Why people quit: The learning curve
How S-Curves of the technology lifecycle explain why employees quit, and how to make them stay
High potentials are causing headache for managers all around the world. They seem to have an endless list of demands and expectations about their workplace and easily quit to move on to another job. Through talking to friends, peers and colleagues, I found that one aspect to motivating young employees is by providing them with a steep learning curve and making sure it never flattens. This framework is similar to the technology lifecycle and explains why and when employees leave their current position to hunt for new opportunities.
It should be noted that this is only one aspect of keeping employees engaged with their work. There are still other aspects like trust, responsibilities and not the least the pay cheque which play a role on keeping employees productive and happy.
So how can you make sure that high potentials stay onboard?
The goals especially of young employees is to learn as much as possible as fast as possible in order to have an edge in the competition for the best jobs. Therefore it is paramount to improve existing knowledge and take on more and more responsibilities. The goal is to build a knowledge portfolio that serves as the foundation for their future career.
One way to look at the learning rate of new employees is through a well-established technology framework, the technology lifecycle. This framework describes how technologies improve over time and ultimately overtake inferior technologies. The curve of every new technology usually starts flat. The potential is not yet fully clear and investments into research are still low. But at one point there’s a breakthrough, the potential benefits become clear and investments as well as competition pick up. After the initial rush however, there are diminishing returns on research and investment, as the potential for the technology is maxed and the performance improvements are not as steep anymore (For an example, have a look at the evolution of the iPhone).
This is the point where new technologies can overtake the legacy technology in performance. They were underperforming due to the foundational research necessary to reach a breakthrough, but now increase their performance much faster compared to the legacy technology. At this point, everyone jumps ship and gets onto the new technology as it promises higher performance. Tough luck if your business model can’t adapt fast enough.
For an example, think about how SSDs (Solid State Disks) at first were expensive and had a lower capacity compared to conventional HDD (Hard Disk Drives), but after a while were picking up in Performance and are now built into even low-cost laptops.
Now what does this mean for HR practitioners and the retention of high potentials?
As mentioned before, a key goal for any high potential is to keep their learning curve as steep as possible. They continually demand to learn and increase their knowledge and skill portfolio. In a typical work-environment, this learning curve closely resembles the S-Curve of the technology lifecycle.
In the beginning, the learning curve is rather flat, as employees get used to the various processes, coworkers and new work environment. After a while it increases when new projects start and people take on more responsibilities. This is a great motivator, and most employees feel proud (and a little overwhelmed) during this phase.
However, after a couple months or years, the learning curve will flatten. Projects and tasks repeat and there’s just not much new happening in the workplace compared to the beginning.
This is the point that managers should be aware of and avoid or delay at all cost.
Because once the frustration sets in new opportunities with a potentially steeper learning curve will become much more attractive to the employee (in addition to a probably higher salary due to his now increased experience). Especially employees with jobs that are in high demand, such as programmers, UX designers etc. will be approached by headhunters constantly.
If the employee thinks that his learning curve will again steepen at the new position, he will make the switch. Especially for young employees, the switch to a new job is often much more beneficial than remaining at a position with a flat learning curve (after all, they still have 30+ years of work ahead of them) and involves lower risk as they probably don’t have to provide for a family or have to pay off a mortgage.
So how can you keep him motivated and with you in the company?
Keep aware of the learning curve through regular meetings and check-ins with your employee. It is important to take the time for these meetings and figure out ways to support him or her in their development. Just imagine how much time you will instead have to invest in the recruitment and training of a new candidate.
Once you notice a flattening learning curve, you should think about how you can provide new tasks and new responsibilities within you company, or offer trainings that keep the learning curve steep.
As mentioned, there are many other factors that contribute to employee retention, but I believe the learning curve is one of the strongest factors for high potentials to consider staying or leaving a position and something that too many managers do not have in mind or do not track well enough.