Poor leadership prompts third of staff to leave job, research reveals
Monday 23rd February 2015
A third of the UK workforce is likely to leave their current employer in the next two years because of the poor relationship they have with their line manager.
‘Poor manager relationship’ was cited as one of the top reasons employees would consider changing employers in the latest Towers Watson Global Workforce Study, which suggests that “meagre managers are adding to the UK talent drain”.
According to the research, a third of managers are do not coach employees on how to grow in their role, and a quarter fail to accurately evaluate performance in personal development reviews.
The study, which covers more than 32,000 employees, including 1,863 from the UK, suggests that managers also fall short when it comes to communication, with only a third of leaders involving employees in the decisions that affect them. A lack of support, recognition and feedback from supervisors was cited among the top causes of stress for UK employees in the global study.
Sheena Pickersgill, People and Change Consultant at Gordons says “Effective leadership is a skill and line managers need support to help them acquire communication and engagement skills. One of the top skills needed when managing others is empathy – if you can at least appreciate your colleague’s position you are in a good starting place. Ineffective and abrasive management has a cost on the bottom line as employees take more time off sick, productivity falls and turnover increases. Time to invest in leadership development.”
Click here to read the related article featured on CIPD, 20 February 2015.
If you need any support with coaching or leadership development, please contact Sheena Pickersgill on 0113 227 0394 or at sheena.pickersgill@gordonsllp.com