By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

In the course of my life I've been an employee and I've been an employer. I have made mistakes as both. As a pastor and priest, I've watched literally thousands of people over the years that fit into one or the other of those roles. But one of the curiosities of that observation has been that many employers have a great deal of difficulty keeping top-notch employees. Many of them make a point of finding, recruiting, hiring, and training the best and are later disappointed and even bitter that those top performers have left them.

In the February 2002 edition of the newsletter "Executive Leadership," a publication of the National Institute of Business Management, Michael McLaughlin gives four reasons why organizations lose their best people. His observations, paraphrased, along with my own comments, follow:

1) Employers fail to let employees know where they stand - either good or bad. A number of years ago, I worked for a man who seldom passed out compliments. His approach was, "If you're doing a good job, you don't need to be congratulated." While there are some very few for whom this is true, most people operate best when there is an equitable system of both rewards and consequences. The military has learned that commendations, ribbons, and medals mean more to the soldier, sailor, airman, or marine than an increase in pay. For some, an increase in responsibility is more important, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., said, "The reward of the general is not a bigger tent, but command."

2) Employees get frustrated when employers give raises across the board without due consideration for merit. Every employee knows who the non-performers are who, they feel, get paid mostly for just showing up. While all men may be created equal, it is a mistake to assume that all employees should be paid equally or than when raises are given that all employees should share equally in the cutting of the financial pie.

Some employees are more valuable than others. Top performing employees know that they are more valuable than those who perform minimally and occupy space. When they fail to get rewarded, they look for a place where their talents will be appreciated. Not all leave because of pay issues. Some people leave the organization when promotions or advancements are slow.

Organizations who hire the best must realize that these people will be ambitious and will expect to move into positions of greater responsibility, if they perform in an outstanding manner. Hitting the ceiling is, for them, a sure sign to move on.

3) Employers who fail to plan for turnover will lose even more people. Interestingly, in my experience, employers who lose good employees tend to blame the one who left. They often refuse to accept responsibility for the well-being, morale, and contentment of the employee, and, when the employee finally leaves, they appear to be caught off-guard. Their immediate solution is to simply shift the work load to other employees, who resent the extra work, while they look for a replacement. They do not see the need to look within themselves or the organization to discern why people are leaving. The other employees will begin to lose confidence in the ability of the employer to lead effectively, thus setting up future withdrawals.

4) Employers who misunderstand the "loyal opposition" do so at their peril. The best ideas may come from employees who want desperately to see the organization succeed. There's a difference between whining and constructive criticism, although many employers fail to see it. If there is a better way to do something, the employees are more often in a position to grasp it.

Some time ago, I taught a supervision and management course at one of the police academies in Georgia. The most frustrating thing was to realize that these police supervisors, at least the majority of them, had no intention of listening and learning. I discovered that many of them supervised officers who would suggest different ways of doing things only to be rebuffed and labeled "whiners." And, because I was a minister, even though I have had many years experience in dealing with people, many of them felt that I had nothing of any value to say. Employers need to learn to listen to their employees or some other employer will.

Like it or not, employers are responsible for the morale of their people. Napoleon said, "In war, everything depends on morale." Frederick the Great said, "A battle is lost less through the loss of men than by discouragement." And, in his book, "Soldiers," Lt. Gen. Bruce Clarke said, "The morale of soldiers comes from three things: a feeling that they have an important job to do, a feeling that they are trained to do it well, and a feeling that their good work is appreciated and recognized."

The employer who intends to keep his best people should learn these lessons well.

[The Reverend Canon David Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church which meets in Peachtree City Sundays at 10 a.m. in the chapel of Carmichael-Hemperley on Ga. Highway 74. He may be contacted at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com.]

Back to the Opinion Home Page | Back to the top of the page