How do you feel about your manager? How does your workforce feel about you as a manager?
It is wise to know because management has a large influence on employee morale and turnover.
People leaving an organization on their own accord is normal. There are many reasons for this, but are you a contributing factor?
Employee turnover is costly. Not just in terms of sourcing, rehiring and training costs, but in lost productivity as well.
You may be surprised to learn that according to research-based, global performance management consulting firm Gallup (www.gallup.com), an estimated 75 percent of voluntary employee turnover is influenced by managers’ behavior.
That means people usually leave an organization because of their manager, not their job. In other words: employees aren’t quitting their jobs, they are quitting their managers.
Gallup research found that the most common reasons for voluntary employee turnover are:
1. To pursue career advancement and/or promotional opportunities; 32 percent.
2. Pay and benefits; 22 percent.
3. Not a good job fit; 20 percent.
4. Bad management and the general work environment; 17 percent.
Your Influence
While you may have little control over the top three reasons, you can alter the fourth one and thereby help lessen turnover. One way is to become are a more effective manager. Develop your skills, training, education and experience to create an engaged, motivated workforce.
According to Gallup, today’s great managers – those who drive higher levels of engagement and productivity in employees – are “strengths-based, engagement-focused and performance-oriented.”
It could be argued that the only relationship that may be more important to an organization than the company-customer relationship is the manager-employee relationship. Good relationships are based on trust, commitment and engagement.
Tell-Tale Signals
Be alert to possible warning signs of employee turnover. Gallup research indicates that “trouble is on the way” if employees complain that:
- Their managers’ expectations are unclear.
- Managers provide inadequate equipment, materials or resources.
- Opportunities for progress and development are few and far between.
Other predictors of looming turnover, Gallup says, are employees who perceive that their coworkers are not committed to a high standard of work, and when employees don’t feel a connection to the organization’s mission or purpose or its leadership.
Also important is to have to reducing employee turnover is having a “good” workplace. The probability of an employee quitting is greater when the workplace is perceived to be a “bad” place to work. A good workplace is typified by low levels of stress, employees feeling appreciated by management and not feeling threatened at work.
Feedback
You can improve productivity, engagement and profitability by providing regular, meaningful feedback to your workforce.
According to Cornerstone OnDemand (www.cornerstoneondemand.com) – a leader in cloud-based applications for talent management – research shows that 65 percent of employees surveyed thought feedback from managers wasn’t specific enough.
“Feedback is more meaningful when employees know exactly what worked – and what didn’t – in their performance and how to address it,” says the company. “Meaningful feedback includes a prescription for learning to improve performance, develop skills and address both employee and organizational goals.”
It recommends feedback be about strengths, not weaknesses, and notes that employees who receive strengths-based feedback – what an employee is doing right and how they can continue to develop and use those strengths – have a 15 percent lower turnover rate, compared to those who received no feedback, and were 13 percent more productive.
Ponder This
Here are some thoughts to consider that may help you become a better manager.
- “Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.” Paul Hawken, environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist and author.
- “The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication and clear communication is necessary to management success.” James Cash (J.C.) Penney, American businessman who founded retail chain J. C. Penney in 1902.
- “Employers are like horses. They require management.” P.G. Wodehouse, English author and humorist.
- “A good manager is a man who isn’t worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who work for him.” H.S.M. Burns, former president of Shell Oil Company.
- “So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.” Peter Drucker, writer, professor and management consultant.
- “The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work.” Agha Hasan Abedi, Pakistani businessman who founded the Bank of Commerce and Credit International.
- “Any job can be the best job if you have the right manager.” David A. Kolman, editor, Fleet Maintenance.
