New Cangrade Research Exposes the Hidden Culprits Behind Employee Resignations

By PR Newswire On Sep 14, 2023

As workforce efficiency remains an HR priority in 2023, Cangrade, a leading AI-based predictor of job candidate success and retention, has published a study with new findings that challenge common beliefs about what drives job engagement and turnover among sales professionals.

Resignations are renowned for being uncomfortable, costly, and a blow to productivity. Especially in a high turnover field like sales. To help HR leaders improve retention and engagement within their sales teams, Dr. Katherine Chia, Research Scientist at Cangrade, conducted a longitudinal study of 2,685 employees from 2018-2022 that reveals what really drives sales turnover to help better combat resignations.

The report exposed that organizations are the larger culprit behind poor job engagement and resignations, running counter to the common belief that “people quit managers not companies.” The results also confirm common beliefs, like those who quit are 48% more likely to agree with the statement: “I am considering quitting my job.”

Below are a few of the findings from the report. Salespeople who quit:

Are 56% more likely to believe organizational decision-making is biased
Are only 9.5% less likely to believe their manager is fair
Are 25.3% less happy at work, reinforcing a common belief
Are 40% more likely to believe they lack the resources to do their job
Are 7.8% less likely to believe their manager cares about their happiness and well-being

For a full copy of the results, download the study here.

“Resignations boil down to resource availability and the belief that your organization is operating in good faith,” explains Dr. Chia. “This might be surprising, as we often cite managerial experiences as a huge factor in quitting. A fair manager is near the top of the hierarchy of workplace needs and organizations have been using this as a bar for a long time, but we’re evolving. Having a good manager is a need instead of a wish list item and employee expectations reflect that.”

“Employee standards are changing. Today’s workforce needs to feel represented by their organizations, both in their belief systems and resource allocation,” advises Dr. Chia. “Employers need to introspect and actively address these calls for working environment changes to retain their employees.”

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