source: www.halogensoftware.com/ Probably the biggest issue linked to employee engagement is employee retention. There are many reasons why employees leave, such as lack of career growth, poor compensation and benefits system, and too much work; but there is one thing that these reasons revolve around: management.
You’ve likely heard that “People quit their leader, not their company.” This is true, given that a company has all the right and essential resources to support their managers to ensure employee satisfaction and retention. If a company’s employee retention is suffering, then it is high time to reassess our leadership and management strategies.
You’ve likely heard that “People quit their leader, not their company.” This is true, given that a company has all the right and essential resources to support their managers to ensure employee satisfaction and retention. If a company’s employee retention is suffering, then it is high time to reassess our leadership and management strategies.
Micromanagement
What is micromanagement? It occurs when supervisors observe and control too closely the work that employees do. They monitor and assess their every step – enough to stress the average worker. This type of management leads to disengagement because it makes an employee feel that their work and judgment are not trusted.
The article How to Manage a Micromanager talks about how unproductive and demoralizing it can be to work with a micromanager. Many of us tend to micromanage but only some are able to keep it in check. In case you haven’t realized it yet, micromanagement is mismanagement. In some rare cases, micromanagement works but more often than not, it creates a toxic environment that later becomes the main reason for employees to flee (see PEOPLE QUIT THEIR BOSS, NOT THEIR JOB, 2015). Consider the following classic indicators that someone is a micromanager. They usually:
What is micromanagement? It occurs when supervisors observe and control too closely the work that employees do. They monitor and assess their every step – enough to stress the average worker. This type of management leads to disengagement because it makes an employee feel that their work and judgment are not trusted.
The article How to Manage a Micromanager talks about how unproductive and demoralizing it can be to work with a micromanager. Many of us tend to micromanage but only some are able to keep it in check. In case you haven’t realized it yet, micromanagement is mismanagement. In some rare cases, micromanagement works but more often than not, it creates a toxic environment that later becomes the main reason for employees to flee (see PEOPLE QUIT THEIR BOSS, NOT THEIR JOB, 2015). Consider the following classic indicators that someone is a micromanager. They usually:
· resist delegating
· involve themselves (too) deeply in other people’s projects/tasks
· correct tiny details instead of looking at the bigger picture
· take back delegated work before it is finished if they find mistakes
· discourage others from making decisions without consulting them
· involve themselves (too) deeply in other people’s projects/tasks
· correct tiny details instead of looking at the bigger picture
· take back delegated work before it is finished if they find mistakes
· discourage others from making decisions without consulting them
Do you possess the aforementioned behavior indicators? If you’re a micromanager and it works for your team and company in general, perhaps you don’t need to change anything. But ask yourself honestly. And consult your team. If you are, you need to rethink your leadership and management strategies. Be the leader that listens to and empowers his/her people, thus, strengthening employee engagement.
Intensify Employee Engagement, Stop Micromanaging Talents
1. Increase employee accountability.
How do you do this? Marcus Erb, a senior consultant with Great Place to Work® Institute, emphasized in How to Stop Micromanaging Your Team that keeping your people accountable is key to stop micromanagement. They need to be in an environment where they are given a lot of responsibility with minimal to zero monitoring.
In turn, they would feel that the management trusts them and that they are not merely employees but also act as business partners. You can do this by hiring accountable people, adequately communicating clear goals and expectations, and giving people the power to make decisions.
2. Listen.
Good managers listen to their employees and only by listening can you determine what your people need and expect from you and the company. From here, you can devise ways to address their needs to keep them satisfied and engaged. You may even learn and realize how micromanaging disengages them and kills their morale and creativity.
3. Create a vision for the future.
Although it may be true that people nowadays, especially millennials, look for career advancement more than anything else, it does not necessarily mean that you cannot work around this. This is tricky when there isn’t any higher position an employee can actually climb to unless you want to give them yours.
But, if you create a vision of and for the future, you can make them feel “this is not the end of the road.” Sometimes, there may not be any career promotion but they can experience career advancement in other ways. In relation to increasing employee accountability, allow them to handle and oversee projects, give them more responsibilities at the same time increase compensation, give performance-based incentives, and empower them to decide independently. By doing so, you can avoid disengagement.
Of course, there is no perfect leadership and management, only a dynamic one that is open and adaptable to change. Because in the ever changing needs and demands of people and business, we need to be flexible. Avoid micromanagement and gear toward employee satisfaction and engagement to ensure employee retention.
1. Increase employee accountability.
How do you do this? Marcus Erb, a senior consultant with Great Place to Work® Institute, emphasized in How to Stop Micromanaging Your Team that keeping your people accountable is key to stop micromanagement. They need to be in an environment where they are given a lot of responsibility with minimal to zero monitoring.
In turn, they would feel that the management trusts them and that they are not merely employees but also act as business partners. You can do this by hiring accountable people, adequately communicating clear goals and expectations, and giving people the power to make decisions.
2. Listen.
Good managers listen to their employees and only by listening can you determine what your people need and expect from you and the company. From here, you can devise ways to address their needs to keep them satisfied and engaged. You may even learn and realize how micromanaging disengages them and kills their morale and creativity.
3. Create a vision for the future.
Although it may be true that people nowadays, especially millennials, look for career advancement more than anything else, it does not necessarily mean that you cannot work around this. This is tricky when there isn’t any higher position an employee can actually climb to unless you want to give them yours.
But, if you create a vision of and for the future, you can make them feel “this is not the end of the road.” Sometimes, there may not be any career promotion but they can experience career advancement in other ways. In relation to increasing employee accountability, allow them to handle and oversee projects, give them more responsibilities at the same time increase compensation, give performance-based incentives, and empower them to decide independently. By doing so, you can avoid disengagement.
Of course, there is no perfect leadership and management, only a dynamic one that is open and adaptable to change. Because in the ever changing needs and demands of people and business, we need to be flexible. Avoid micromanagement and gear toward employee satisfaction and engagement to ensure employee retention.
