May 21st, 2013 
bernard.archibald 
I came across an article on my facebook wall back a few months ago which I find very astonishingly true.
Why Good Employees Leave?
Why Good Employees Leave?
A study came up with this surprising finding: If you’re losing good people, look to their immediate supervisor. More than any other single reason, he is the reason people stay and thrive in an organization. And he’s the reason why they quit, taking their knowledge, experience and contacts with them. Often, straight to the competition.
“People leave managers not companies,” write the authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. “So much money has been thrown at the challenge of keeping good people – in the form of better pay, better perks and better training – when, in the end, turnover is mostly a manager issue.”
If you have a turnover problem, look first to your managers and supervisors.
Beyond a point, an employee’s primary need has less to do with money, and more to do with how he’s treated and how valued he feels. Much of this depends directly on the immediate manager.
-David W. Richard
I couldn’t have agreed more on this.
Image Courtesy of : http://www.thedayiquit.com/
I came across quite a few of similar cases. Some people might tell you that they left because they got better offer, better job satisfaction, better prospects but somehow if you really look into that matter close enough, you might find out that the actual culprit is the immediate supervisor.
A few months back a friend of mine left the company and I would say that he was paid handsomely while he was here. I asked him why he left, expecting an answer like “I need a new challenge”, or “I have achieved what I wanted to achieved in this company”, but instead he said “I couldn’t work with my boss”.
As I sat thinking about what he said, I realized that there are quite a number of people whom I know left their company just simply they couldn’t work with their immediate supervisor anymore. I am not saying that the working condition was bad but it was good – the team was good, very good in fact and very supportive but their managers are simply unbearable to work with.
It became very apparent when they keep on saying things like – “I missed those days”, “If only he/she is not there, I wouldn’t have left”. It shows that there are some love and hate relationship in there.
A lot of companies lose good people just because of this and it happened on a regular basis. Often, like tap water left running unattended.
I must admit that keeping up with good employee is not an easy task as well. It is sometimes not just about the money or even the workload that matters it is more to human connection I must say. This is where anger management, people management really kicks in. There are still a lot of things I feel that I need to learn especially when it comes to people management. First and foremost, I need to get myself checked in – manage myself well before I can start managing others and that, my friend is an endless journey.
One thing for sure, when I left my previous company I brought with me a note, something which I will adhere to for the rest of my life. I would not be like my boss. I would be better and that my friend is a real morale booster.
