Why do employees leave? What motivates good employees to stay?

How skilled an employee's supervisor is plays a major role, according to a study by John Hausknecht, assistant professor of human resource studies in the ILR school and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at Harrah's Entertainment.

The researchers surveyed 2,500 hospitality employees, including hourly, salaried and managerial workers, after they left their jobs. Findings from the study have human resources implications:

The findings, said Hausknecht, "offer new ideas about retaining the people who bring the most to your organization."

Employers can try to prevent high performers from leaving by developing a strategy that includes:

The 2007 report, "Why High and Low Performers Leave and What They Find Elsewhere: Job Performance Effects on Employment Transitions," can be read at http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cahrswp/466/.