Key Employee Retention: Why Do Employees Leave?

As employers, we all feel the “pain” in our organizations when key employees leave. By better understanding why employees leave and the impact their departures have on your organization, you can better determine what can be done within your company to not only attract the best talent but increase employee loyalty as well. But, how do you keep these important members of your legal team?

Contrary to what most employers believe, employees do not primarily leave for more money. In fact, the key motivation for employee departure is rarely compensation. From our experience in working with transitioning legal professionals, the following is a list of key reasons why these individuals are searching for new jobs:

1. They simply feel that there is no compelling reason to stay. The sentiment of these professionals is that they feel they are treated as disposable commodities and that their employers neither care about them personally nor professionally. Although this sounds very “touchy feely,” this is a very common complaint.
   
2. Their employer offers poor quality supervision and direction, and the department lacks a strong mentoring program. This is a common complaint of more junior and mid-level attorneys. Take a look at the management style of your department – is there an open door policy? Is there a mentoring program, whether formal or otherwise?<
   
3. Employees find themselves with an undefined career path because their employer offers no clear outline for promotion opportunities. With no clear opportunity for professional growth, the employees begin to examine whether their current position fits within their long-term career objectives. As a result, they start to put “feelers” out in the market for more promising career options.
   
4. Overall job dissatisfaction. As an employer, you need to provide clear career challenges, with continuous opportunities for learning. A common concern raised by our candidates is that they feel stagnant, underutilized, unchallenged and that their learning curve has halted.
   
5. Their employer lacks flexibility. This is one of the most common employee concerns. With the realities of today, career and family commitments often compete and employees need for their employers to understand these “facts of life.” The message here is this: rather than risking the loss of tremendous talent, employers must examine ways which will prove to be “win-win” situations for both you and your employees in terms of flexibility. You will be rewarded by stellar work product and loyalty in return for recognizing the work/life balances needed by your team members.
   
6. They cite poor benefits. Employees understand that they often need to contribute to their benefits (they too understand the realities of the marketplace). However, your organization should absolutely provide certain benefits – even if your employees must make a significant contribution. At a minimum, you should be offering health insurance, a retirement plan, life and disability insurance, bar dues and professional association expense reimbursements as well as reimbursements for career-enhancing seminars, productivity of the department and employee loyalty.
   
7. Money is rarely the motivating factor to leave unless the employer’s compensation program is grossly below market. As a word of caution in terms of your recruitment efforts, be wary of candidates whose only focus is money.

As discussed in articles appearing in previous editions of The Special Counsel Column, there will always be natural attrition in your organization due to circumstances beyond your control. However, by having a better understanding of why employees make career changes, you can better prevent some employees from leaving and protect and prepare for those inevitable employee vacancies as well. Remember, with the assistance of your staff, the key is to systematically fine-tune your hiring and retention programs with a goal of increasing loyalty and your image as an employer within your marketplace.