The Role Managers Play in Retention

As a young former high school teacher in search of more income many years ago, I left my secure teaching role to sell copiers for Xerox. After nine months into my fledgling sales role and having questionable results I walked into my sales manager's office and tried to throw in the towel, only to have it thrown back at me. "Ron you can't quit, your doing a great job, you have what it takes, give it more time. Let's make some calls together next week." His support, coaching and guidance boosted my confidence, skills and sales until I found my wings. His support kept me in the game at a time when I doubted myself. Without it I would have assuredly quit.

People don’t leave their jobs. In many cases they leave managers who fail to support them. According to psychologist Michelle McQuaid, most Americans feel unhappy in the workplace. Who do these worker bees blame for their unhappiness? Managers. McQuaid reports that 65 percent of American workers would take a better boss over a raise if given a choice. McQuaid also found that 55 percent of workers declare they would find greater success in their roles if they had a healthier relationship with their managers.

Considering all that, how do you increase the effectiveness of managers? You could hire or promote better managers. But hiring the right managers is only part of the solution. Start by selecting the right managers and then use the right information to make sure they have the training and resources they need to support the individuals they’re in charge of managing.

So, what causes managers to drop the ball? Managerial problems occur when:

1. Organizations frequently don't select managers with the right combination of skills:

2. Organizations rarely help good managers become great managers: Managers are more effective if given data about their direct reports so they are able to onboard, coach, build career paths, reskill or upskill their people as needed to reduce risk of turnover and disengagement.

SUMMARY

There will always be turnover and people will always move on for a variety of reasons; many of which are not manager driven and not controllable. But there can be no denial that managers do play a huge part in retention and engagement and both are controllable. Get the data you need to hire and develop managers. " Managership isn't Leadership "and Great Leadership is best achieved by "Lead at the Level of One."