People Leave Managers Not Companies!
According to a study by Gallup 'State of the American Manager: Analytics and Advice for Leaders', one in two people admitted to having left a job to get away from a bad manager. In fact, 70% of the factors that contribute to your happiness at work are directly related to your manager.
Yet few managers ask themselves the hard questions:
- Am I the reason people are leaving?
- Was it because of something I did or something I didn't do?
Managers assume they're not the problem, but that their employees are.
Our recentEmployment Monitor found that micro-managing and lack of appreciation from managers are the main grievances for Irish workers.
Here are some tips to keep your employees engaged
Reliable and Meaningful Communication
Communication is the basis of any healthy relationship, including the one between an employee and his or her manager. Daily communication, whether it occurs in person, over the phone or electronically leads to higher employee engagement.
The best managers make a real effort to get to know their employees and help them feel comfortable talking about any subject, whether it is work-related or not. A productive workplace is one in which people feel safe - safe enough to experiment, to challenge, to support one another and to share information. In this type of workplace, team members are prepared to give the manager and their organisation the benefit of the doubt. But none of this will happen if employees do not feel cared about.
Performance Management Beyond Annual Reviews
Performance management is often a source of considerable frustration for employees who do not clearly understand their goals or what is expected of them at work. They may feel conflicted about their duties and disconnected from the bigger picture. For these employees, annual reviews and developmental conversations feel forced and superficial, and it is impossible for them to think about next year's goals when they are not even sure what tomorrow will throw at them.
When performance management is done well, employees become more productive, profitable and creative contributors. Gallup found that employees whose managers excel at performance management activities are more engaged than employees whose managers struggle with these same tasks.
Strengths over Weaknesses
When managers help employees develop and grow through their strengths, they are more than twice as likely to engage their team members. The most powerful benefit a manager can provide his or her employees is to place them in jobs that allow them to use their natural talents, adding skills and knowledge to develop and apply their strengths.
Although managers are not always the reason employees leave companies it is important to ensure that managers understand their role. Managers should be capable of leading and developing their employees and not micromanaging employees where they feel their manager is constantly looking over their shoulder creating an uncomfortable work environment which will likely lead to high employee turnover.
Making sure bosses give employees the support they need is critical for employers who want to hold on to their top workers. Better boss behaviour also improves employee work happiness.