#PandaPounds: Why do ecommerce professionals leave their roles?

Are you a senior member of an ecommerce team, and wondering why someone is leaving? When it comes to hiring ecommerce talent, it’s important to know these reasons. If it’s something that could have been resolved, then you will want to avoid it happening again and learn from it.

Of course, not every reason for leaving a role is down to the employer. In our 2019 ecommerce salary survey & insights report, we asked our respondents this very question…why did you leave your previous role?

It’s a perfect way to review what motivates ecommerce professionals to move on for pastures new. So, have a look at what they shared and evaluate how you can improve staff retention by tackling some of these reasons!

What are the main reasons for leaving an ecommerce job?

Of course, not every reason for leaving an ecommerce role is down to the team or the management. We thought we would list the different reasons given by our respondents and give some tips or advice about each reason. Let’s get started…

‘I no longer enjoyed the role’

17% of our respondents listed this as their reason for leaving their previous role. It’s important to know what it is that keeps the enjoyment in the day to day working environment. If you ever feel an employee has displayed signs of demotivation, you must approach them immediately and find out how these feelings can be addressed. If there’s something you can do, then there’s a big chance you can retain staff by dealing with it head on.

‘There was a lack of role essentials’

Our respondents were asked to share what was essential when accepting an ecommerce role. Popular answers include feeling valued and respected, salary, progression opportunities and management. It’s always important to know what employees want in their careers and understand that this will change as they spend longer in a business. 16% left their last job because these essentials weren’t met. Regular check-ins with your employees and asking them what makes them happy in the business is essential as a manager.

‘I wanted to change industry’

14% of our respondents wanted to move on from their current industry for a new challenge. Unless the whole company changes what it does, then there’s not much you can really do to prevent this. However, as we mentioned above, it’s always good to know the motivations of your team so that if this were to happen, you could prepare for it or at least expect it.

‘Other’

24% of our respondents selected ‘other reasons’ and elaborated on their answers. Here are some of the things they shared with us…

• Quite a few respondents moved from permanent to freelancing.
• Redundancy was another common reason for those who selected this answer.
• Their contract came to an end, so it was time to find the next opportunity.
• No progression has been stated quite a lot too…if employees feel there is no future there, they will cut their time in the business short.
• To get a higher salary.

Other answers available to our respondents were…

• I wanted a different type of job (career change/career sidestep): 11%
• My circumstances changed: 7%
• I made the wrong decision when accepting the role: 5%
• I moved to another city / country: 5%
• I went back to university: 1%

Ecommerce staff retention is important

A happy team is a successful team! For more insights into the lives of ecommerce professionals, download a full copy of the 2019 salary survey report below!