“There’s nothing we can’t do if we work hard, never sleep, and shirk all other responsibilities in our lives.” – Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation
While that may have worked for Leslie in Pawnee, Indiana, most people in 2024 are looking for something slightly different in their workplace… they’re looking for happiness and belonging. Employers are also looking for happy employees – unhappy employees cost North American businesses over $350 billion last year in lost productivity. Where does unhappiness start, and how can businesses create (and maintain) a thriving community?
Managers.
According to a Gallup study, 82% of managers are miscast in their roles, and this miscasting is one of the key factors in an unhappy environment. As the old phrase goes “people don’t quit jobs, they quit managers”.
So what can you do to turn culture around? How can the company manage managers?
People Operations are there to help – use them! With every hire, there is potential for loss, and those losses can severely drain a workplace culture (and a workplace budget). In fact, employees who leave within 3 months of hire still cost the company at least 50% (on average) of that employee’s yearly salary. A lax hiring process can cost the company time, resources, and opportunity, while also exhausting the employees still within the workplace. Hiring processes should be clearly laid out by the managers, including a culture interview, and every new hire should know what the vision, goals, and values of the company are as they come onboard.
Not everyone knows how to be a manager naturally – in fact, most people don’t. With promotions comes new responsibility, and that should come with new education and training. Sending all managers through external training will give them the opportunity to ask honest questions and sharpen their skills. This is not a one and done solution, training should be annually (at a minimum) to keep up with trends and new opportunities to lead.
Creating and maintaining a thriving culture is hard work that cannot be ignored. We are often blind to our own flaws, and bringing in an outside team can help find the pain points dragging culture down. If you’re ready to focus on your team and take them to the next level, Agile Velocity is here to help with coaching, training, full-scale transformation… and of course, managing managers.
