A Gallup poll of more than 1 million employed U.S. workers concluded that the main reason behind people quitting their jobs is a bad boss or immediate supervisor. Back in India, things are quite similar to one in every four employees in the organized sector set to switch jobs in the next year. A Hay Group study estimates Employee turnover rates in India to reach 26.9% in 2013. Out of the ones willing to change jobs, 36% reported the lack of supervisory coaching for their development as the main cause of change. Thus we may easily say that out of 10 employees who are either willing to or have already quit, 4 would cite manager issues for changing their jobs.
The avatars of a Bad Boss
Businesses employ managers or leaders to lead their subordinates towards the company’s or the respective department’s preset objectives. The employers rely on the Managers or bosses for any feedback on his/her team member’s professionalism & productivity. However, it is also important that managers receive performance feedback on how they are managing the company’s human capital. In most cases, this does not happen and the managers continue their mis-management of company resources. But who is a Bad Boss?
- Mr. Micromanager – He doesn’t trust his team’s ability, believes he knows how others should do their job, and interferes in everything they do.
- Mr. Ego – He is arrogant, puts himself ahead of others and is bitter about his team members growth
- Mr. No a.k.a Negative – From him, every approval or request receives a negative reply
- Mr. Coward – No Accountability is his norm and often hides behind others
- Mr. Gibberish – Other than the information that needs to be communicated everything else is shared by him
- Mr. Plagiarizer – Someone else slogs and he takes the credit
- Mr. Incompetent – Somehow is on top of the decision ladder but his capabilities are still grazing grass.
- Mr. Criticizers – He just puts you down and criticizes each and every activity without constructive feedback
The list continues with Mr. Attitude, Mr. Partial and Mr. Chameleon and many more. So how can companies resolutely do away with the Bad Boss syndrome? The answer lies in another example.
Managing the Manager
In 2003, an American Consumer Electronics Corporation had rolled out a program called ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) to combat the 67% turnover rate at their retail stores. This pilot program relied on increased employee engagement by reducing work to a single baseline – productivity. In 2006 the company was included on Fortune’s list of America’s Most Admired Companies, with Voluntary turnover rates reducing by 90% and 41% increase in productivity. Ideally at the workplace, an employee’s Performance Assessment/Tracking should be his or her report card. Employers should accurately measure every employee’s performance and identify areas of strength and improvement.
What could a Big Boss do to tackle a Bad Boss?
By replacing paper-based performance assessment with an automated HRIS/HRMS, companies may negate the de-motivating factor or bad bosses. If employees understand that their performance is the sole criteria to measure their success, they are duty-bound to deliver at the end of every assessment period. Bad bosses are also kept on a tight leash to either improve their own performance or look for options elsewhere.
To implement such specific goal-oriented performance tracking metrics, PeopleWorks is what successful business leaders would choose. With four interconnected modules to smoothly manage and automate every aspect of an employee’s life, PeopleWorks would make your Performance Tracking transparent, unbiased and accurately measurable.
To know more on PeopleWorks visit us at www.peopleworks.in or connect through Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
