Why do startups lose their employees?

The startup culture in India has already gained pace and new startups are sprouting up in every business hotspot at a tremendous rate. Professionals from every sphere of life are diving into the world of startups to get a taste of the adventurous lifestyle.

What is a Startup?

As opposed to the rule and regulation-bound environment of corporate where an employee just feels like a cog in the wheel, working without a sense of united vision and living the life of a glorified labor, startups are business models that offer an unconventional and dynamic environment where one has the flexibility of pursuing projects of his own, independence of wearing casuals at the office and flexible working hours along with the inspiration of working towards a shared goal.

While all these features of the startup life seem so attractive and advantageous, in reality, it has been observed that despite these unconventional offerings, the retention time of employees in a startup is very less compared to the usual corporate culture.

Why do startups lose their employees?

Managers in a budding startup are often baffled as to why their high-performing employees are leaving their firms for other opportunities. One of the reasons for employees quitting their startup jobs is the lack of managerial hospitality towards employees. Managers and top employees of a startup often fail to look out for the needs and wants of their beloved employees and often ignore them to maximize only the interest of the startup and not the employees. This leads to good employees to quit their jobs to have a better and bigger opportunity.

Additionally, people at the top of the hierarchy often ignore the fact that their startup is losing on good employees. Instead of this ignorance they should figure out the reasons for decreased employee retention and try to resolve them. 

Top reasons for employees to quit a startup

Employees in a startup often quit their jobs owing to one or more of the following reasons:

1)  They don’t see a future: An employee might feel that his long-term goals aren’t aligned with the firms and that there is no future for an employee in the startup itself.

To avoid such a situation, the firm managers should find out about the long-term goals of their employees and do what they can to be a part of that goal. This ensures unity and team spirit.

2)  Money: This is one of the major reasons for employees leaving firms. A bootstrapped startup won’t be able to keep its workers happy until they are reviewed and rewarded for the good work they do. Thus to prevent your employees from leaving, the management should make efforts to timely review employee performance and award those who perform well.

3) Lack of communication: Two-way communication is necessary. Employees needs need to be addressed and solved. Additionally, their opinions should be heard and they should be informed about the company’s achievements.

4) Long working hours: Employees often need to work insane hours in order to complete targets. Managers should make sure they are getting enough rest and are not feeling burned out.

5) Lack of resources: No one likes working in an uninspiring environment where resources are scarce and their productivity is hindered due to the same reason. They should be provided with as many resources as your budget allows.