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50% of Managers Will Leave Their Company in the Next Year

October 31, 2019

By Heather Nezich, courtesy of SBAM Approved Partner ASE

A new report from TalentLMS and Harvard University reveals how companies can take better care of their top performers and prevent them from leaving.  The survey report reveals the reasons why managers stay loyal to their companies and what makes them consider leaving.

These are the key findings:

  • 1 in 2 managers are thinking about leaving their company in the next 12 months

  • 7 in 10 say they feel undervalued and underpaid

  • 43% feel isolated at work after they became managers

  • 61% say that the number one reason they stay is that they work well with the people they manage

  • 68% feel they’re not paid enough for the responsibility

  • 42% say they felt happier at work before they became managers

The top factors that drive managers away, besides being underpaid, are:

  • An unhealthy working environment

  • Not being part of the decision-making process

  • Insufficient training and development opportunities

On the other hand, among the top reasons why managers stay at their current companies, besides compensation, are:

  • The people they manage (61%)

  • Decision-making power (49%)

  • Work-life balance (44%)

  • Training opportunities (36%)

92% of managers find training important, yet only 41% have received training specific to their role over the past month.  When asked about training on management skills, 7% said they had received it before they became managers, while another 21% got leadership training after their promotion.  One in four managers received no training at all.

With 78% of respondents saying that their companies offer compliance training at frequent intervals, it seems that training, in general, is part of the business culture; however, training on managerial or leadership skills is being overlooked.

76% of managers say that they want more training and development opportunities from their companies. And 47% of managers who want more training and don’t get it, are thinking of quitting their jobs.

As the report shows, managers want the ability to make decisions and the training to do so. Providing them with training on management skills – which is among the top three factors of why they stay or leave – would increase manager retention.

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