Businesses spend thousands of dollars every year investing in recruiting, training and developing their teams, but despite this some employees choose to leave for greener pastures quite soon after joining the business. Why does this happen?
If you had to review these ex-team members exit interviews or ask them why they left, the most common reason would be simply how they were managed by their direct supervisor. Oddly enough in an exit interview they may speak highly of the company as a whole, commend the company on the products and services they offered or even speak fondly of their ex-team mates and peers. But, somehow all of those positives do not cancel out the reality of the fact that these people chose to leave your business. People don’t leave companies, they leave managers.
So what is it about the management style that makes people run for the hills? It comes down to how that manager makes that team member feel.
Richard Branson boldly stated, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”
If you are a manager and responsible for either one person or a team of people, ask yourself these questions.
- How often do you touch base with your team member(s)? This is not a formal meeting, but just a quick 5 to 10min catch up. Don’t confuse this with micro management. This is a “How are you doing on x project? Need my help, please feel free to come and chat.”
- When last did you ask your team members how their families, kids etc were doing? Do you know their children’s or partner’s names?
- Do you ask your team members for advise on certain business issues? How often do they contribute?
- When last did you publicly compliment one of your team members on a job well done?
- When last did you provide specific feedback on a team members weaknesses or challenge areas? Did you discuss alternative behaviour with them?
- Do your team member(s) have personal development plans in place?
I could ask a hundred questions. The point is, do you treat people in your team the same way you would want to be treated?
Do you believe that you make your team members feel as though they are adding value? That they are meaningful to the team and make a difference?
People don’t want to just go to work everyday to earn their salary. People want to feel as though they are been treated like equals and want to feel acknowledged for their contribution. Think about it.
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