John Laws, a consultant with Career Catalyst in Overland Park, shared with me the resignation letter of a 20-something worker who had been recruited and performed well among his company’s professional peers.
The young man’s reasons for leaving should serve as a guidepost for employers and job-hunting workers, Laws noted.
The letter helps answer two questions I hear often:
Why is it so hard to keep young workers?
Where are good places to work?
The resignation letter cited six specific complaints:
•Lack of collaboration or teamwork: In 18 months on the job, the young worker was never invited to a meeting or even a meal of his work group.
•Negative communication: Despite being recognized as performing in the top 20 percent and getting a bonus, the worker said words from his boss were always demeaning.
•Lack of constructive feedback: He got no acknowledgements of his assignment reports and had gone more than a year with no formal or informal performance evaluation.
•Lack of direction: Projects were assigned without being clear about the purpose and without providing necessary support to do them well.
•No appreciation: He couldn’t recall a thank you for completing any project.
•No concern about personal development: He felt that the focus was entirely on company productivity, with no effort to help workers learn and grow in their jobs.
Turn those negative perceptions into positives and you find the atmosphere in “best places to work” organizations.
Those perceptions are what job hunters should try to investigate by talking to people who already work there.
Another important point from this individual’s experience: The worker specifically named and complimented one of his former bosses in his resignation letter.
But in his exit interview he also named and described the behaviors of another boss who set the negative tone.
Such responses from reasonable workers should help make management decisions.
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