Paul Smith, Associate Athletic Director/Director of Athletic Communications at Arkansas Tech University and CoSIDA Board member, penned the following commentary which can be found in it's entirety on LinkedIn at
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-good-people-leave-paul-smith/?published=t.
There has always been a good amount of turnover in the athletic communications field. While some individuals seem to claim to have a firm grasp on the "why," much of that is anecdotal rather than data driven.
This past fall, I began the process of collecting data from several colleagues who have changed jobs with the goal of identifying the "why". Here are the results of that survey.
QUESTION 1: Why did you begin looking for a new job?
Respondents were permitted to select more than one reason for why they decided to look elsewhere. The two most prevalent reasons cited by the respondents were, predictably, work-life balance and lack of competitive compensation. Poor workplace environment and no opportunity for professional advancement were also reasons cited by SIDs who have chosen to look for greener pastures.
"I was recently married and the work-life-money balance just wasn't working out for us anymore.
The following are more of the questions Smith asked,
click the link to see his full post.
QUESTION 2: What ultimately led you to accept the new position?
QUESTION 3: Did you feel that you were equipped to do your job well?
QUESTION 4: How would you describe the culture of your athletic department?
QUESTION 5: Can you provide more information, such as specific examples?
QUESTION 6: What could have been done for you to remain employed there?
QUESTION 7: Management is often a key factor in an employee's decision to leave. Were you satisfied with the way you were managed?
QUESTION 8: Did you have clear goals and objectives?
QUESTION 9: Did you receive constructive feedback to help you improve your performance?
QUESTION 10: Would you consider going back to work at this school in the future? In what area or function? What would need to change?
QUESTION 11: Was your work-life balance satisfactory?
QUESTION 12: What responsibilities did you have above your standard athletic communications responsibilities, and on average, how many hours a week did you have to devote to these other duties?
QUESTION 13: How did your staffing and responsibility situation compare to other schools in your conference?
QUESTION 14: How did your staffing and responsibility situation compare to your school's self-identified "peer institutions?"
QUESTION 15: How did your compensation compare to other schools in your conference?
QUESTION 16: How did your compensation compare to other schools in your self-identified "peer institutions?"
QUESTION 17: What effort did you make to fix the problem that caused you to leave? What happened?
QUESTION 18: Are there any CoSIDA-driven initiatives that could have helped improve your situation?