialists - put them on a separate list. Interview these employees with Human Resources about their expectations of working for your company and develop personal development plans. Identify long-term and short-term goals and plans of key managers, their opportunities and concerns. Many companies provide benefits to the most valuable employees and/or set wages above the average market.

Reason 3. Poor relationship with management

The employee will most likely indicate this reason only in a personal conversation with an HR manager or with a colleague whom he trusts. Therefore, you are unlikely to hear such an explanation when you are present at the exit interview, especially if the department has a high turnover of personnel.

preventive measures. They come to the company, and leave the head. Not all bosses are well versed in management skills, able to competently set tasks for employees and correctly respond to the results of their work.

Analyze how much time you spend communicating with subordinates, how many times they contact you to clarify the task, how often you evaluate their work and speak about the results. Do you communicate with them on an equal footing, discuss work issues like professionals, or does their opinion not matter to you? To diagnose the level of loyalty and engagement of employees, it is very useful to conduct regular anonymous surveys - again, together with the HR department. This will allow the leader to see himself from the outside, analyze his shortcomings and correct them.

Gamification as a motivational trend

The principle of gamification is becoming increasingly popular in the system of rewards and bonuses. Many large companies, for example, use the idea of ​​"bonus accounts" that employees can replenish by doing something useful for the company (creating an innovative offer, helping a colleague, showing outstanding performance, taking part in an important project). Accumulated bonuses can be exchanged for prizes or other intangible benefits.

Read also: Remuneration of disabled people with reduced working hours

Gamification involves employees in activities, activating the so-called competitive motive, hitting the string of competition. For example, in our company there is a motivational game “Increase your rating”. Retail network managers compete with each other according to certain rules. There are both individual and team ratings. Once a month, the best employees can choose an incentive of their choice from the corporate "prize menu". Those who manage to stay at the top of the rankings throughout the year are rewarded with a trip to the fashion capitals of the world, such as Milan or Vienna. The best team at the end of the year receives a fun New Year's party as a bonus.

Another option for implementing the principle of gamification is the badge system. The specialists of our retail network, who showed the highest results for the month, receive personalized "gold" badges with the inscription "Best Employee of the Month", which they wear at work.

The principle of gamification is best perceived by young generation Y people; a certain percentage of conservatives who treat him with distrust or even skepticism are, as a rule, older people.

Despite the fact that this technique has appeared relatively recently, it has already gained wide acceptance and many leaders consider it a powerful motivational tool.

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How to keep an employee who wants to quit

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They hired, trained, set up work processes - and suddenly a statement “of their own free will” falls on the table. Before you fire a valuable employee, it's worth considering why he wants it, and then deciding how to keep him. Rjob found out whether it is worth making concessions to the requirements of a quitter and how to do it with minimal losses for the company.

Dominant motivator or reason for leaving

No one quits "just like that" and "to nowhere", most often the employee has internal reasons to change jobs. Having understood and eliminated them, you can remove the question of finding new personnel - when a person is satisfied with everything, there will be no need to leave the company.

To identify the motives for dismissal, it is important to understand what attracts the employee and what he tries to avoid. What tasks did he solve with ease, what projects did he take on himself, in what issues did he volunteer? Did the person work alone or in a team, led the process, generated ideas, had the opportunity to work without control, in a free schedule or remotely, received a reward? And the employee’s story about a new place of work will help to understand the negative points, even if he has not yet found it. What would he like: not to get to work so long, not to stay late in the evenings, not to be nervous, not to stop developing? All these "not" almost certainly torment the staff in the current company.

Olga Ovchinnikova

All this is clarified during the Exit Interview - a meeting with an employee, after which much becomes clear about the person and the atmosphere in the team. At the end, I warn that I would like to meet again for a short conversation, before which I will consider the next steps and realize the value of a person for the company, his prospects, and ways to keep him.

A person may outgrow a position, duties may seem too familiar to him, he may desire professional growth. Or he lacks an element of creativity in his daily routine. Perhaps he lost his sense of purpose. The motive for leaving has to be literally dug up at the meeting. For the most part, people tend to give formal answers that they think are clearer to the leader than self-realization or psychological moments.

"I want a big salary"

Raising wages is both the most common demand and the most popular employee retention measure. But, oddly enough, the least effective.

An increase in wages should not be the basis for continuing work, Olga Ovchinnikova believes. Because if an employee is motivated only by the financial aspect, he will sooner or later go to the one who pays more. And this can happen at an inopportune moment for the company - in the middle of a project or during the holidays, when it is difficult to find a replacement.

Another good reason not to make concessions when discussing salary is the need to revise it not for one person, but for the entire department, division or company. After all, the rest of the employees can find out about the increase, and then you won’t end up with problems. However, this theory does not work if the salary in the company is really below the average market. In this case, on loyalty alone, employees will not last long and are going to competitors.

