While companies can hold onto their employees by offering higher pay, expanded training or a rewards & recognition program, there is one much better way to retain your staff.
 
This is the view of Ciaran Foley, head of Frazer Jones Australia, who says that there is one aspect that beats the rest when it comes to convincing an employee to stay on at a firm: the relationship with their managers.
 
These claims are backed up by the Frazer Jones Asia-Pacific HR Salary Survey for 2016 in which HR professionals were asked about what motivated them to stay with their employers.
 
“It is interesting that in the ever-changing world we work in, the relationship people have with their direct managers still takes precedence over everything else,” he said.
 
As the saying goes, “people leave managers, not companies,” and this is still true today in amongst the modern work setting’s flexible work arrangements and advanced technology, he added.
 
This highlights the important role that HR can play in retaining talented staff below them.
 
“While managers must be accountable for their leadership and communication style, HR can develop these skills in their leaders and future leaders,” Foley said.
 
“With many people leaving companies because of the relationship they have with their managers, I believe this represents a commercially strong business case for investing in leadership training.”
 
The logic behind this is simple: excellent leaders will keep excellent staff.
 
Through careful development of leaders in the firm, a positive culture can be instilled which further increases retention rates at a firm, Foley noted, with senior leaders demonstrating both the values and behaviours expected of each employee.
 
“Our research demonstrates that this is a journey well worth taking if you want to retain your star performers.”