10 Reasons Why Employees Leave

Especially for companies within the Life Sciences industry, retaining top talent is a particularly tough challenge for employers, but is one which is just as important – if not, more important – as finding new talent. 

Whilst there are many reasons why an employee might decide to leave a company, we’ve put together this list of 10 of the most common reasons, together with some key advice on what you can do to improve your employee retention. 

Better Salary

One of the biggest reasons for an employee leaving is to find a similar role with a higher salary. It can be hard to compete with the salaries offered by the biggest pharma companies, but you should at least be working to match your salaries with the industry standard.

Also consider introducing bonus schemes and other reward systems to show employees that their hard work will pay off and that their income has some flexibility. 

Better Benefits

Employees also look at company benefits when thinking about changing jobs. These could include anything from employee discounts, flexible working and good holiday allowances to private healthcare, dental care and life insurance schemes.

Whilst these might not be the only thing that causes an employee to jump ship, they could make a job at another company appear much more enticing! Have a look at what other companies within the Life Sciences industry are offering and speak to your employees to see what it is they need the most.

Lack of Autonomy

It’s important for employees to feel accomplishment from finishing certain tasks or projects to stay motivated, and one way to do this is to give them control over their workload.

Jobs that offer more control over individual projects will be appealing to someone who has spent years being micromanaged and left to feel like they aren’t trusted or valued within the company. Give your employees the chance to implement their own ideas into their work and reward them for their progress. 

Divides Between Levels of Management

Whilst it’s assumed that the higher up you are in a company, the less time you spend with your employees, taking the time to know your employees, listen to their concerns and letting them know that you’re there to support them is still something you should be focusing on. 

Make an effort to be present for your employees where you can and to reward good work at all levels, acknowledging the part that everyone plays in contributing to the business’ success. 

Heavy Workload and Lack of Support

Jobs in pharma can be especially demanding and stressing out your employees by giving them an unrealistic workload won’t be good for your employee retention.

Make sure you regularly assess the workload of your employees and be prepared to offer them extra support wherever you can. You may also want to consider having an employee wellness scheme in place to show them that you care about their wellbeing at work and are aware of some of the challenges they are facing.

Lack of Training and New Opportunities

Employees who feel stuck in their current position will be drawn to roles that promote good job progression and learning and development schemes. 

Make sure to check in with your employees to see if they’re looking to learn something new, and check out some of the key pharma training providers to see how you could develop your current training schemes. Also make sure to regularly check in with your employees to understand their career goals and see what you can do to help them to achieve those within your company, not someone else’s. 

Not Getting on With Other Employees

Whilst you can’t force all of your employees to get along with one another on a personal level, you should be making sure that they’re working together collaboratively on a professional level, and that none of your employees are being isolated from the team. 

If you have issues with getting your employees to work together, booking in some time for team building exercises is a great way to help your employees find common ground outside of the workplace and to bring everyone together. If you're working remotely, think about what you can do to keep your employees connected. 

Rigid Workplace Policies

After 2021 saw most companies continue to embrace remote working, more and more companies are beginning to offer more flexible working options, and being bound by a strict 9-5 structure is now not as desirable to employees.

Having more flexible working options such as the option to work remotely where necessary isn’t only convenient for your employees but will also show them that you trust them too which really goes a long way in making them feel valued. 

Voices Not Being Heard

Ultimately, employees want to feel like their opinions and feelings matter. Remember that as a manager you probably aren’t facing all the same challenges as your employees at other levels of the business are every day, so it’s important to have a way of collecting their feedback and understanding what’s going on throughout your company.

This will also help you to work on the growth and development of your company, so take advantage of all these people ready to share their concerns with you. 

Losing Meaning

Some employees are left feeling deflated from losing the meaning of their job, and why what they do matters. Make sure you regularly communicate your company’s mission to your employees and let them know how important the role they play is in achieving your goals, as well as celebrating big achievements with them.  

Communication is Key

One of the most important things to take away from this is that communication is KEY. Whether your employees want to see more company benefits, more opportunities for job progression or even just to be thanked for their hard work, you should be listening to their concerns and continuously working on ways to make your company an enjoyable, and desirable, place to work.

The Life Sciences industry is continuously evolving, as are the ways that companies within the industry are working, so it’s vital to stay ahead of the game to retain your top talent.

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Visit PharmiWeb's Recruiter Blog for more tips and advice on recruiting within the Life Sciences, and to stay up to date with the latest industry news.