Poll: Bad management is top reason for employee turnover

Does your company struggle with high employee turnover? Poor management could be to blame. The top reason people give for leaving a position is having a bad supervisor, according to a recent Gallup poll. On the other hand, a study from the O.C. Tanner Institute found that 94.4 percent of people with high morale at work say that their managers are good at recognizing their efforts. The takeaway: Management can really make or break an organization.
So how can you be a better boss? Here are several tips based on Gallup findings and advice from top managers:

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  Being a good manager is a learned skill, best acquired through management training courses.

  Be assertive as you work to achieve big picture objectives.
• Encourage dialogue, actively soliciting new ideas from others.
• Give positive feedback, making sure to recognize achievements.
• Keep out of personal politics, making fair decisions based on objective criteria.
• Maintain accountability for yourself and others.
• Set clear expectations and goals.

While it’s important for you to be an effective supervisor, it’s equally important that all of the managers in your company supervise their teams efficiently and effectively. One common misconception is that all good employees will naturally be good bosses.
“Many people are first promoted into management for their strong ‘technical skills’ – solid knowledge of their own business,” writes Forbes magazine contributor Victor Lipman. “But that’s only part of the managerial equation; all managers wear many hats.”
Ultimately, if you expect your new supervisors to learn on-the-job, you can expect many of them to fail. Management is a learned skill that is best acquired through concrete opportunities for ongoing, continuing education.
Mastery Technologies offers a wide selection of easy-to-use, inexpensive online management training courses that can help you bring out the best in your team. You’ll be amazed at how some simple changes in management style can transform a work environment, resulting in increased productivity and decreased employee turnover.