Key Employees You Can't Afford to Lose

With an unemployment rate sitting at 7.8% there are plenty of job seekers looking for jobs. In some areas of the United States, the unemployment rates are much higher. At the height of the recession, hundreds of applicants would line up for a chance to interview for one job. If an employee quit or was laid off from a job, there were many eager, talented and experienced applicants hoping to take his place.

To say that good employees are not replaceable seems like a ridiculous statement. Surely there is enough talent to replace just about anyone. But that is exactly what Amy Rees Anderson claims in a Forbes article, “Great Employees Are Not Replaceable.” In fact, she urges employers to do whatever they can to prevent these good employees from leaving.

What makes an employee irreplaceable? And wouldn’t any employee like to have extra job security by having the traits that make them too good to lose? Instead of doing everything you can do from taking on extra work to bringing the boss a Starbucks and sausage McMuffin every morning, wouldn’t it be great to know the Company would rather give you a raise then sign your pink slip?

The article lists some of the things that make an employee non-replaceable. One is not a degree from an Ivy League school. Although a diploma from Harvard or Stanford may get an applicant to the top of the interview list, there are more important qualities. They don’t depend on education, intelligence or being related to the boss. 

Irreplaceable employees have deep institutional knowledge of the company. While the majority of employees know their job and maybe a little company history, they aren’t really invested in belonging to a company and helping it grow. Non-replaceable employees identify with and see themselves as part of the company and responsible for its success.

They also have extensive product, systems and process knowledge. They know the company’s products inside and out, how things work and how to get things done. They don’t just know their job. They are interested in the big picture and how the company relates to the industry, community and marketplace.

Valuable employees have built successful client relationships. They are known for their customer service and the ability to engage the customer. They could be at any level, from the customer service rep to the sales team or the CEO. When a key employee with a client base or service area leaves the company, companies find that the relationships with an employee were stronger than company loyalty. Keeping a valuable employee can prevent companies from losing revenue when customers take their business elsewhere.

Every company has a “go-to“ person who knows the systems so well they can get things done. They know what works and what doesn’t. They know the needs of key customers and what it takes to meet their expectations. 

Key employees build excellent working relationships with their co-workers. They are team leaders and are important to the company culture. When a key employee leaves, it affects the morale and productivity of the rest of the team. What’s more, if a great employee decides to leave, it makes the rest of the team wonder if there is something that made them leave, and if they shouldn’t go, too. The loss of one key employee can cause a mass exodus and talent drain.

Employees are going to leave eventually. They will find a better job, relocate, go back to school, take a sabbatical, or just retire. You can’t make someone stay. But when faced with the possible loss of a key employee, it may be worth sweetening the pot rather than spend weeks, months or even years training someone else and rebuilding relationships with customers and co-workers. A few extra dollars a week, a new position or other perks could be just the thing to keep them on the job. 

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