Why Great Sales Talent Keeps Leaving Your Company

When you find a sales employee who always brings their A-game, the last thing you want is for them to quit. In a competitive industry like metal production and distribution, losing quality talent is often a regular occurrence. These tips may help you understand why great sales talent keeps leaving your company.

Poor Leadership

One of the main reasons people quit their jobs is because they don’t like their manager. Most professionals will tolerate a job they don’t like longer if they have a manager they like. If your organization is experiencing high turnover, the first thing you should evaluate is leadership. Start by asking your employees for feedback. Do they feel like management actively listens to them when they speak? Do they feel comfortable going to control with their questions or concerns? Do they feel like their managers are good communicators who inspire them to perform their best? Great talent won’t stay at a company if they don’t feel like management values them.

Lack of Engagement

Another common reason for high employee turnover is poor engagement.  Employees need to feel like they are being challenged. While some may want their intellect challenged and others may want their creativity challenged, everyone wants their work to be engaging. If employees aren’t challenged enough, their job will become boring to them; and they will start to look for a change. For this reason, it is essential to introduce new tasks to your employees regularly, so they have the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone.

Stagnation

While most employees see their jobs as a means to make money, most also see their job as a way to learn new skills. Your employees always think about what comes next in their careers, so you don’t want them to feel like they are stagnating. If your organization doesn’t offer career development opportunities, this may be why your best talent keeps quitting. There are many different ways you can provide team members opportunities to grow, such as assigning them to a cross-functional project, giving them a chance to practice leadership skills on a project, or assigning them work that requires them to learn a new skill.

Burnout

Burnout is another reason employees may decide to leave. If you overwork your team members, the stress may become too much for them to handle, and they may choose to safeguard their mental health. What often happens is that companies will give their best-performing employees the most work because they know they can count on them, but this can quickly snowball into burnout. It is essential to check in with your employees to make sure they are not overwhelmed and to encourage them to take breaks and vacations.

If you find that your company can’t seem to hold on to top performers in sales, you’re not alone. A lot of organizations in the metals industry struggle with high turnover. Some of the top reasons high performers quit include poor leadership, a lack of engagement, a lack of career development opportunities, and burnout.