how to keep top talent

Survey finds that 1 in 2 managers will leave their company in the next year!

Most companies recognize that their top employees are an invaluable asset they wouldn’t want to lose, but it’s shocking to think that there’s a 50% chance that your top performers will leave within the next 12 months. A new report on talent retention reveals how companies can take better care of their top performers, and prevent them from leaving.

TalentLMS and Dr. Ashley Prisant from Harvard University partnered up on a survey about manager retention. And the results revealed the reasons why managers stay loyal to their companies, and what makes them consider leaving.

“We conducted this research because we wanted to examine how companies can keep their top performers in the long run, and prevent them from leaving. We also wanted to look into whether new managers are getting managerial training, which should prepare them for the new, challenging role. Turns out, employers aren’t delivering, as 1 in 4 managers never received any management training at all.”
-Ana Casic, Media Relations at TalentLMS

This research found that:

  • 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

In fact, the more experienced your managers are, the more likely it is that they are considering leaving. Consider the graph below…

manager retention

Why do top employees leave?

So why are our best managers thinking of resigning? This same report found that besides being underpaid, the top factors that drive managers away, are:

  • an unhealthy working environment
  • not being part of the decision-making process, and
  • insufficient training and development opportunities

Most HR leaders will know that their companies are guilty of at least one (if not all three) of these risk factors.

In fact, 76% of respondents said they’d like more training and development opportunities from their company.

Why would top employees stay?

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%)
  • Feeling acknowledged (37%)
  • Training opportunities (36%)

Manager retention survey

Fortunately, many of these factors are ones that can be improved – once you know about them!

The report also looked into whether managers feel taken care of. As it turns out, 93% have a go-to person, while 7% say they have no one to rely on at work. This is another indicator that they are a flight risk and need immediate attention.

The keys to retaining top talent

It’s clear from this report, that in order to retain top managers, especially ones that are more experienced, companies need to;

  • Create and foster a healthy working environment – presumably, this refers to the culture of the company, and its approach to work-life balance
  • Ensure managers are included in the decision-making process – strong communication is key here as well as sufficient agency over their domain
  • Provide ample training and development opportunities, such as project management courses – yes, even top managers value training and will leave if they feel like they are no longer learning and growing

How does your organization approach these factors? Do you feel at-risk of your top managers leaving, or confident that you’re in a good position?

How to Retain Your Top Talent

Category: Employee Retention