That old man became emotional on his farewell. He worked for one organization throughout his career and retired without trumpets and clarinets.
He was constantly on top of his work; I have regularly heard positive words during the time I shared with him in the office. He hustled till his last day, but never went above a certain hierarchy in the company. Everyone felt his inner emotional turmoil on the last day. But he clicked photos with everyone in the office, with his desk he sat for years and successfully executed projects.
His opinion counted for little in the last few years. And he wasn't heard until his last day at the company.
My eyebrows always draw together and my head spins when I think about working at the same company for another 20-25 years.
We are in an extraordinary time, the economy is on a growth trajectory with new technological developments in every industry. Nowadays people have the opportunity to work with many companies.
There are eye-catching offers that give a good raise even in covid time. One of my friends got such opportunity. He works from home and has not been to the workplace even once.
Seeing such cases, most people don't mind getting out of their comfort zone and switching companies.
But sometimes people switch jobs even when they don't get good offers, and in today's corporate world, the average tenure of an employee in a company is three years. In the future, it will be rare to see employees to retire after 30 years of service with the same company.
Let's look at the reasons why people today change jobs so frequently.
1) Of course, it's primarily about money. People need rapid growth, the economy is on a high and everyone wants a piece of it. Also, moving to other cities is no longer an issue and people also have no qualms about living in a nuclear family. This is the age of creating your own identity and not for a clan or a joint family. People travel to make it work.
2) Companies have fierce competition in the market to retain employees. Their competitors offer good money, benefits, house, car, tuition, overseas opportunity and entry bonuses.
Companies let people go because they want to rely on processes. That's a good practice, but it's always people who execute those processes, and losing that one gem sometimes costs companies dearly.
3) Lack of respect, lack of good work will cause an employee to change job. It is quite possible that one of your most important projects didn't work out for some reasons and you got caught in this web of self-pity. You change companies to find a better environment that can act as a self-motivator.
4) Employees also leave the company for family reasons and they move to support the family. Either the child's education or the partner's job restriction makes people to move and change location.
5) For some, bosses are not good. There is a common saying that people leave their bosses, not companies. Ok, that's partially true, but management plays a big role. Bosses aren't good because they gef a way to escape governance, or management itself isn't good enough to correct such bosses.
6) Some people are explorers. They want a change every now and then, and they change jobs just for fun. This trend is most evident in the IT industry, where it's easy to switch. Millennials are the first to realize that they only have one life, money isn't everything, exploration is.
All in all, this sums up the main reasons for people switching jobs.
A company's high retention rate says a lot about its culture, processes and leadership. These days, when finding a great employee is a tedious, expensive, and lengthy process, companies rely on improving their processes and offering their employees perks that enrich their lives until they stay on the job. This also helps them retain high-performing employees for a longer tenure.
Below are perks which would help companies to retain their employees
1) Providing Creche Facility
This is only beneficial for married employees. Enrolling children in daycare makes life easier for working couples. While they are at work, they can keep track, monitor their progress and be light in their mind.
It keeps them away from the pain of keeping maids or dealing with independent far away daycare centers that force them to travel.
2) Providing home and education loans
This is another critical factor in motivating employees. Helping them get a loan at a lower interest rate for the duration of their tenure is helpful in many ways. First, the employee stays longer with the company; second, the employee buys a house, which promotes stability in their life; and third, it becomes difficult to change cities or jobs, which creates a challenge for the location of the house. A win-win situation for both company and employee.
3) Giving unlimited health insurance
This is slowly becoming a common benefit, but it is only important for those who are over 35. Young people in their 20s don't realize the importance because they may not have critical medical conditions unless they have parents who are seriously ill.
4) Introducing couple job program
It's like offering a preferred job opportunity to employee's partner. If selected, both will work in the same company. Retaining them becomes easy as well.
5) Giving compulsory paid leave
Even if this does not stop an employee from switching, it is a great motivator. Such periods help reduce cognitive stress, relieve them and make them fresh for new ideas and new projects to work on.
6) Giving them excitement and thrill
This is especially true for young and creative people. People love excitement, it gives them a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed. They see their worth growing up the ladder. It gives them the assurance that they have entered the world and are changing it with their efforts.
People change jobs in search of interesting and exciting projects. All companies should have a mechanism to give all high performing employees the opportunity to take part in such exciting projects. Managing this process will allow companies a respite from giving other expensive perks. People won't want to leave because they will enjoy the work.
