It’s easy to assume that when a good employee leaves, something must have gone wrong. But sometimes, even people who genuinely like their jobs decide it’s time for a change.
Understanding why people leave, and what might convince them to stay, means looking beyond the exit interview, according to Cathy Stewart, Senior Managing Partner at Jeff Harris & Associates. A better opportunity, a shorter commute or the prospect of career progression can all be reasons enough to move on.
“The vast majority of people, even though they may like the company that they work for, do what’s in their best interest,” Stewart says.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re dissatisfied. While departures can be an opportunity to assess what’s happening internally, Stewart cautions against taking them personally. People leave for all sorts of reasons, and not all of them point to a problem with the organization. Still, understanding what motivates people to move on can help employers identify where they might be falling short.
Salary is an obvious factor. But in Stewart’s experience as a recruiter, it’s rarely the only consideration. In fact, if money is someone’s sole motivation, it can be a red flag.
“If the only reason why somebody wants to make a change is for the money, I would much rather give them the verbiage on how to ask for a raise,” she says.
From a recruiter’s perspective, a candidate motivated purely by money may simply accept a counteroffer from their current employer. For employers, it can also be a sign to look more closely at what else might be missing from the role or workplace.
The people around them can also make a difference. Even employees who are otherwise happy in their roles may start looking elsewhere when there are changes within their team.
“Sometimes people leave because there’s instability in senior leadership. Sometimes people leave because there’s been a lot of turnover,” Stewart says.
For employers, that means looking beyond the resignation itself to understand what’s happening within the team. A lack of recognition or managers who don’t understand what motivates their employees can push good people out, even when the organization itself has plenty going for it.
“If you’ve got a manager that doesn’t understand how to recognize the different kinds of needs of the people on their team, those things will drive people to make changes,” Stewart says.
As a DiSC personality specialist, Stewart emphasizes that people are motivated by different things. The DiSC framework groups behavioral preferences into four styles, helping explain why some people seek greater responsibility and recognition while others want to feel appreciated and supported. A Dominance-style (D) temperament, for instance, may change roles to pursue greater responsibility or career advancement, while a Steadiness-style (S) temperament may be more motivated by feeling appreciated and supported. Understanding those differences can help managers build stronger teams and identify issues before they become reasons to leave.
Ultimately, employers can’t assume that good employees will stick around indefinitely simply because they’ve been there for years. Loyalty goes both ways, and retaining strong leaders means giving them reasons to stay.