Where there's smoke . . .

Work units with high potential for turnover send up signal flares, but you have to know where to look to see them. According to Gallup research, if the people in a work unit say their manager's expectations are unclear; that the manager provides inadequate equipment, materials, or resources; and that the opportunities for progress and development are scanty, there will be trouble. There are other indicators too. Workers in roiling departments often say they don't fit their job, that their coworkers aren't committed to quality, that their pay and benefits are bad, and that they aren't connected to the purpose of the organization or to senior management. (See graphic "The Top Five Predictors of Turnover.")

Interestingly, pay and benefits are a bigger issue if workers feel that their coworkers aren't committed to quality. "Inequity in effort likely drives greater emphasis on pay as a determinant of perceived value," says Harter, who coauthored 12: The Elements of Great Managing. In other words, people who believe that their coworkers aren't doing their share of the work may feel entitled to extra compensation to make up the difference or to make them feel like they are valued by their employer.

Harter's research team discovered that a worker's responses to the items on Gallup's Q¹² employee engagement survey explain at least 96% of the meta-analytic relationship between teams' overall satisfaction with their company and later turnover rates for the same teams. The research shows that an employee's attitude about the workplace is important and predictive of turnover. But it's possible for employees to report high levels of engagement and still quit -- or feel actively disengaged and stay -- depending on the way the engagement elements interact.

According to Gallup's research, 9 of the 12 workplace elements consistently predict turnover across business units, regardless of an organization's size. These elements are: having clear expectations, having the materials and equipment to do the job right, having the opportunity to do what you do best every day, the belief that someone at work cares, the belief that someone encourages your development, a sense that your opinions count, the mission or purpose of the company making you feel that your job is important, a belief that your coworkers are committed to quality, and having opportunities to learn and grow at work. If these needs are met, as shown by higher scores on these employee engagement items, turnover is likely to be low. If not, keeping people may be the hardest part of a manager's job.

Low-engagement workplaces

When it comes to predicting turnover, the remaining three Q¹² elements come into play depending on the overall engagement of the workplace. In workplaces where engagement levels are high, those three elements -- recognition, progress discussions, and the presence of a best friend at work -- add significant value, and turnover is much less likely. But in workplaces where engagement is low, high scores on those three elements don't have much effect on keeping people. "I think this is because the overall culture supports or contradicts the local culture when it comes to feedback systems," says Harter. "When there is a contradiction between local and broad culture, people sense a lack of authenticity."

Copyright Ó 2008 The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ.  All rights reserved.  Reprinted with permission.  Visit The Gallup Management Journal at http://gmj.gallup.com/

Article from The Gallup Management Journal