Lack of training can make managers leave their job

Managers understand the value of training and are prepared to quit if it’s not forthcoming, reveals Aris Apostolopoulos.

Reading time: 3 minutes

Imagine what goes through an employee’s mind when they finally meet almost every professional’s goal and get promoted to manager. 

First, comes excitement. They’re one step closer to their goals, that pay raise is finally on their doorstep, and confidence goes great guns. Everything sounds flawless. 

But is it?

A recent survey on manager retention suggested that one in two managers will leave their job in the next year. This finding might raise a few eyebrows; after all, why would someone want to leave a position they’ve worked so hard to achieve? For various reasons, actually. To name the top three:

1. An unhealthy work environment and a bad relationship with the people they manage

All managers tend to agree. Working well with their teams is the number one reason they’d stay at their company. On the other hand, a bad working environment and poor communication (mostly with the people they manage) are enough to make them hit the road. 

2. Not being part of the decision-making process

Managers want to feel like managers. It’s really that simple. They might want to work in an environment that makes them feel happy, but they still want to be able to shape it.

Shutting out managers from decision-making processes will only make them feel superfluous. As a result, sooner or later, they’ll pursue different opportunities where they can get to shape the perfect working environment they’ve been longing for.

3. Not enough training and development opportunities

47% of managers who crave more training, but aren’t being heard, are thinking of quitting their job in the next 12 months

They might have been promoted, they might have their plate full every day they get into office, but managers still understand the value of training.

As a result, they want more. In fact, 76% said they want more training and development opportunities from their company but, unfortunately, the number of those who aren’t being heard is quite significant.

And another chapter unfolds.

The impact of management training on manager retention

Training has always been associated with employee retention. 2013 research found out that an employee’s decision to stay for a more extended period of time at a company can be influenced by their company’s training practice.

But what about leadership skills specifically? After all, leadership is a skill all managers should master at some point. As it turns out, training on management skills is not at the desired state yet.

7% of managers say they received management training before they took on the role of manager, which means their companies prepared them for their big promotion day.

21% said they received training after their promotion, while another 47% says they were trained on management skills both before and after they became managers.

What’s unusual, though, is that 24% of managers never received any management training at all.

 



 

However, it’s not that training is not in their company culture since the same survey found out that 78% of managers get compliance training offered by their companies at regular intervals.

So, it’s not that training, in general, is neglected. It’s that specific training types (management training included) are overlooked.

Someone could easily argue that managers might not even want any training on management or leadership skills. But this is entirely invalid. 

92% of employees in managerial positions say they find training specific to their role important or somewhat important, and 76% want more training opportunities from their employers. 

Furthermore, 47% of managers who crave more training, but aren’t being heard, are thinking of quitting their job in the next 12 months. And this is really soon.

 

About the author

Aris Apostolopoulos content writer for Epignosis

 

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