Offer the employee a rational option - review the remuneration system, make it more efficient and optimize the staff. Perhaps two employees will do a much better job than three, if the freed rate is divided in half? Or divide the salary into a fixed part and a “deal”, set bonuses for fulfilling or overfulfilling the plan. Even if in fact wages remain at the same level, the very possibility of earning more motivates.

It would not be superfluous to tell the employee about the cost of the social package - free lunches, compensation mobile communications and transport costs, corporate events and training. This will help the quitter to reasonably assess whether he took into account all the important factors when moving to a new job and whether a large salary is worth such losses.

“I’m bored, I’m thinking of changing my occupation”

An employee who has reached the ceiling in the company is bored and mentally thinks of what else to do. A standard promotion will not always help here, although for some it will be enough to feel their own importance and receive privileges.

Olga Ovchinnikova
Chief Operating Officer of Wyser (Gi Group International Personnel Holding)

If the average age of employees is 25+ (the so-called “generation Y”), then they cannot be retained by a simple change of position. It is important to give meaning to their daily activities, to show that the company values ​​them professional quality, experience and personality traits, demonstrate the horizons of development and offer the tools necessary for this. If an employee lacks creative realization in the daily routine, then we involve him in projects related to corporate charity or internal PR events (corporate events, promotions, contests).

A bored employee can become a valuable asset - precisely because “out of boredom” he figures out how to optimize the process, achieve great results, and knows where he is most useful. Worth listening to and new position will appear by itself.

"My work is useless"

Police officers, doctors and rescuers need to be motivated to work much less than “office plankton”, because they already know what benefits they bring to people. Even children are much harder to teach new skills if they do not see the point in it and do not understand why they need it! What can we say about adults who do “nonsense” every day.

In this case, Olga Ovchinnikova advises to transfer the employee to more global projects, events in which representative offices from different countries. This broadens the professional horizons, establishes communication with colleagues abroad and positively affects the perception of oneself as a person.

But even if there are no more global projects in the company, a simple explanation of the value of routine operations can radically change the employee's understanding of his duties. After all, he may not realize that the management appreciates him and the operations performed.

"I can't handle"

The fears expressed by the resigning person about the proportionality of duties and abilities speak of two problems: the desire to develop or simple fatigue. Talented and for real valuable employees strive to work more effectively and efficiently. That is why they are valuable! Therefore, studying is a good alternative to leaving the company.

Olga Ovchinnikova notes that the tense state of the staff is directly related to the amount of professional knowledge. To remove the fear of failure, it is enough to train such an employee within the framework of corporate courses or from an external provider.

But in this case, it's worth making sure. If a person already intended to leave the company, then after studying and advanced training, it will be easier for him to do this. Conclude a contract, according to which, after training, the employee will be obliged to apply the acquired knowledge in your company. Refusal of such an offer will clearly betray a self-serving person who wants to squeeze the maximum before being fired.

“I feel uncomfortable in the team”

Layoff prevention should be carried out from the very first day of an employee's work in the company, and there is nothing better than warm, trusting relationships with subordinates and colleagues. A competent adaptation procedure will help to avoid problems and conflicts, and team building and corporate events will cost less than the constant “turnover” in a team with an unhealthy atmosphere.

  • Finding out the reasons for dismissal
  • 9 tips to keep an employee in the company

Finding out the reasons for dismissal

In any organization, even the most high-class, large and experienced, staff turnover is a familiar thing. When a person really knows and does his job well, then everyone needs him, and it is naive to believe that "he will not go anywhere." It is better to prevent the loss of specialists than to persuade them to return or look for new ones. Therefore, first of all, find out the reasons for even simple conversations of subordinates on such topics. Forewarned is forearmed.

When you find out that your good employee wants to quit, the question naturally arises - how to keep him? And the first thing you should do is ask the quitter directly. No one leaves work for no reason, and you need to find out if you want to avoid it. Having discovered the reasons for discontent, you can analyze them and change them. Thus, it will be possible not only to save existing people, but also to create best conditions for newbies.

A very important point - the conversation with those who want to leave should not take place in the format of a boss - a subordinate. If it's really important to you to understand how to keep this employee from quitting, he should feel it. When your relationship is trusting, then the person will be honest with you, and you will get real reasons that you can work on, you can analyze and eliminate them, if possible. Or, you can use a survey. As a rule, in questionnaires, people answer more honestly and boldly.

By collecting data and studying it, you can correct these conflict situations, both for an individual employee and for the entire staff.

