Retention is a huge issue for most tech related companies right now. Even Google’s tech employees only stay at the company for about a year on average, according to the most recent PayScale report on employee turnover.
Sure, tech jobs are a plenty, and these employees are constantly being presented with new opportunities to get their next raise or promotion somewhere else. But that’s not the real reason they’re leaving.
It’s also true that a lot of today’s tech jobs are occupied by millennials who have shown the world by now that they aren’t interested in the rigid 9-5 jobs of generations past. They feel no impulse to stick around a job for 5 years just to “pay their dues” before they can move up. But that’s also not the reason tech employees are quitting so quickly.
If you want to understand why tech employees leave their jobs, you need to understand what these employees are looking for in a job in the first place. Most of these people didn’t get into tech just for the pay. They got into it because they are intrigued by solving complex puzzles, they like to completely immerse themselves in their projects, and they relish in seeing their work have a greater impact on the world.
Chances are if your tech team keeps bailing before even hitting the year mark, your organization is guilty of one or more of these.
The job is boring.
Tech people hate routine, maintenance focused work, especially when it can/should be automated. Busywork is bad for anyone’s morale, but tech people especially have a harder time justifying their time to themselves when they feel they aren’t contributing anything unique to the process.
Repetitious tasks like deploying code to servers should be delegated to a machine, so your staff can focus their energy on problems that require them to use more of their brainpower. If you have staff repeating a mechanical task every day/week, figure out if you can find a technical solution.
Moreover, investing in automation, when it’s fueled by a business model that monetizes it with an economy of scale, allows organization to have more financial agility. In a truly cloud enabled economic model, employees can focus their time on work that truly matters. Your business, therefore, benefits from both a humanitarian and revenue objective standpoint.
They lack a greater purpose.
Millennials especially have shown the world that they are a socially conscious generation. They care about where their products come from and how they are made, they care about preserving the environment and global warming, and they believe in sustainable practices. When young tech workers don’t feel like their work is improving the world around them, they aren’t going to understand the true impact of vacating their job.
One reason these employees can feel disconnected from a greater purpose, even if they work at a nonprofit dedicated to saving blind puppies, is that when you are relegated to a desk all day it’s hard to see the impact of your work really come to fruition. One of the best ways to help tech employees internalize impact of their work and increase their personal fulfillment with their job is by having them meet the customers and clients who appreciate them so much. When they get to not only hear, but see, interact with, and build relationships with those whose lives they affect, they are much more likely to feel connected and stay at their jobs.
They aren’t being treated as individuals.
Some people like to have music play while they work. Others need dead silence to focus. Some people learn by doing and others learn by taking notes first and then trying on their own. Some people don’t need any supervision (and even resent too much oversight), while others get distracted easily and need help directing their creative energy. Each person is different and deserves to be treated well for exactly who they are.
The problem with treating everyone uniformly is that you fail to praise the individual. When people don’t feel they are appreciated for their own uniqueness, they also tend feel they are more replaceable. If you can’t treat your employees as the unique people they are, they are going to try to find someone who can.
Their manager can’t manage.
One of the top reason people leave their jobs is because of their manager. Just because someone is exceptional at code doesn’t mean they will make a great leader. Managing a team of diverse human beings from different backgrounds who have different career and personal goals, lifestyles, opinions, expertise, etc. while directing them towards a common goal is a huge task for anyone. Managers need to understand how to empower employees, encourage innovation, cultivate collaboration, mediate disagreements, act on good ideas, deliver good/bad news, and more. If you aren’t investing enough in developing your managers, your employees aren’t going to feel you’re investing in them either.
Final Thoughts
It’s true that some of your tech employees may just be leaving for the boost in pay, but the majority are leaving because of a deeper dissatisfaction with the job they’ve been tasked with. People in general want to feel challenged to grow, fulfilled when they rise to the occasion, appreciated as an individual, and supported by their organization. Provide these tenants of a quality job, and you’ll find that your tech employees will stick around for a lot longer.
