The way you treat people is
one of the most important factors in your company’s ability to keep the talent
you want and need to make your business successful. You as a manager, as a
leader, may be one of the most important talent retention tools your company
has. And remember the key to retention success: People don’t leave
corporations, they leave bosses. 

There has been a lot of
discussion and study in recent years about why people leave jobs. According to
the U.S. Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of
people who quit jobs (instead of being fired, laid off or downsized) accounts
for 42-63% of all people who leave jobs in a given year. This represents a lot
of talent leaving corporations. 

Some leaders are content to
glance over an internal exit interview and conclude that the valued talent is
walking out the door because other companies are offering better salaries or
benefits packages or because someone else offered them a chance to advance or
do something different. 

External exit interviews and
independent research tell a different story. Corporations that want to be
successful in leading in retaining talent are listening carefully to these
findings. A recent study by the Gallup organization found that “at least
75% of the reasons for voluntary turnover can be influenced by managers.”*

Based on information
gathered over a thirty year period, the Gallup organization reported the following
reasons for leaving:

1. Career advancement or
opportunities for promotion (31.5%)
2. Pay and Benefits (22.4%)
3. Poor job fit (20.2%)
4. Management or the general work environment (16.5%)
5. Flexibility or scheduling (7.7%)
6. Job security (1.7%)*

Since leaders have a direct
impact on the majority of these areas, it becomes apparent that your leadership
can make or break any retention program you devise.

In another study by the
Saratoga Institute, the following reasons for talent loss (based on almost
20,000 interviews) were given:

1. Job or workplace was
not as expected
2. Mismatch between job and person
3. Too little coaching and feedback
4. Too few growth and advancement opportunities
5. Feeling devalued and unrecognized
6. Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance
7. Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders.**

Again, leadership can and
should have significant impact on all of these areas.

My personal experience is
that many people leave jobs because of the way they perceive the working
environment and their opportunities to do what they love to do in a way that
allows them to be effective, efficient and successful. In fact, in many cases
when people leave a job because of a mismatch with the job, the mismatch is perceived
rather than actual. This perception points to either a poor hiring
decision or a failure of management to provide people with the tools and the
opportunities they need to do the job. 

Often people point to the
immediate supervisor (boss) as the reason for leaving a job. This might be
because the supervisor is not able to adequately communicate expectations or
goals. It might be due to the supervisor’s management style. It is often
because the individual believes the manager is not providing the equipment,
materials, resources or opportunity to perform the job adequately. This may
point to the failure of the immediate supervisor to hear what their team
members are saying; but it could also reflect an unwillingness of senior
management to make those resources and opportunities available. 

Leaders and managers each
see the workplace from a unique perspective. Executive leaders are looking at
the biggest overall picture from the organizational level and with an eye to
external impacts. Middle-level managers are looking at the bigger picture from
an operational standpoint. Front line managers view the workplace from the
actual functional, nuts and bolts operational point of view. This means it
is the front-line manager who is in the best position to evaluate what
employees need in order to do their jobs proficiently. They must then
effectively communicate those needs up the ladder to ensure that all reasonable
needs are met. 

The front line manager also
must be the person who knows each employee well enough to understand the
working environment in which the employee can succeed. Leadership skills become
critical in working between employees and upper management to create the
environment needed for success. This might mean managing resources, it might
mean working with flexible scheduling, but it is almost certain to mean
treating employees with the appropriate respect and providing clear
communication of tasks, roles, expectations and assignments. It also almost
certainly includes providing appropriate growth and advancement opportunities
and coaching for each employee.

Effective leadership from
any management perspective also requires leaders and managers to understand who
their employees are and how they function at their natural best, as well as
what is important to them. 

People with a high
take-charge characteristic tend to assume people understand where they are
going. When their communication is ineffective or inadequate, employees become
frustrated because the targets are unclear. In time, this can create a lack of
respect for the leader or worse, a perception that the leader doesn’t value the
employee for the contribution s/he is making.

People who demonstrate a
“high allegiance characteristic” approach tasks from the leader > process
> procedure paradigm. They look to the leader to provide clear direction
about the process and the procedure, as well as the goal. People motivated in
this way, especially if they are more collaborative and supportive in terms of
the way they take charge, must be able to respect the leader. That respect
hinges upon the ability of the manager to communicate to each employee that the
employee is valued and valuable in reality and not just by giving lip service
to the idea. Clear goals and direction must also be provided consistently. It
is also the line manager’s role to communicate to employees a clear and
consistent understanding of corporate goals, strategies and direction. It is in
this last role that the manager has the opportunity to build team cohesion and
respect, as well as employee buy-in on corporate goals and respect for senior
corporate leaders. 

If employees are engaged in
the corporate and team goals and strategies and they feel valued and respected
for doing their jobs well, they are less likely to leave. Leaders at every
level of the corporation must consistently communicate to employees the goals,
the reasons for the goals, the strategies in place to achieve the goals, and
the valuable contribution of each employee to implementing the strategies
successfully.

*Turning
Around Employee Turnover: Costly churn can be reduced if managers know what to
look for – and they usually don’t, “ by Jennifer Robison. http://gmj.gallup.com/content/106912/Turning-Around-Your-Turnover-Problem.aspx.

**Dealing
with the Real Reasons People Leave, by Judith A. Ross, Harvard Business Publishing. Article
Reprint No. U0508A.

About Gayla Hodges

Gayla Hodges is the
President and Principal Consultant of Change
Agents, Inc., a company that specializes in energizing workforces to
achieve strategic goals. She has extensive experience in instituting corporate
transformational change. She coaches executives and managers on leading
corporate change, facilitating the development and implementation of organizational
effectiveness strategies.