A week ago, our HR Department conducted a survey about our work condition in the office. This was triggered because of the increasing personnel turn-over. A lot of our colleagues have been resigning. After the survey, a Focus Group Discussion was organized where the facilitator randomly selected employees to join the activity. I got to participate in one.

I work for a well-known company included in the list of the top corporations. When I got accepted to join the company, I was very enthusiastic and thought that this is the company. I plan to work for until my retirement…that’s how I felt two years ago. Everything is different now.

I researched  on why employees leave the company and I could relate to a lot of them. Here’s to point out a few:

• Good employees leave the company because of their supervisors or managers. Managers tend to pass on the stress to their one-downs when they are being pressured by higher management. Managers can stress out their subordinates in various ways, by bullying them and making them feel they are incompetent. Sometimes, by also making them feel that they are stupid. There are bosses also who are threatened by their subordinates because they see potential and because their subordinates would appear more skilled and smarter and could eventually outshine them. Only a few bosses have undergone leadership training skills where they will learn to train their juniors all the way up the corporate ladder and not drag them down.
• Standards and procedures in the office. Policies and procedures in the office needs to be revisited every once in a while and this should be cascaded to all the employees in the company. A company needs to adapt to the changing world where technology is usually updated and the environment is not always as it seems. There should always be room for improvement. Rank-and-file employees do the dirty work, and by listening to their voices and considering their suggestions, they could contribute to the enhancement of procedures being done in the office instead of treating them as “dispensable” and could be easily replaced.
• Lack of career succession planning. Every company has its own mission and vision, so does an employee. Who wouldn’t want to go up the corporate ladder and get promoted? Employees want to have a clear career path. The managers’ role in their subordinates is not only to train them, motivate them but also to give direction to where their career is headed. The question “What happens next?” should always be addressed.
• No training opportunities. Training must not only be beneficial to the company but to the employee as well. Many companies believe that training is a misuse of the corporate funds, this makes the employees feel that there’s no growth potential on the company they are in. Companies must provide employees with training that would develop their skills professionally and personally.
• Poor working environment. To be able to provide excellent work output, the resources should be available. Office equipment or machineries should be properly working and sufficient. Bosses also need to generate a good corporate culture otherwise the staff will be unmotivated, they would feel that working is no longer gratifying, instead they would only feel compelled to do the work without their heart in it.

These are just a few points raised in the discussion, there are more. I used to think that if I got in one of the top companies, it’s the most fortunate thing to happen in my career, an opportunity of a lifetime, but I was mistaken Anyway, I’m looking forward to the changes and improvements that will happen after the survey. I do hope that the management will listen to the voices and not go on denial. Otherwise, we will be expecting a lot more resignation before the year ends, maybe it will include mine.