What does the future of employee retention look like? It’s in the hands of managers

With the ripple effects of a 6.5% inflation rate and 10.5 million jobs remain open nationwide, the pressure is on for frontline organizations to make decisions that benefit the business and their teams. Unfortunately, much of that day-to-day pressure falls on managers, who often serve as the intermediary between the needs and expectations of senior leaders and their employees. It’s no surprise that workplaces are struggling with managerial alignment.

A recent Gartner report revealed nine predictions for 2023 to help mitigate workplace volatility and included training and support for managers because they are a critical part of employee development and satisfaction. After all, research shows the least effective managers are three to four times more likely to have employees that “quiet quit” on them than stronger leaders.

As the role of the manager evolves, there are several steps employers can take to prioritize their      training as a strategy to increase retention and productivity.

Transforming managers from teachers into coaches

Although managers are expected to teach employees how to do a job, their responsibility extends beyond that initial step. After managers enable workers with the training and knowledge they need to get the job done, they need to provide continuous encouragement, support and opportunities for employee growth. Gallup estimates that managers make up the majority of the reason for the fluctuation in employee engagement — 70% — which makes sense since they play such a crucial role in the employee experience. Their skills, then, need to go well beyond just teaching people how to do their jobs.

To help managers learn how to continuously coach employees, organizations should provide them with learning opportunities that are also continuous. Considering nearly 6 in 10 workers think managers in their workplace could benefit from training on how to be better people managers, an increased focus on      professional development could satisfy employee and management needs. Relationship-building and interpersonal skills are essential elements that help create positive employee experiences and      successful workforces, but only 47% of managers feel prepared to lead their staff with empathy. Training programs should also include enabling them to develop the skills needed to monitor people’s emotions and demonstrate care.

Making investments in the right technology to ensure employee alignment

Managerial skills gaps are rising across the country, due in part to a lack of investment and focus on training. In fact, West Monroe found that out of managers who oversee one or two employees, a whopping 59% have no training and those who oversee 3 to 5 workers, 41% of them say that organized professional development is lacking.

In order to bridge these gaps and develop stronger job training, companies should update the technology used for onboarding and upskilling to meet evolving demands. This helps ensure that new and tenured employees have the most up-to-date knowledge about their job responsibilities, workplace expectations and steps to take so they get their work done efficiently. When companies invest in their training technology and implement these programs across every department, they’re building cross-functional success that can help businesses thrive.

By eliminating skills discrepancies, managers will feel properly prepared to tackle their day-to-day duties and help their team achieve greater success. However, to avoid leaving employees feeling unsupported or in the dark, it’s also important that managers balance this learning with their daily duties. When this learning is rolled out seamlessly to the whole organization, it can help enable managers without negatively impacting other employees or slowing down individual progress cause by differences in how they are being managed.

Since managers play such a substantial role in the professional development and day-to-day experience of their direct reports, investing in managerial training can make all the difference to employees. With 82% of Americans revealing that a bad manager would make them consider leaving their jobs, training also becomes part of a retention strategy. And it’s not just poor management or negativity from leaders causing employees to head for the exit. Nine in 10 workers say that empathetic leadership goes hand-in-hand with higher job satisfaction. Additionally, 88% say empathetic leadership helps boost employee loyalty, and 79% say it lowers turnover.

Related: Job development and skills training key to employee retention

Managers have a critical, and challenging, role to play in ensuring the various immediate, and ambiguous, needs of employees are being met. Employers can help prepare them through interpersonal skill development and tailored training that focuses on filling potential skills gaps so they can communicate openly about challenges they face and provide a positive example for the employees they oversee.

Carol Leaman, CEO of Axonify