Erik Reed is a preacher. He cites three reasons people leave a church.

While it would be impossible to mistake our operations for a church, the three characteristics of those leaving the church rang true to me:

1.) Unknown

Our teammates have names, goals, interests, and experiences. As people join our team, we should make it our business to uncover the person who is becoming our teammate. The closer your teammate is in proximity, the more important it is to take the initiative to learn more. Make those conversations at breaks count. Be curious about your colleagues. When people are known, they know they are cared for.

2.) Unneeded

Every job we have is essential. The execution of each job contributes to our success. More importantly, a single failure on any of these jobs can cause great calamity. It should be our mission to make sure that every person understands what is expected and to clarify why that expectation is critical to us. In these days, when we often find that we don’t have all the people we need, the value of each job increases. If someone feels unneeded, we have failed in our leadership and communication.

3.) Unmoved

As you become a member of our team, we hope you see that you are going somewhere. We intend for you to develop. We intend for you to progress. There’s no time in the history of our company that offers as much opportunity. Being “unmoved” would mean you could just as well be somewhere else, and you would soon do that. We want you to be able to tell friends and family alike that you’re proud of where you work, what you contribute to our success, and the direction you are taking.

Unknown. Unneeded. Unmoved.