Item 5: "My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person."
Gallup's research indicates that employees don't leave companies, they leave managers and supervisors. The impact that a supervisor has in today's workplace can be either very valuable or very costly to the organization and the people who work there.
All of us as employees have had the unpleasant experience of having a bad supervisor or manager. Many of us have also experienced the results and benefits of a good one. When Gallup evaluates the difference between bad and good supervisors, it is amazing to see how clear the difference is in the minds of employees. Yet, when we ask employees, "Do you want to be managed?" everyone says "No." Why is this? Because we automatically think of our bad experiences. What if someone who is similar to the best supervisor one has had could manage the employee? Would he or she want to be managed in that case? Yes. So, the issue is really this: What makes a great manager?
Gallup finds that great managers and supervisors possess identifiable talents or recurring patterns of thought, feelings and behaviors. These talents include getting a true sense of satisfaction out of seeing their employees grow and succeed, even if the employee's success surpasses that of the manager. Great managers also intrinsically know how to match the right person with the right roles to produce the best possible results; they set expectations by defining the desired outcome; they don't dissect every role down to the exact steps needed to accomplish it; they help people grow within a role instead of grow out of it; and they always try to bring out what God left in versus trying to put in what God left out.
Great supervisors genuinely care about the people they work with, and thus treat people according to their individuality rather than treating everyone the same. Supervisors are the filters from which broader organizational changes and initiatives make sense to individual employees and thus gain true acceptance and understanding. One could speculate that people are not resistant to change; they just don't have the relationships to translate how such modifications will impact them and their jobs.
For years, Gallup has learned from surveys that the credibility of senior management is critical to employee perceptions of the organization. This led us to consult with CEOs and leaders to encourage them to have greater visibility and clearer communications. Then, three years ago, we made a discovery: Employee perceptions of senior management credibility are largely driven by the quality of relationships employees have with their supervisors. Thus, rather than feeling the need for a town-hall meeting, the CEO should feel compelled to ensure that all employees have a caring relationship with their managers or designates.