Top 5 reasons to quit

Of course, having found out from one subordinate, you will not be able to get the whole picture of what is happening, you will not know how many more of them are considering this possibility. Therefore, I have selected for you the 5 most frequently arising controversial points, sufficient to leave the company. So:

  • It seems to a person that his work is underestimated.This is indeed a very common reason for leaving. And this truth can happen, not even through the fault of the leader. Each person wants to see his significance for the company, his value. Demonstrate to subordinates that the work they do and the result they get is very important for the organization and management.
  • The specialist fears the lack of growth.People, in general, can be ambitious, and not so ambitious. There will be no problems with the second ones in this regard - they will be satisfied with their position for a very long time, if not always. But the first always want something more, higher, more responsible - moving forward on the career ladder. It is important for them to know that the authorities not only appreciate them, but also guarantee career growth.
  • Fear of not being up to the task.It comes to all of us, at different times. Someone at the beginning of a career path, someone already at the top. In all cases, there is only one way out - to prompt and help. Successfully completed business once in the second no longer causes such violent emotions.
  • Feels uncomfortable in a group.This happens very often, especially with beginners, and there are many reasons for this. To strengthen the team spirit, it is very useful to issue interesting team tasks, where everyone can work on an equal footing, arrange corporate parties and “team buildings”.
  • I did not find a common language with the leader.This can happen both through the fault of the subordinate and the boss. In any case, this frame is really important for the company, this issue will have to be resolved.
  • Financial moment.As you can see, this is not the most common reason for change of place. But it's in the top five. It often happens that everything in the company is good - “both the activity is interesting and useful, and the team with the bosses are excellent, only there is not enough money. And there are more in the next office…”. There is only one way out - offer and pay more than competitors.

In addition to a selection of motives for leaving, I also picked up 10 effective tips for you on how to keep a good subordinate.

  • Provide development.
    Your subordinate needs to know that he is not only doing a good job, but that you appreciate it. What is the easiest and most efficient way to do this? That's right, promote a specialist.
    But it also needs to be done correctly. Keep in mind that any manager will sooner or later reach his incompetent level. That is, if he copes well with any tasks in his department, it does not mean that he will succeed in leading this department. The thoughtless promotion of such specialists causes harm to both them and the business.
    How then to act? Increase your subordinate's salary, and give him more complex and interesting things to do.
  • Listen.
    This is another great way to show staff that their opinions and actions matter to you. Of course, you don't need to do absolutely everything that they advise you to do in pursuit of retaining personnel. But, when these tips are rational and really timely, then they need to be followed, and always with the subordinate who suggested it. In this way, the staff will really see their value, and will strive to generate new great ideas.
  • Encourage creativity.
    By following the previous advice, you will be able to improve your present affairs, but there is something for the future. Many people like to create something new and interesting, and believe me, there are some in your organization. Provide them with the best resources and information, as well as freedom of thought, help them to be creative. So you not only rally the team, but also get brilliant ideas for development.
  • Get rid of the ballast.
    This is not easy to do, but absolutely necessary. As well as great and purposeful, inefficient and perpetually dissatisfied people in any firm more than enough. That's with them and you need to end the working relationship. Because no matter what you do - no matter how hard you try to improve your enterprise, create favorable conditions for staff and a cozy microclimate in the team - such people will not be enough. And what do they do? That's right, they express dissatisfaction. But not to the management, but to their colleagues, thereby nullifying any zeal.
    Also in this category should be attributed those workers who simply do not cope with the tasks. And say goodbye.
  • Work on intra-team friendships.
    Engage people and increase productivity. Give them competition. Form teams, give tasks, and be sure to provide a reward for the best and fastest completion. The staff will feel the spirit of the competition, and will strive to perform better than others. It is interesting and exciting for any person, and enterprises in which it is interesting to work do not leave. You, in turn, will get a decrease in staff turnover and an increase in performance.
  • Allow creative freedom.
    Yes exactly. It is not necessary to control every step of your people. They are so suffocated. Constant control is annoying. They really know how to work better, how to achieve results faster and more efficiently. Follow this strategy - give the task, and do not interfere! People value freedom very much.
  • Make friends with subordinates.
    This is a moot point. Not all companies have the opportunity for the manager to maintain friendly relations with his staff. This may be hindered by the status of the enterprise and the management itself, or the wide geography of offices, or long-established subordination relationships within the team. But, if it seems possible for you and your company, it is worth working with it. When subordinates see that you see in them not only a working tool for profit, but also ordinary people they will feel inner comfort. Agree, it's nice to work with those people who not only appreciate you, but also respect you.
  • Dedicate staff to your goals.
    The company has a purpose, and people may not know it. Therefore, it is worth talking about it honestly and openly, showing the desired future to everyone. A person visualizes what he works for. This will be his goal too. In addition, the more a specialist knows about the activities of the company, the more actively he will be involved in the work.
  • Pay more than accepted.
    Salaries of workers can be not only competitive in comparison with other firms, but also significantly higher. It's trite, but it works. Each of the great specialists will sooner or later receive an offer from competitors, from which it will be “impossible to refuse”. But, if he already then has the highest income offered by others, no offer will become relevant. In the end, the salaries of the best personnel are high - a direct investment in the future of the entire company.

Well, now you've learned a lot about how to keep an employee from leaving., as many as 9 ways. Apply them in practice, all together, or selectively, and do not lose valuable personnel. Of course, do not forget to subscribe, leave your comments and opinions, feedback is very important to me! See you soon!

 

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