Cassandra is a senior executive at a well-known mobile development agency in Sydney. She is earning an above-average income and is often invited to high-profile events. The areas of her professional expertise are in front-end user interface, backend applications and mobile apps. Her clients are very satisfied with her work.
Cassandra started her career in the technology industry when she was 18 years old. Her career has spanned more than 40 years, during which time she has held many positions including research analyst, website designer, project manager and app development executive. She has worked for many reputable companies including Microsoft, IBM, CSC and Oracle. But since the role is too 'abusive' to her, she is about to quit.
Cassandra is not alone. She is just one of the million workers who decided to call it quits with their jobs in Australia. The Great Resignation (currently happening in the US) even affected the other side of the world.
Employees feel the pain when they decide to walk out of their working environment is not just about the termination pay or non-renewal of contract. Non-compassionate leadership, lousy communication, uninspiring tasks, personal attacks, and lack of opportunities are just some signs that talent might be on the verge of quitting.
This article will explain how you can easily know if one of your top performing talents is about to resign from your company.
Your talents are feeling stagnant at their current job. They feel like they are not growing anymore. If your company is not giving them opportunities to learn new skills, chances are they will leave soon.
In Cassandra's case, she has been in the same position for five years. Even though that role is not too high on her professional experience, she still feels that she is not being challenged.
Another sign of an employee feeling stifled is feeling out of their depth. If you are an older employee, the chances are that your younger colleagues are handling tasks at the same level as your previous tracks in your field. But when they approach you, they might start by explaining how difficult it is to complete tasks they encounter through your old experiences in the past.
This is a sign that your talent is not being challenged. To keep talent at their existing level, you need to use them as expert advisors. They will have the required skills to help your company grow.
One of the first (and most important!) things you should do as a leader is to communicate with your employees. You need to create a workplace where employees feel comfortable communicating with each other. It is easy to spot if you have a talent who communicates with you appropriately.
If they are telling you that all their work is done on time or that your team meetings are on point, then chances are they are on the verge of resigning from your company.
Another sign of a person not communicating is not asking for feedback about themselves. You need to constantly remind your team that they can always improve and that you would like to help them grow.
When a person feels appreciated, they will always shine. But when a person does not feel appreciated, they might consider leaving their job.
Cassandra is a case in point. She says that her manager does not appreciate her work and that he is very abusive to his employees. Staying up until 3:00 AM and finishing all her tasks is not enough.
Cassandra also has to 'sell' to her clients and come up with new ideas to improve the company's new mobile development plans. When she explains this to her boss, he will treat her like she is naïve.
To make your talent feel appreciated, you need to constantly remind them that their work has value. You need to give them recognition and make sure they know that you see how hard their work is. Mobile development industry is indeed a demanding industry. But, it is not a valid reason to overwork your talents.
When someone does an excellent job, they deserve to get more compensation. The same thing goes for your talent. If they are doing massive work for you, you need to reward them. In human psychology, this is called providing equity.
In Cassandra's case, however, she was told that she was performing poorly. She was not given any feedback about her performance and was given a small raise. This was when she started to feel that her job was not for her. Having a low net worth, Cassandra does not have the money for a high-cost city like Sydney. And she could no longer live with her salary.
To solve this problem,a talent partner should ensure that the employer gives them the opportunities they deserve. Be it in the form of compensation, award, recognition or simple gifts, these could mean a significant thing for employees.
In A Word
A good leader understands that talent is what makes their company run smoothly. To retain your talent in the company, you need to make sure that your employees are valued and get opportunities for growth.
If you plan to hire more employees, digital recruiters need to make sure that their skills and talents blend well with your company's culture.