The answer lies in one of the largest studies undertaken by the Gallup Organization. The study surveyed over a million employees and 80,000 managers and was published in a book called First Break All The Rules written by Marcus Buckingham.

The pollster came up with this surprising finding: If you're losing good people, look to their immediate supervisor. Besides salary, the immediate superior, is the biggest reason people stay and thrive in an organization. And he's also the reason they quit, taking their knowledge, experience and contacts with them.

Hear are four determining factors that employees give as their reasons for moving on, factors that are in the control of every manager

1. I don't like the atmosphere. This is more of a corporate culture issue than anything else. Often a town's reputation is a major factor, too. Other factors contributing to the "feel" of the place are the physical conditions which would include things like comfort, convenience, and safety and even how well the municipality's mission statement is understood.

2. No one would even notice if I stopped coming to work. In spite of the fact that most employers do really value their staff ...they can't tell them often enough. The challenge is if people feel unimportant or undervalued there really is no compelling reason for them to keep coming to work. Being a number, just another name on the list or tool to be used just doesn't cut it...you might as well drag someone in off the street. People who have the feeling you don't care if they are there or not will ultimately leave to find a job where they are appreciated.

 3. I feel very alone I don't get the kind of support I need in order to get my job done Contrary to the popular opinion of bosses most people genuinely want to do a good job. The frustration of red tape, arbitrary rules, dipstick supervisors and nerdy coworkers push people out the door as they look for a fresh opportunity.

 4. You just can't get ahead in this municipality...this complaint is not about career advancement even though most people do deserve an opportunity to move up. The underlying issue is about an opportunity to learn. People like to learn, they want to hone their skills and discover new ones. Most men and women want to broaden their capacity to do a wide variety of jobs. It may be about career security too, but that inner need to develop and get more training is there. If your staff can't find an opportunity for advancement in your municipality they'll find one where they can.

Believe it or not it's not really about money. It's a bold statement but it's true, your staff wants to be treated fairly when it comes to money, but not in the absence of great atmosphere, being appreciated, and getting support and certainly not without opportunity for advancement. In the absence of these four, even great money, will still have people saying "you can't pay me enough to work here".