The real cause of employee turnover

Why do employees leave? Most companies don’t want to face the answer, so they don’t collect data from outgoing employees beyond the usual exit interview. I can tell you from our experience working with companies that the primary cause for employee turnover is bad management. In the article “8 Questions You Need to Ask to Turn Around Employee Turnover,” Ira Wolfe wrote, “Research has proven time and again that employees don’t quit companies, they leave supervisors.” More often than not, managers and supervisors fail because they lack adequate experience in managing teams and motivating others. Sometimes employees are promoted to management positions for past technical accomplishments or as a reward for tenure, but they may not have the skills needed to manage effectively. “Equipping supervisors and managers with the right people management skills and resources is no longer optional and a just ‘nice-to-have’ but essential for improving productivity and sustained business growth,” Wolfe wrote. I couldn’t agree more. Affirmative Leadership has proven to be a leadership methodology that teaches those essential people management skills. At one company that used Affirmative Leadership, employee turnover went from more than 250% to under 100%. When managers clearly communicate their expectations, and provide sufficient tools, training, support, and feedback, they thrive, and their employees thrive, too.]]>