When businesses experience high turnover,  business leaders typically have a bad habit of blaming the deficiency on anything, but themselves. If  leaders find themself constantly losing competent team members, it’s time to look inward because the fact is  that people don’t leave jobs they leave leadership. 

In today’s COVID-19 era, it is evident, as it becomes more difficult to rehire, that many businesses lacked a healthy relationship with their teams and did not build a strong enough company culture to retain their top talent. The coronavirus pandemic left those employees who remained working feeling overworked and underappreciated and as a result, many businesses are struggling.

If we would like to see a positive change within our workforce it is our job as leaders to reevaluate our policies, values, and goals. We need to make an effort to ensure our teams feel valued, accepted, and comfortable providing feedback so we are in touch with the things that matter most to them. If they do not see an effort of change being made in what their leadership has to offer, they will not remain or return.

I suggest business leaders who are experiencing high turnover rates and even those who are not, take the time to reach out to their team members and  Ask the important questions, such as:

• Do you feel valued?
• What can the company do better?
• What can I do better to support you?

It is essential for us, as leaders, to pinpoint what is lacking and take the proper steps to ensure our team members are engaged. Historically there are many areas that leaders overlook and those tend to be the ones that cause dissatisfaction. Below are three common areas that employees prioritize  in order to maintain engagement:

Recognition

No one’s hard work should go unnoticed. Congratulating an employee for putting in an extra  effort keeps them motivated. It pushes them to continue putting their best foot forward in order to stand out and exceed goals. Leaders must communicate with their team to see what makes them feel recognized, for some it might be a reward, for others public recognition. No matter what, leadership  needs to understand that giving kudos actually goes a long way.

Care/Wellbeing:

It is vital that team members’ health be prioritized. They are human, they have limits, feelings, and more often than not, unheard voices. Employees in many businesses are plagued not just by manual labor but emotional strain, which can take its toll over time.

This article was originally published here.