Why talent leaves and non-performers remain

Why does the top talent leave an organisation yet the non-performers remain in their jobs? Even worse, the poor performers are then promoted to the vacated positions when the talented employees leave. When conducting exit interviews; a lack of vision, poor organisational culture or ineffective management is cited but not usually enacted upon - but why? 

First and foremost is poor leadership in an organisation; a lack of confidence and loss of trust in senior managers failing to provide a clear vision and implementation of strategic plans risk alienation of talented individuals who know their skills and abilities are in demand. Naturally narcissistic and unethical managers quickly force employees who have current marketable knowledge to seek new employment opportunities.

Non-existent performance management hurts everybody; overly negative feedback and a lack of coaching generate a poor corporate culture. Poor managers ignore top performers; they view low maintenance employees as easy to manage citing the Pareto principle as gospel, they believe they can set them loose and just forget about them. As high performing people appear to be self-reliant; they still require feedback and support.

Effective communication is undoubtedly important – competent leaders ask rather than tell, they listen, provide timely feedback and encourage open discussion. Naturally, strong interpersonal skills are required. 

Competent leaders connect through rapport, adaptable management styles, behavioral flexibility and empathy. High performing managers need to demonstrate their trust and confidence in the workforce by delegating and not micromanaging.

Competent leaders embody strong organisational culture and values – they live and breathe personal ethics. They create strong employee engagement and loyalty. Competent leaders recognise, reward and empower staff; they understand and encourage aspirations, motivators and values that drives productivity and increases profitability. 

Competent leaders develop team building with the right people performing right roles with clear succession planning fully promoting people-focused principles driving the business creating improved company performance and results.

However, a lack of personal growth and advancement opportunities surely the raise ire of high performing team members; top-flight employees need and want personal growth opportunities. Research tells us developmental opportunities rate higher than remuneration, high performers seek new opportunities when they are not challenged; managers need to take development seriously.

Ok, so we think we know why high performers leave; now, why do poor performers stay? At times, employers love poor performers, they are seen as reliable and are not remunerated as highly - they feel they are saving money and they don't resign. Plenty of managers see a large mortgage, kids at school, a lifestyle beyond their means and credit card debt as an opportunity to squeeze cost savings.

Some managers view talented people as difficult to deal with, more than likely, they do not suffer fools lightly, this requires advanced management communication skills - a skill most managers lack. High performers are always seeking better opportunities, they don't like to settle, they get noticed by competitors and receive offers.

Generally they are better educated with tertiary education, with higher technical skills, they also tend to hold better soft skills learned at college or university. Non-performers prefer a lighter work rate, they aren't as competitive; but most importantly - they are not a threat to the direct manager.