Job-hopping can cause harm to sales teams in a several ways – here’s how to protect your business
CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Sales Hacker
The current employment era has been characterised by loyal employees suddenly switching careers – or leaving the workforce completely – has given rise to rampant ‘job-hopping’. Changing jobs frequently (usually holding a position for no more than two years) is taking its toll on the talent pool.
The downsides of job-hopping can be truly detrimental to companies, sales teams and even the hopping sales reps themselves. Here are a few ways you can address the trend and save your team from the repercussions of job-hopping.
Take responsibility for sales rep retention: the first step is to be aware of the problem. Notice when and why sales reps are leaving, where they’re taking their talents, and what your new employees are switching away from. If you’re listening to your sales reps properly, you’ll know when they are sending out a message of dissatisfaction.
Re-focus your sales culture: this is something you can do as early as when appointing and inducting new staff. Notice what kinds of conversations you’re having with candidates. What are they preoccupied with? What kinds of questions are they asking? What are their values? If you’re seeing that most candidates are asking about flexibility, it’s time to invest in embedding this into your business culture. You can also look at other issues and opportunities that you can fix, such as loss of faith in leadership or lack of recognition.
Reassess your compensation offer: often, it comes down to money. Compensation plays a major role in incentivising sales reps. Improperly aligned compensation packages, or unfair base salaries, can be a major source of dissatisfaction and this is especially pertinent today when inflation and the cost of living are soaring. Many families are economically vulnerable in a way they haven’t been before, which understandably causes nervous sales reps to try and secure better compensation to protect their livelihoods.
Find internal opportunities for growth: job growth is one of the most important factors for satisfaction. Without clear career paths, or additional rewards, sales reps might feel like there’s no room to improve. As a sales leader you can address this by providing and communicating opportunities for individual sales reps to achieve their personal career goals within the company. Offer and invest in training to fill in their gaps and growth opportunities and open up regular space for those discussions so that potential job-hoppers will feel more heard and seen.
Level-up your managers: people don’t really tend to leave companies; they’re much more likely to leave bad bosses. On the other hand, great bosses can protect against high staff turnover and secure employee retention the right way — through respect and appreciation.
Becoming aware of what job-hoppers are looking for, and going back to the drawing board to figure out how to offer them those things, could be an enriching step for your company.
Discover how to bring flexibility, spontaneity, and independence into your sales culture. Find new ways to express appreciation to loyal team members. Seize the opportunities of this era of rapid evolution to switch things up – not just for sales reps with itchy feet, but for everyone who wants to pursue a future with your company.
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