Employers must get strategic about retaining good workers

Surveys show too many companies put far too little thought into it

- SARAH GREEN CARMICHAEL

So, you finally got that promotion you pushed for. What's next? A new job, according to a recent study by the ADP Research Institute. According to the payroll services provider's report, which examined 1.2 million workers in the US. between 2019 and 2022, 29% of employees quit their employer within the month after getting their first promotion at the company, compared with only 18% of similar, non-promoted workers, a gap that endured for about six months. The effect was especially strong for managers. Employers should take this as a splash of cold water in the face-they are getting promotions wrong, and losing the very people they most want to keep.

The study's explanation leans heavily on the idea that getting a promotion increases a person's perceived value-a shiny new title could lead to more calls from recruiters. That's certainly a possibility. But I wonder if the kinetic force expelling newly promoted workers is less of a pull and more of a push. In other words, a recruiter's siren song is less to blame than the frustrating promotion practices at many companies. By the time the long-desired new title is awarded, the employee is so fed up they have one foot out the door.