“ We found that more than half ( 53 percent ) of working Americans who indicated that they have left a job due to workplace culture in the last five years did so because of their relationship with their manager .”
— ROCKI BASEL icans who rate their culture as poor or very poor , we find that 78 percent indicated that they have thought about leaving their organization .”
At a time when employee retention is among spa leaders ’ highest priorities , these figures should leave no doubt that developing a strong workplace culture is critical to reducing turnover by preventing the sorts of frustrations that may lead employees to consider other opportunities .
Managing Workplace Culture Developing an effective , desirable culture is not as simple as flipping a switch , of course . Indeed , dozens of factors contribute to a workplace ’ s culture , and it can sometimes be challenging for spa leaders to know which aspects to prioritize , given their often limited time and resources . SHRM ’ s research provides some clarity .“ Spa leaders should think about the importance of people managers ,” says Rocki Basel .
“ We found that more than half ( 53 percent ) of working Americans who indicated that they have left a job due to workplace culture in the last five years did so because of their relationship with their manager .”
This statistic makes it clear that good relationships between employees and their managers are key to retention . In theory , that knowledge should make it easier for spas and resource partners to keep good employees , but as Basel points out , there are often sizable gaps between the way that managers view their relationships with employees and the way that employees feel about those relationships . “ Working Americans notice that their people manager doesn ’ t always encourage a culture of open and transparent communication , even though the managers think they do ,” Basel explains .“ Ninety-five percent of people managers agree that they encourage a culture of open and transparent communication , yet 27 percent of working Americans do not think that their manager encourages a culture of open and transparent communication .”
Obviously , that kind of gap in perception can lead to trouble . Because the relationships between managers and those who report to them are so useful in predicting employee satisfaction , Basel advises organizations to invest in leadership training to give people managers the best chance at building solid working relationships with their teams . “ More than one in four people managers ( 26 percent ) indicated that their workplace doesn ’ t provide leadership training ,” says Basel .“ With such a large number of employees indicating that their relationship with their manager drove them to leave a job , it only makes sense to provide people managers the opportunity to learn about how to be a great leader .”
Whatever training leaders receive , it is especially important that it offers
40 PULSE n NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021