The Secret to Employee Retention is No Secret At All

It’s the manager! We know that one of the main reasons a person leaves a job is the manager (aka Bosshole). The manager can also be one of the main reasons a person stays with an organization.  Today, we are experiencing a tightening in the number of candidates applying for jobs so the ones we do hire need to be selected based on “best fit” factors. Then we need to be sure our managers have the tools in hand to develop and retain the people we currently have. We need managers who are equipped to be adaptable and agile based on the people for whom they are responsible.

This is where “people science” becomes so valuable. Providing managers with their own behavioral data will broaden their self-awareness and expose potential traps and areas where they can grow.  But we also want to provide them with the behavioral data of their direct reports and learn how to “manage to the one”, as we like to say. A one-size-fits-all approach to managing has never worked and these days it could be disastrous. That’s like buying the same size shoe for everyone on your team - it ignores the unique needs of each person. Ill-equipped managers will cost you performance and ultimately people.

Fortunately, there are tools that solve these issues. Of course, we recommend coaching and development tools found within The Predictive Index platform. One of these is the Coaching Guide which compares a person’s behavioral data with their specific Job Target (like in the sample provided below for our fictitious employee, Jason). Jason’s manager can see where he is aligned or misaligned with the Job Target and the tool provides strong coaching questions that the manager can use to guide and grow Jason. Now, parts of this example could be seen as a pretty strong “mis-fit” so while we can work with Jason to help with any struggles he may be experiencing, we can also look at other Job Targets we have where he could have stronger alignment and therefore “refit” him. What does that do? It keeps him engaged and lowers the probability that he becomes a flight risk and it also provides objective data to find a role where he can find more meaning and fulfillment. Equipped with these tools, even mediocre managers can emerge from the Bosshole Zone and more effectively guide and develop their people.

And while we’re at it, let’s get more creative in the way we compensate managers. Rather than just performance, managers should also be compensated for their ability to sustain strong engagement from their team members as well as retention of those team members that perform at optimum levels. We’ll talk more about that in another post.