One of the worst things to experience as a manager is finding out one of your best employees is leaving. Usually managers will blame anything and anyone before realizing that employees don’t tend to leave jobs; they leave managers. Here are the 3 worst and most common things managers do to send their best employees packing.

1. Overworking employees

The best way to burn out a good employee is to overwork them. While it may seem natural to expect more from your top employees, the truth of the matter is that overworking them is counterproductive. The more you overwork your employees the faster their productivity will decline due to exhaustion, lack of sleep, frustration, etc. Moreover, if your plan on increasing the workload on your best employees, be sure to increase their status as well. Top employees will usually accept challenging tasks, but they will not allow themselves to be suffocated in the process. If you want to increase workload, make sure the conversation also includes raises, promotions, and title-changes. If you are not ready for this kind of negotiation and insist on upping the workload, expect your employees to quit and look for a job that gives them what they actually deserve.

2. Failure to recognize contributions or reward good work

Another big mistake managers make is understating or not rewarding good work. It’s always important to reinforce your employees when they are doing a good job. This lets them know that the work and energy they are putting forward is not only being appreciated but helping them achieve their own goals. Managers should take the time to get to know their employees, so when the time comes to reward them, they know exactly what kind of reward their employee value the most.

3. Not honoring commitments

Making false promises to employees is a big no-no. This can be a deal-breaker for a top employee, as it raises false expectations and lead to trust issues within the working relationship. Conversely, when a manager upholds a commitment, the relationship grows in value in the eyes of the employee because they prove to the employee that they are trustworthy and honorable.

Conclusion

Watching a top employee quit is frustrating for employers, but luckily there are a lot of ways to prevent this. All it takes is for managers to really think carefully about how they treat their employees. Good employees always have options. Treat them the same way you would like to be treated if you were in their shoes.