Good employees are hard to find and can be even harder to keep. Retaining and engaging a valued staff member should be a top priority; after all, they do often have the most options in terms of finding other employment. Who wouldn’t want to hire a workhorse?
A good employee doesn’t quit a job, they leave bad management. So what mistakes are these managers making?
Micromanagement
You have gone through the process of researching, interviewing and hiring the best employee for the job. So let them do it!
It is understandable that a good manager will check in on progress, make suggestions and generally keep the employee motivated, but there is no need to have continuous updates and make that employee obtain approval for every detail of a project. You hired them for that job right! You are showing your employees that you don’t trust them and you give the impression that they do not have the skills to perform the job.
Lack of Training/Education
Not providing an employee with further training or education to help enhance their job qualifications will cause an employee to feel unappreciated and essentially not valued. If retaining good employees and helping to ensure they remain the best fit and profitable for your company is important to you then training and education is a must.
Lack of Reward
Who doesn’t like to feel appreciated for their hard work? Rewards come in different shapes and sizes. This does not always mean money. You need to read the individual and find out what is important to them. Sometimes that could be a simple pat on the back, it could be some paid time off from work and other times it could very well be some kind of financial gain. The point is, you need to ensure the employee is recognized for their efforts.
Unapproachable
There are some that believe ruling with an iron fist is the way to run a company or department. Understandably there are times in a management position that you need to be assertive, but to be this way all the time will result in your staff fearing you. Once this happens the lines of communication are severed. Employees will not come to seek advice or direction. They will no longer communicate problems or issues. Your businesses will see a decline in productivity and, if continued, could very well drive itself into the ground.
Non Inclusiveness
This encompasses many areas of business and management traits. Keep the employees in the loop. Be transparent about business plans and strategies. Provide them with the big picture, including the goals of the company. Involve the employees by seeking input and actually, listen when they speak. The employees are your front line; they more than likely will have ideas, thoughts, and opinions as to how to help achieve those goals.
Including staff will make them feel valued and appreciated. Seeking their thoughts and opinions will make them part of the decision process which will help motivate them to want to help and be part of the team to drive the success of the goals.
