With Green County’s unemployment rate at less than 3%, how can our businesses recruit and retain great employees? 

Have you considered the skills of your managers?

We’ve all heard the adage, “people leave managers, not companies.” The data shows it to be true. Gallup surveys find that one in two employees have left a job to get away from a bad manager. We can even see it in our entertainment: Dilbert cartoons and shows like “The Office” are funny because nearly all of us can relate to that sense of dread in coming to work when your manager makes an otherwise good job feel awful.

Companies in Green County make significant investments in benefit programs aimed at employee retention. 

But what would happen if we could talk about great managers as the number one benefit from our companies? (Remember, half of all people looking for a new job left a job because of a bad manager.)

Companies need to devote more attention to promoting and developing good managers. A good way to start is to attend, and encourage your management team to attend Green County Development Corporation’s Executive Leadership Breakfast on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Award-winning author and HR expert Kathy Ryan will present: “Fearless Feedback: How to Salvage Underperformers and Retain Your Star Players by Giving the Right Feedback.”

Feedback is a powerful tool to motivate, reinforce and change behavior. Ryan will share several easy-to-implement tools and strategies that will lead to improved performance, better retention, and increased confidence when handling any conversation.

When businesses devote more attention to promoting and developing good managers, they can start letting the world know they have good managers. There are many more poor managers than great managers, so this benefit is rare and differentiates your organization from the rest.

Think of it this way: Your company would never promote smoking or other bad practices that are scientifically linked to health problems. You would be undermining all of your efforts to improve employee health and well-being. Yet the actions of a poor manager negate the positive effects of your company’s benefits programs because when employees suffer, your company suffers. Unhappy, unhealthy employees affect absenteeism, performance, customer ratings, quality and profit.

We know that bad managers can ruin good jobs, but good managers can make a good job even better. Let’s start thinking about great managers as a benefit and publicize that benefit to prospective employees. I’ll suggest our new motto: “Green County: Great jobs and great management.” Or “Green County: You’ll come for the job; you’ll stay for the manager.” Or maybe “Green County: Our businesses deliver on the promise of great management.”

The effect of a great manager is a gift that keeps on giving. Happy, healthy employees mean a better culture and a more productive, profitable company. They love their jobs and spread the word, setting you up to hire and keep more top talent.

GCDC’s Executive Leadership Breakfast will be held at the newly-constructed Ag Center at Blackhawk Technical College in Monroe. The event will begin with a buffet breakfast at 7 a.m.; Ryan will speak at 7:30. The event is free but registration is requested. To reserve a spot, email gcdc@tds.net or call 608-328-9452.

— Cara Carper is executive director at Green County Development Corporation. She can be reached at cara.gcdc@tds.net.