To say that the last several years changed the workplace is an understatement. The COVID-19 pandemic caused sweeping—and in some cases, lasting—shifts in some of the fundamentals of work. However, some things about employee relations remain the same. Not the least of these is the importance of the relationship between employees and managers.
In its report “Spotlight on Manager Effectiveness: Why It Matters and How to Improve It,” 15Five claims, “Many problems that may be occurring within your organizations right now can be directly tracked back to one source—ineffective managers.”
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Four major impacts of poor management are low employee morale, high rates of employee turnover, high burnout and absenteeism, and low productivity. The report points out that ineffective managers neglect to praise employees for their successes. This leaves the employee feeling undervalued and can lead to increased rates of absenteeism, low productivity, and employee disengagement.
The report cites a Gallup poll stating that one in two employees, or half of them, left their jobs because of bad relationships with their managers. In a time of low unemployment, it can be difficult—and costly—to replace an employee who has quit.
Ineffective people leadership affects every industry, and freight transportation is no exemption.
However, some good news: Leaders can make a turn for the better if companies invest in developing them. According to 15Five, “a successful manager development program will be multipronged, and occur in the flow of work, so that talent development becomes a part of your managers’ day-to-day work life.”
Painting the management training in a positive light—as a learning opportunity rather than something that is mandatory—should lead to better outcomes. The report referenced a LinkedIn survey showing that 94% of employees indicated they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their training and development. By training managers, not only do you increase the chance of fostering better employee-manager relations, you also increase the chance of managers remaining with your company longer.
Management training can lead to better managers and happier employees more likely to stay with your company.
Jane Clark focuses on managing the member services operation at NationaLease as vice president of member services. She works to strengthen member relationships, reduce member costs, and improve collaboration within the NationaLease supporting groups.
