You're Not Fully Harnessing Your Greatest Resource: Your Managers

​Recently, a favorite restaurant of ours closed its doors forever citing the impact of insufficient labor. A local food market is now closing one day a week because they can’t find enough help. And it is no coincidence that it’s hard to find an associate to answer our questions while at our neighborhood hardware store. What we are experiencing is not a local issue, it has permeated almost all parts of Americans’ daily lives.

Whether you call the past year the “Great Resignation” the “Great Reshuffle” or some other catchy description, as a society, we have witnessed an unprecedented mass exodus from jobs that people have had for months and even years.

Whether you call the past year the “Great Resignation” the “Great Reshuffle” or some other catchy description, as a society, we have witnessed an unprecedented mass exodus from jobs that people have had for months and even years.

Businesses have been hit hard and are unprepared. 

While there are a variety of factors that have converged to create the “perfect storm,” organizational culture, business practices, and their leaders seem to be the significant driving force behind this phenomenon according to reports by McKinsey, MIT Sloan, and PlanBeyond (to name a few). 
Essentially, businesses have failed to understand and address the basic needs of their workers and have critically underestimated the impact of their people managers as the drivers of the success - or failure - of the business. 

If you want to prevent employee turnover and significantly increase employee engagement and productivity look no further than your people managers.

The 2022 MIT Sloan survey of employees revealed that the top three predictors of turnover in 2021 were: 1) not feeling valued by the organization, 2) their relationship with their manager, and 3) not feeling a sense of belonging at work – all three are directly related to the actions of an employee’s manager. Gallup found that 52% of exiting employees reported their manager could have done something to prevent them from leaving – suggesting that managers can play a critical role in preventing unwanted employee attrition.

Despite their tremendous impact on an organization’s bottom line, less than 10% of businesses invest significantly in the comprehensive development of their people managers across all levels of the organization - not only missing key opportunities to retain and engage employees but likely costing the company millions of dollars. 

Most people managers are unaware of the simple drivers under which their employees operate that keep them satisfied and productive. Many do not know how to have a professional development conversation or a stay interview. All too often, people managers don’t even meet regularly one-on-one with their direct reports - citing that they don’t have the time.  

So, if you want to prevent employee turnover and significantly increase employee engagement and productivity look no further than your people managers. Invest heavily in their development. Support them through ongoing training. Provide real development augmented with group mentoring, peer support, and one-on-one coaching. Remove toxic managers from your organization as quickly as possible while showcasing and rewarding individuals who are talent maximizers. ​

Share your thoughts in the comments!​

Jamie Lewis Smith, PhD

Jamie is the CEO and a Leadership + Organization Development Consultant for Pixel Leadership Group. She is a trusted advisor to leaders in the healthcare and technology industries. She is a unabashed assessment nerd. She lives with her special needs son, Beckett, and his furry 4-legged sidekick, Bosco, in Youngstown, OH. 

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