There are a number of reasons why employees quit their jobs. When good employees leave, productivity sinks and colleagues have to deal with the increased workload until a replacement is found. The process of hiring and onboarding someone can be a difficult and an expensive transition.

When the economy picks up, there are more opportunities for job seekers as companies expand their teams to manage increasing market and customer demands. Companies in growth mode are often willing to offer eligible candidates better salary and benefits and career progression opportunities to attract them. However, these are just some of the pull factors.

Do you know what is causing your talent to leave? How can you ensure your best employees stay put?

In our 2018 Employer Brand Research, we found out that 35% of employees plan to change their employer this year, and that’s 1,503 of the 4,295 people we surveyed. We studied the motivators to find out why they plan to leave their employers.

3 reasons why your best employees quit

1. limited career path

Even though ‘attractive salary and benefits’ is the number one driver for Hong Kong SAR employees and job seekers looking for in an ideal employer, money alone won’t make your staff stay with you.

When employees join a company, they want direction, opportunities and clear goals that can lead them towards the next stage of their career.

However, if these expectations are not met or unclear, employees may feel a sense of demotivation, lack of recognition and reward and discouraged.

2. low compensation

When the economy is doing well, employees start to hear that competing companies are offering higher salaries. If you do not act quick enough to match your employees’ salaries against the market average, you may risk losing your best talent to your strongest competitors.

3. work-life balance

When work piles up and more responsibilities are added to the job scope, employees may find themselves spending longer hours in the office instead of being at home with their family. This new routine causes unnecessary stress on the employee as they feel that they are not only rushing deadlines at work, but they are also missing out on all the precious moments with their family and friends. If prolonged, employees may start to feel unhappy at work and yearn for more time outside of work.

Nine in 10 employees in Hong Kong SAR want to have the option to work outside of the office environment and during a time that better accommodates their lifestyle. When the stress builds up, your employees are pushed to find a new job elsewhere with an employer who can support their lives outside of work.

what can I do now to retain employees?

In addition to ensuring the attractive HR policies, it is critical to have open conversations with your staff if you want them to stay with you for the long-run. Regular discussions with your staff give you the chance to find out about the challenges they are facing and nip them in the bud, and learn about their changing aspirations. This way, you can do your best to present them with the opportunities that they are looking for at the right time. Your employees are also more likely to have a positive experience with your organisation.

This is the sixth year that Randstad has studied the career motivation drivers of more than 4,200 employees and job seekers in Hong Kong SAR. Connect with us for a year-on-year recruitment trend analysis and gain insights into what people are looking for, and what drives them to leave or stay with their employers.

get your copy of the latest Randstad Hong Kong SAR’s Employer Brand Research 2018 report.