People probably aren’t leaving your company because of culture, pay or benefits. Often, the reason they are most likely going is their immediate manager.
You’ve probably seen numerous articles and posts about company culture and how important it is to a working environment. Don’t discount those reports; they are very accurate. However, a great company culture doesn’t mean people won’t leave your company.
Remember, people have different experiences with your culture at different levels. For example, a person might enjoy working for your company overall, but they may hate working for their current and most direct manager.
This has held for decades of management, and it’s still true today. So, if you want to keep your top talent at your company, you have to make sure managers are treating them properly.
What do employees want from their managers?
Facebook’s People Analytics team did a six-month survey of employees to see who left and who stayed at their current jobs. They learned there were three specific characteristics of people who stayed.
-
They enjoyed going to work and doing their job.
-
They used their strengths in their jobs
-
They learned new skills in their position.
They also learned that people left jobs at Facebook not because of their manager’s poor leadership skills, but because they felt they weren’t growing at their job.
However, even if people like their managers, people leaving is ultimately a management problem.
What You Can Do To Keep People Engaged With Their Work
First, a manager can learn what an employee wants to do with their current skillset. An employee should be allowed to use all of their skills in their job. The accountant who likes to draw as a hobby might be a welcome addition for designing new marketing brochures, product design, or producing product prototypes.
Managers should be on the lookout for each person’s strengths. The result can only benefit your company. More important than that, the employee will be more engaged. They will be more confident in the job because they are doing something they care about.
Finally, continue to emphasize a work/family balance. Your company has probably already done a great job of building a company culture promoting a healthy work/life balance. However, new projects and enthusiasm to work on them can unexpectedly knock that balance out of whack.
An employee who is worried about home problems eventually becomes ineffective of the issues aren’t dealt with. By promoting home/work policies you can help them maintain a healthy private life and remain productive members of your team.
People leave jobs for specific reasons. Don’t let your company continue to lose employees and their hidden talents.
Equal Parts Consulting knows that company culture is critical to any company’s success. We have helped many businesses build a culture that promotes the talents of employees and use those talents for the betterment of the company.
