7 ways managers drive high performers away
September 18, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Attracting talent, Entry level recruiting, Special Report
You’ve spent countless hours recruiting the best talent out there, and now your managers have some top-notch people working under them. The next step: Keep supervisors from making mistakes that drive the talent away.
There are a lot of reasons top performers quit their jobs, but a big part of the problem boils down to one common saying: Employees don’t leave companies — they leave bad bosses.
Here are the seven most common supervisor mistakes that push workers out the door, according to hiring consultant Mel Kleiman:
- Not returning phone calls or responding to e-mails — Managers are busy, and it’s easy to forget about replying to questions from employees. But it’s also one of a boss’s most important tasks, since not responding sends workers a clear message — they aren’t important or valued.
- Micromanaging — Nearly 80% of employees say they’d be more motivated at work if their managers gave them more freedom to decide the best methods of getting the job done, according to a recent Zogby poll. More motivation results in higher job satisfaction and longer tenure.
- Giving assignments, then locking the office door — The reverse of micromanaging is also a big retention killer. Some employees want and need more direction than others — supervisors should be able to adjust their approaches for different types of workers.
- Keeping them in the dark — Another role of the supervisor is acting as the first line of communication between workers and top management. Therefore, it’s often up to managers to tell employees about new company initiatives, personnel changes and other key company news. Being kept in the dark about what’s going is one thing that convinces employees the company doesn’t value them.
- Avoiding recognition — A common complaint many employees have: “I do great work, and no one notices.” Organized recognition events can be a great morale boost, but often all it takes is a simple compliment or thank-you from the boss.
- Changing expectations on the fly — Another way to burn out employees is to let them start a project, then alter the assignment. Things change, of course. But too often, busy managers don’t give employees as much advance notice of the changes as they could have. That will cause some serious retention problems, not to mention a huge drop in productivity.
- Withholding respect — Finally, you’ve simply got to show employees some respect if you expect them to stick with the company. Sounds like a no-brainer, but many managers could use a reminder every now and then.
Tags: manager mistakes, Retention
September 19th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
8. Ignoring problems the top performer brings to the manager.
September 19th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
7 ways managers drive high performers away - Nearly every one of these 7 examples of “Bad Manager Moves” boils down to COMMUNICATION. Communication and failure to empathize with employees. Many managers will not give their employees what they themselves want - respect and recognition and value as part of the “team”. There just aren’t many great leaders out there. Great men and women who can give strong leadership without squashing the life out of their employees!
September 19th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I think it’s very true that employees frequently leave bad bosses rather than bad companies…the boss is so often what makes the company bad! I worked for one company and during my 7 years there, reported to 5 different presidents. Two of them were wonderful to work for. Two were pretty bad; so bad, the only good thing about them was that they didn’t last long. By the time the fifth one rolled around…another stinker…I had had enough. The company didn’t change, but the changes in who I was working for made the place either good or practically unbearable. The only thing I would add to the “mistakes” list that my bad bosses did was playing games and manipulating to gain “power” to further their agenda. Unfortunately, their agenda didn’t include the overall good of the company. They were only out for themselves and ran over anyone they couldn’t use or who got in the way. But those kinds of bosses, sad to say, probably aren’t going to read the article because they aren’t even trying to improve.
September 19th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Can someone e-mail this to the CEO of Patient Advocate Foundation. The CEO fits the bill on all counts! Which is too bad, because the organization is a great one.
September 20th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I BELIEVE IN THE WORLD OF “WHY MANAGERS DRIVE GOOD EMPLOYEES AWAY “IS BECAUSE AS PERHAPS, AS INDIVIDUALS, “WE” WHO HAVE CLIMBED UP THE LADDER DID THE TASKS ASKED AND EVEN MORE IN THE NEED TO” PROVE OURSELVES” AND TODAY MAY OFTEN FAIL TO REALIZE THAT THROUGH PROPER DELEGATION AND EMPOWERING TRUE TEAMWORK, WE WOULD TRULY ALLOW MANAGERS TO GROW AND BECOME THE PEOPLE YOU BELIEVE AND HOPE THEY WILL BECOME AS OUR FUTURE LEADERS. SINCE, WE CAN ONLY GOVERN OUR EXPECTATIONS BY OUR OWN PAST EXPERIENCES, PERHAPS ARE OFTEN DISAPPOINTED BY EMPLOYEES, AS WE HAVE IN OUR OWN MINDS, WE JUST ‘ASSUMED ‘ THEY WILL EITHER HAVE THE SAME ABILITIES AND FORTITUDE TO GET THE TASK AT HAND COMPLETED AND EVEN EXCEL TO SHOW US HOW THEY ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE FURTHER STATUS IN THE COMPANY. SINCE MY BACKGROUND WAS ONE OF WHERE PROMOTIONS AND RECOGNITION WERE BASED ON PROVEN AND COMPLETED ACHIEVEMENTS IN A COMPETITIVE WORLD THE FACT PROMOTIONS AND RESPECT WERE EARNED, ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERHAPS IF NEW MANAGERS APPROACHED THEIR ASSIGNED TASKS WITH THE ATTITUDE OF LOOK, I TOOK CARE OF THE JOB BEYOND WHAT “YOU ” THE MANAGER SAID….AND EVEN THOUGHT( ON MY OWN) A MORE EFFICIENT AND PERHAPS BETTER WAY TO EXPAND AND EXCEED MINIMAL EXPECTATIONS RATHER THAN “TO JUST DO WHAT I WAS TOLD TO DO.”….WHEN YOU FAIL TO LEARN MORE, HOW TO YOU EXPECT TO EARN MORE….???? COMMUNICATION IS A TWO WAY STREET FOR IDEAS AND PROGRESS, PERHAPS THE PERSON IN CHARGE IS SO BUSY MAKING SURE THE MANAGERS BELOW ARE AT LEAST DOING WHAT THEY WERE TOLD, THEY FIND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO TAKE THERE TEAM TO THE NEXT LEVEL SINCE THEY NEED MUCH MICROMANAGING FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILTY FOR THE CHOICES AND RESULTS THAT ARE EITHER ACHIEVED OR NOT ACHIEVED. IN THE END IT TRULY IS THE PERSON AT THE TOP WHO TAKES THE “BULLET”.
September 30th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Pamela - Please stop shouting.