The Cornell Chronicle, Oct. 2, 2008, Thursday

The Cornell Chronicle

Oct. 2, 2008, Thursday

The Cornell Chronicle

ILR professor provides tips on retaining top talent

Why do employees leave? What motivates good employees to stay?

How skilled an employee's supervisor is plays a major role, according to a study by John Hausknecht, assistant professor of human resource studies in the ILR school and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at Harrah's Entertainment.

The researchers surveyed 2,500 hospitality employees, including hourly, salaried and managerial workers, after they left their jobs. Findings from the study have human resources implications:

Incompetent, incompatible or insensitive supervisors are the fourth leading reason why high performers leave their job and are the top reason why low performers quit.
High performers leave for other jobs if they are not rewarded for their work, do not have adequate advancement opportunities or are not using their skills.
Low performers leave because of incompatible work hours, heavy workloads and absenteeism policies.

The findings, said Hausknecht, "offer new ideas about retaining the people who bring the most to your organization."

Employers can try to prevent high performers from leaving by developing a strategy that includes:

Developing exit interviews/questionnaires that help identify why employees quit.
Publicizing/restructuring career ladders to motivate employees seeking advancement.
The 2007 report, "Why High and Low Performers Leave and What They Find Elsewhere: Job Performance Effects on Employment Transitions," can be read at http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cahrswp/466/.