The 7 hidden reasons employees leave : how to recognize the subtle signs and act before it's too late / Leigh Branham.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- Acknowledgments -- ch. 1. Why care about why they leave? -- Managers will not hear what workers will not speak -- Turnover : just a "cost of doing business?" -- When the tide turns, mindsets must change -- What about HR's role in exit interviewing? -- ch. 2. How they disengage and quit -- The disengagement process -- The deliberation process -- ch. 3. Why they leave : what the research reveals -- Why employees say they leave -- What caused their initial dissatisfaction? -- A few words about pay -- Respecting the differences -- Who has the power to meet these needs? -- The next seven chapters : hidden reasons and practical actions -- ch. 4. Reason #1 : the job or workplace was not as expected -- Hidden mutual expectations : the psychological contract -- How to recognize the warning signs of unmet expectations -- Obstacles to meeting mutual expectations -- Engagement practices for matching mutual expectations -- How prospective employees can do their part -- The beginning or ending of trust -- Employer-of-choice engagement practices review and checklist.

ch. 5. Reason #2 : the mismatch between job and person -- What's missing : a passion for matching -- Common misconceptions and truths about talent -- Recognizing the signs of job-person mismatch -- Obstacles to preventing and correcting job-person mismatch -- Best practices for engaging and re-engaging through job task assignment -- The employee's role in the matching process -- Employer-of-choice engagement practices review and checklist -- ch. 6. Reason #3 : too little coaching and feedback -- Why coaching and feedback are important to engagement and retention -- Why don't managers provide coaching and feedback? -- Recognizing the signs -- More than an event : it's about the relationship -- Engagement practices for coaching and giving feedback -- A five-step coaching process -- What the employee can do to get more feedback and coaching -- Employer-of-choice engagement practices review and checklist -- ch. 7. Reason #4 : too few growth and advancement -- What they are really saying -- Employers of choice start by understanding the new career realities -- Recognizing the signs of blocked growth and career frustration -- Best practices for creating growth and advancement opportunities -- What employees can do to create their own growth and advancement opportunities.

ch. 8. Reason #5 : feeling devalued and unrecognized -- Why managers are reluctant to recognize -- Recognizing the signs that employees feel devalued and unrecognized -- Pay : the most emotional issue of all -- Pay practices that engage and retain -- Three types of variable pay -- The total rewards approach to scarce talent -- Nonpay best practices for valuing and recognizing people -- Focus on the people, not just the numbers -- What employees can do to be more valued and better recognized -- Employer-of-choice engagement practice review and checklist -- ch. 9. Reason #6 : stress from overwork and work-life imbalance -- How big a problem is stress? -- Causes of increased stress -- Signs that your workers may be stressed-out or overworked -- Healthy vs. toxic cultures -- More than just the right thing to do -- The best places in America to work -- It's not just the "big boys" you're competing with -- A big menu of benefits and services -- What the employee can do to relieve stress and overwork -- Employee-of-choice engagement practices review and checklist.

ch. 10. Reason #7 : loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders -- A crisis of trust and confidence -- Reading the signs of distrust and doubt -- The three questions employees need answered -- Criteria for evaluating whether to trust and have confidence -- What the employee can do to build reciprocal trust and confidence -- Employer-of-choice engagement practices review and checklist -- ch. 11. Planning to become an employer of choice -- Talent engagement strategies in action -- What do we learn from these success stories? -- Linking talent and business objectives -- Linking the right measures to business results -- Creating an employer-of-choice scorecard -- The plan works ... if you work the plan -- Partners in working the plan -- Appendix A : Summary checklist of employer-of-choice engagement practices -- Appendix B : Guidelines and considerations for exit interviewing/surveying and turnover analysis -- Bibliography -- Index.

Helps to identifies the push factors in an organization, and mitigate or eliminate all of them. Presents 54 best practices that serve as the building blocks for a proactive approach to employee satisfaction, growth, and retention.