Today’s Management Myth
While doing some research for an upcoming project I reviewed a number of surveys over the last year or so conducted by Leadership IQ and Deloitte. A lot of the data reinforces things we know, but as Managers and Leaders rarely address. There were some surprises in regards to the affect of the current business climate/recession.
Things we know but as leaders we have a tendency to ignore. First, the national figures on “Trust in Management” still hover around 45-50% for all employees, and of course are significantly higher in the age categories of employees under the age of 45, in some surveys close to 70% in this employee segment. Secondly, even in the current environment, (which might surprise you,) close to 80% of employees will decide in the first six months how long or even if they will stay with your organization. And finally, even with unemployment figures at record highs, somewhere between 40 and 50% of your employees are still looking for other new employment opportunities, many on line, and many during the workday, on your payroll.
In terms of the new data that I had not reviewed before, productivity in terms of non-productive time at work, as defined by the employees in the surveys was down over 44% across the board, and down over 60% in employees in the age 41-50 category as measured by Leadership IQ last year. Can you see the ultimate dichotomy as most of us as Managers are trying to do more with less people?
The Myth
Thus the myth that most Managers and Leaders have recited to themselves behind closed doors, “Our remaining employees (possibly layoff survivors) feel fortunate to have a job,” is not only false, but potentially a huge deterrent to any real growth or any chance of success. As a matter of fact in one survey, 47% of “High Performers” in our organizations are actively looking for another job (Leadership IQ. 2008)
Remember, even in your organization, Non-Performers stay and the real Talent often leaves. Why not, the Non-Performers keep getting their 3% increase. In essence, being paid by all of us to bring down the morale, creativity and any chance of enthusiastically participating in your change initiatives.
According to a Deloitte Survey, Aug 2009, "Keeping Your Team Intact: A Special Report on Talent Retention", only 9% of corporate leaders expected voluntary turnovers to increase, while noting that “Excessive Workload” and “Money” as top reasons on why people leave our organizations from the corporate leadership perspective. The employees on the other hand noted “Relationship with Supervisor” and “Lack of Trust” as key reasons on why they are always looking for a new job, and that does not even take into account the affect of diminishing engagement or productivity per the data above. It is amazing the two camps, employees and leaders, work in the same building, yet have such radically different perspectives on why employees leave or become disengaged.
Train and Educate Your Middle Managers
As always with budget cuts, any type of Leadership Training or Succession Training all but disappears in most organizations. Logically it does not make sense. Walk with me here… If the Managers or Middle Managers are the number one catalyst for total, overall employee productivity or diminishing productivity, would it not be more efficient from a P&L perspective to train and educate these critical first line managers in management skills, trust and engagement? All at a fraction of the cost of replacing any single employee. It just makes Fiscal sense.
You might read the current data and conclude that today’s younger employees are not loyal and concerned mostly about themselves. As much as we see their values much differently than the organizational culture in which most Boomers grew up, frankly “we” created the scenario and lack of trust. Can you possibly suggest that news regarding once revered companies and organizations has not had a significant impact on our employees, no matter how ‘rosy’ you might dream the culture is in your organization?
Investing in Middle Managers or Front Line Managers will save you money not cost you money. Moreover, it demonstrates Senior Management’s commitment to the Middle Managers’ personal growth, directly aligned with the growth (OK, “survival”) of the overall organization.
It Does Not Need to be Expensive
Having open dialog sessions with your Managers regarding a selected Management Article of the Month, or ten-minute podcast on line can get you started. In these self-contained sessions you will need a moderator, or rotating moderators, but the communication exchange needs to come from the internal managers to be really effective. This is not a vehicle for a lecture from the Boss, we get that in our management meetings, and all opinions and dialogs are worthwhile and need to be positively reinforced. Genuine listening and reinforcement builds trust and engagement.
News Flash!! The best welder does not make the best boss, and then we loose our best welder as well as lose money replacing that manager. As much as we as leaders want to believe that success in rough times comes from our charismatic leadership and our dynamic visions of the future, it is not necessarily true without our managers being engaged and trained to reinforce trust and engagement.
This is where my resources and research are today. If I can help, call or email me. Wishing you the best,
Mike Muetzel
www.unlockthemysteries.com
mxmm@bellsouth.net