Whether your business is local or global, retaining good talent has never been more important for firms who wish to compete in today’s digital marketplace. However, despite an unstable economy, knowledge workers are still free agents, and won’t show loyalty to companies that they feel aren’t living up to their side of the employment “contract. Below are 7 concerns that ambitious, high-performing employees have which will make them question their loyalty to your organization:

1. Lack of Advancement/Development Opportunity – Employees worth retaining are those who constantly seek to improve themselves, build their skillsets and assume greater responsibility within the organization. If they feel that the company isn’t providing them with the advancement and professional development they will require for their next position, they will jump ship.
2. Disagreement Company’s Strategic Direction – The best employees are those who keep the bigger picture in mind, and view their decision making through the lens of what’s best for the firm. However, if these smart staff members disagree with the vision and direction which management has set, they are more likely to find a position elsewhere which they feel more comfortable with.
3. Not Feeling Valued – Nothing is more morale-busting for motivated employees than feeling that their efforts are for nothing, and are going unrecognized. Feeling undervalued isn’t just some silly, touchy-feely fear; it will ultimately affect the bottom line, as well as turnover rates.
4. Lack of Mentorship – Smart employees seek out those who know more than they do, and smart companies facilitate these connections. If your best and brightest don’t feel they have anyone whom they can learn from, their performance will stagnate, leaving them to either wither on the vine, or take the next best job offer which comes along.
5. Micromanagement – Good employees are self-motivated, and intrinsically want to do a good job. In his book “The 8^th Habit,” bestselling author Steven Covey talks about empowering employees by giving them more responsibility, in so doing telling them that you trust their judgment- which in turn gives them more confidence and “ownership” of their work. The opposite is true as well: smother workers with hyper-accountability, and their performance will fade.
6. Neglect – On the flip side, leaving employees completely on their own without any sort of accountability or guidance aside from hitting their numbers sends the message that management has better things to do, making employees feel inferior and not part of the “big picture.”
7. Office Drama – You won’t find this in much of the literature on improving ROI or margins, but workplace antics should not be dismissed outright. Petty gossip, jealousy, cliques and the like are damaging to workplace morale, and make people not want to come into the office, let alone do their best.

Sure, there are plenty of concerns employees have in this post-recession environment, not least of which include job security and maintenance of compensation/benefits. However, there are other concerns beyond money which cause your staff to stay awake at night, and question their loyalty to your firm. What other employee concerns can you think of? As a manager, what can you do to address them?

(FYI I am currently on the road, and my posts this week will appear more sporadically; I’ll be back with my usual daily posts next week, complete with pretty pictures and all)