To retain your managers — and the employees who report to them — you need to invest in their development. Here are three ways to do it.At the October Future Forum Conference, Georgetown professor and author of, Ella Washington, captured the issue perfectly when she said, “Connecting with employees is often seen as ‘extra’ work for managers, so it goes to the bottom of the list. Companies need to make it clear — it is not extra; it is essential.
By formalizing the feedback relationship, the EL program elevates not just the experience of the manager, but also their connections with their direct reports, as something worthy of reflection. As Williams-Roll told me, “Eighty-eight percent of our people feel like they’re supported by their manager. And it has a direct correlation with not only engagement, but retention.
The key to these important conversations is that they’re led by managers — not by HR — in order to create more direct, personal connections throughout the organization and provide a growth opportunity for managers. As one of Whittinghill’s colleagues shared with him, “I didn’t think [the culture conversation] was going to be that big of a deal…but my team is so fired up.”
Smaller companies can emulate this initiative. The first step is to target the problem you’d like your managers to help address — for example, a high-level problem like values and culture or a more concrete problem like product development or sales. Next, map out a clear process for bringing the managers into the conversation, and all along, use your values as a guide.