Want to Improve Employee Retention? It All Starts Here

I see these headlines everywhere (especially with Valentine’s Day approaching), “The Key to a Healthy Relationship,” “The Thing You’re Doing Wrong in Your Relationship,” “Why Relationships Last”…it keeps following me around the internet. And it’s true these three things are key…to ANY relationship—whether it’s with your boyfriend, wife, mother, best friend, or boss.

So these headlines got me thinking…if you want to retain your relationship, ugh, I mean your employees—it comes down to three things.

In a recent survey, more than 5,700 professionals were asked to describe a bad leader in the workplace and here are the top three qualities of a bad manager:

  • They’re a Bad Communicator – 50%
  • They’re Not Supportive – 44%
  • They’re Not Trusting – 30%

Now if these were qualities that described your significant other, would you stay with that person?

Absolutely not!

Your friends would be telling you to run for the hills and not surprisingly, these are the same reasons why employees leave companies.

Communication is Important
Transparency is important and the more often employees know about what’s happening with the organization, the more involved they will be. It is true that shielding employees from the realty of things is a natural instinct, but if employees were told more often about the state of the company, they’d feel more invested in its well being.

Show Your Team You’ve Got Their Back
No amount of money or benefits will keep an employee at an organization, but an employee with a loyal manger that supports their ideas and appreciates their work definitely will.

Trust Your Employees to Do Their Jobs
If a manager has people on their team that they don’t trust, that’s a pretty terrible situation to be in. Managers should surround themselves with capable people that they know will get the job done.

They say that employees don’t leave an organization, they leave a bad boss. So do an audit of your organization. Are you continuously filling the same jobs for the same manager? This could be a sign that it’s time for a bigger change.

Nexxt is a recruitment media company that uses today’s most effective marketing tactics to reach the full spectrum of talent – from active to passive, and everything in between. Learn more about hiring with Nexxt.

Image source: Dilbert, By Scott Adams

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