A survey among Facebook employees found that employees quit, not because they had horrible bosses, but because they were not enjoying their jobs anymore, not using their strengths or growing in their careers.
Three executives from the company – head of people Lori Goler, head of HR business partners Janelle Gale, and leader of people growth team Brynn Harrington – teamed up with Wharton professor and author Adam Grant in writing an article, ‘Why People Really Quit Their Jobs’, for the Harvard Business Review.
The authors said managers were ultimately responsible for ensuring that people, especially the star workers, stayed with the company.
“Most companies design jobs and then slot people into them,” the authors said. “Our best managers sometimes do the opposite: When they find talented people, they’re open to creating jobs around them.”
Using survey data crunched by the company’s people analytics team, the authors tried to predict who would stay and who would leave, and discovered that those who stayed:
- found their work enjoyable 31% more often
- used their strengths 33% more often, and
- expressed 37% more confidence that they were gaining the skills and experiences they need to develop their careers
According to the authors, all employees have passions that have not been acted upon. These unanswered callings are sometimes channelled into people’s jobs.
Good managers try to find out what it is their people enjoy; this information helps them design motivating, meaningful jobs.
“Smart managers create opportunities for people to use their strengths,” the authors said. “As managers learn who knows what, they can connect the dots — or better yet, build a searchable database of experts. The goal is to put employees’ strengths on display so that people know whom to contact.”
Related stories:
How to prevent employee burnout
The staff retention challenge in the digital age
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