“What’s Next?” — Why MBAs Leave and How To Keep Them
If you have a MBA student within your ranks you should be worried. You should be concerned they are going to leave you. It’s the natural flow of how things are after they graduate: they’re going to start looking for something bigger…maybe even something better…
And the reason is because of one of the most FAQs of a MBA candidate:
What’s next?
It’s terrible considering the majority of the students within my MBA class were already managers or VPs of their own multi-million/billion dollar corporations. Hell, the question was asked to me over the 3.3 years I spent completing my part-time MBA program even though I work at one of Canada’s Best Workplaces.
But along the way, I was lucky enough to work at startup/growth company that collaborated with me in answering the question as it came up and I’m here to share with you how we did it.
Why MBAs Leave
Before we start on the how, let’s look at why people assume MBA graduates would leave.
Scary enough, the average salary increase was 74% over 120 schools surveyed by the Economist in 2012. Additionally, graduates tend to gravitate towards career/industry changes with those switching to Finance, Consulting or Technology.
Beyond these common themes however, graduates leave because big corporations often forget about the importance promoting personal growth and development.
Amongst my fellow MBAs, I feel that the lack of commitment to their growth was really the deciding factor. These individuals have spent an average of $60,000+ of their own money to become better workers and are looking for their employer to show a similar level of commitment towards them.
It goes back to the original question: What’s next?
Being a smaller start-up/growth stage company you’re already at an advantage in answering this question. You’re smaller and more agile in being able to adopt a culture that advocates personal growth and development.
If, however, the first thought when someone asks you “What’s next?” is flight risk, then that will perpetuate poor feelings within your culture and thus create fear, doubt and uncertainty.
If I was working in a place like this, I’d George Costanza my way outta there real quick.
How To Keep Your MBA
Mentorship
Attach a mentor that the employee can reflect with and is supportive of their growth; someone that the employee can see themselves being in the future. It takes a great manager to identify a high potential employee but it takes an amazing and experienced manager to mentor that employee to reach that potential.
My company took a real commitment in my personal development by being very open in the process of hiring a new manager for me. I remember the day that the VP of HR approached me and said, “We’re looking for a candidate that you can look up to and respect.”
They ended up hiring a Director with a similar background but had reached a VP level in his other previous companies. He’s grown and developed talent. He was open and honest from day one and that is crucial for a millennial like me who requires an occasional reality check.
I’m not saying as a company you should go out and go above and beyond to hire a talent to mentor — but if you have a plethora of experienced people managers (or senior leadership) attaching a mentorship program will pay huge dividends.
This individual should help guide your MBA candidate and build a career plan that answers: “What’s next?” so they know themselves whenever they’re asked. They should also provide solid and honest feedback and push to break down barriers as they come up.
Sell the Long Term Game
Regardless of what you do, if your MBA graduate is truly talented then opportunities will come. You can’t hide them or stop them from looking elsewhere as competitors are always on the look out.
What you can do is remind them of what you have built together and how you can help them continue to grow. School was a great first step but there may be areas where they still need to develop to become that Director or VP that they aspire to be.
There’s a fantastic book by Cal Newport named “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” which talks about not following your passion, but becoming a great craftsmen in your art and building career capital to construct careers that you would love.
I highly recommend both manager and employee doing a read together during 1:1s to see how a long-term career play can trump a short-term and risky payoff with a competitor.
The 80/20 Rule
This isn’t your typical 80/20 rule. This 80/20 rule here puts the onus on your talented employee to build their own career. 80% of the plan should be built and driven by your employee and 20% of it should be your guidance and effort in managing expectations and removing barriers for them.
The last thing you want to do is to perpetuate that you are going to handhold your high potential MBA employee throughout their career. Having them build their own career plan helps them take ownership over it.
What they need to do is earn their next role. Much like their MBA program, they’ve gone through the trials and tribulations of case studies, projects and exams along the way to completing their degree. Try to mimic checkpoints like these and explicitly list important milestones they need to hit to achieve their goals.
I achieved this by communicating with my manager through multiple 1:1s. During our time, we established what I needed to do to scale our channel to be a Team Lead and eventually a Manager. As a goal orientated individual, it was important to me to understand not just “What’s next?” but how to get there.
Stop Bleeding Talent
Attrition of employees is a real concern and if you begin accepting that your tiny business will inevitably lose top talent to corporations without a fight then you’re missing the huge point of why they leave in the first place.
Early identification of what your upcoming MBA graduate is aiming for next in their career will better prepare your business to quickly evolve and meet their expectations. Additionally you’re developing them into the leader they aspire to be and whom your company requires to grow.
You’ll have a top tier talented employee who has grown internally within the ranks and developed a road map for future aspiring MBA candidates to follow. On top of that, if you develop a great culture and have a positive view within this community, you’ll be able to benefit from their talented network as you grow and scale your business.
If this appeals to you the first step is to stop asking: “What’s next?”
Try asking instead: “How can we help you get to where you want to be?”
