When the best employees leave it's always bad news and creates a difficult situation for managers. It's very expensive and has a major impact on how teams and the whole company functions. Managers often blame different circumstances, such as the economic situation, for the departure of their best people. However, there's something in the saying that people don't leave their jobs, but their managers. Most managers can prevent them from leaving.

"Organizations know how important it is to have motivated, engaged employees, but most fail to hold managers accountable for making it happen," wrote Travis Bradberry, an emotional intelligence expert in a recent LinkedIn Pulse article. He also summed up the following examples of managers' mistakes that make their best people decide to leave.

Too much work

Do you tend to delegate more and more work to your best people? This is only right if their status in the company increases with the increasing volume of work.

Not enough recognition

Great job performance is not a matter of course. Even highly motivated employees want to be praised and valued for their contribution. Find out which form of recognition best suits every individual.

Lack of development

Even talented and high-performing employees should be able to further develop their skills. They can't and shouldn't manage themselves. Your task is to share feedback with them.

No interest in employees

Managers shouldn't have a purely professional relationship with their employees, there should be a human element as well. Otherwise, they can hardly spend each day together.

Unfulfilled promises

A manager who fulfills his promises has the trust and respect of his surroundings. If he doesn't do what he promises, other people perceive him as false, uncaring and disrespectful.

Poor selection of employees

Hard-working employees want colleagues with the same qualities. If their manager hires or promotes undeserving people, the best people will soon start leaving.

No support for employee enthusiasm

Talented people are usually enthusiastic, and managers should help them keep up their enthusiasm by offering interesting job opportunities. Strictly focusing on a narrow range of tasks and procedures can be detrimental.

No support for creativity

The best workers have a natural interest in constantly changing and improving things. If their manager doesn't allow them to do so, it will limit not only them, but also himself.

Insufficient challenges

A good manager puts challenges in front of his people to achieve things that  seem unachievable at first. He doesn't let them only work on boring and simple tasks.

-kk-