The main lesson I learned from being a people manager for over 20 years…

Treat your people right!

What is the heart beat of your organization? It’s your people, no question about it.

How do you get them to leave? You demoralize them, you are apathy towards them, you keep them in the dark, you don’t provide a support network, you keep them from training or advanced education and most importantly you don’t LISTEN to them.

What do you do to keep them? You find out what they need to do their job, you support training, education and advancement. You treat them with respect and dignity. Fairness is essential. You mentor and coach them and help them develop. You provide a workplace free of discrimination. There is regular and consistent performance feedback provided. And most importantly, you LISTEN to them.

The Golden Rule is very applicable here - treat others as you would like to be treated.

Would you want to be talked down to, disrespected, or not treated fairly? I think not. Then why do managers do these things to their staff and not think twice about it? (Bad) Attrition is a big issue in

many companies today because of the very way managers treat their employees. They employ a do as I

say, not as I do philosophy.

What if an employee is being bullied, harassed, and intimidated? What if favoritism exists and the manager brings in work buddies to fill spots? What if racism or sexism exists? What if unethical practices are taking place?

Don’t say that’s it’s not your problem. It is your problem if you witness the bad behavior taking place. It’s all of our ethical responsibility as a good corporate citizens to report foolish, poor or irresponsible behavior. If we permit one bad manager or company to permit this, then what stops others from taking the same action?

Government policies like ADEA and state employment laws help but unfortunately it continues to be a problem at many work places. If you witness something that’s not right, take action and report it. Don’t ignore it.

Many companies have Open Door policies. If that doesn’t work, don’t stop. Look for other avenues to report the problem. Pursue leaders outside the immediate organization. If an HR/Legal department exists, go there. If that doesn’t work, don’t stop. You may even need to take measures outside the

company to get responsible action. Many state and local governments have additional resources you

can leverage. The US legal system is another avenue to pursue if needed.

Employees are the corner stone to a successful business. If you don’t take care of the people, they won’t take care of the business. Customers become impacted and then the finances take a hit. Employees need to be treated with respect and professionalism. Not the opposite.

See if your company has a problem with attrition. Not all attrition is bad, but in this case, we are talking about losing valuable productive performers. Look at the statistics for your company or division. Look beneath the covers to see what’s driving the metrics. Are your good employees jumping ship for greener pastures? Are they looking for companies that treat them better? If your employees aren’t being treated right, they will leave. Take a deeper look into the management.

A recent public study indicated that employees don’t leave a company, they leave a manager. Fix the manager problem. Get rid of the leaders that are causing the employee’s pain and frustration. Remember, it’s a very competitive marketplace. Employees recognize when they are treated badly. They will leave and find a work place that treats them with respect and dignity. Get to the root of the problem and take corrective action before it becomes a bigger problem.

Vickie has been a people leader for20 years, working across diverse industries and corporations. Many thanks to the producers of the graphic images used in this blog.