An organization is simply a culmination of uniquely gifted and uniquely motivated individuals.
Organizations that spend more money and time on buildings, equipment, and processes than they do actually investing in the individuals that implement the processes are doomed to never reach their full potential.
If your building had a leaky roof, what would you do? Most likely, you would get it patched before the next rainfall! If a manager has consistently underperformed, what would you do? Sadly, many answers to this question involve a quarterly meeting, an annual review, or simply ignoring it altogether.
I ask you to read the below statistics and identify if these statistics provide a cause for alarm. Do these statistics sound like there might be a “leaky roof” in organizations that needs fixing? Or maybe an entire foundation that needs rebuilding?
- According to Forbes, “Performance reviews are pointless and insulting.”
- Managers account for 70% of employee engagement variance
- 1 out of every 2 employees has left a job due to a manager
- Those who receive daily feedback from manager are 3x more likely to be engaged than those who do once a year
- Meaningful feedback provided to employees leads to 3.5x more engagement on average
- 42% of employees report having the opportunity to provide any feedback to their manager
- 60% of managers say they are NOT expert at developing employees and helping them
- 60% of managers think they are doing a good job of recognizing their team’s work but only 35% of employees share the same sentiment
- Only 20% of employees say they receive feedback weekly, compared with 50% of managers reporting they deliver it weekly
- Leaders are 56% more likely to experience extensive disruptive change in their organization than individual contributors
- Managers are more likely than non-managers to be disengaged at work, burn out, and look for a new job
- Those who trust their managers were 4.5x more likely to be engaged and 62% less likely to feel burnt out at work
- High-performing companies are 5.2x more likely to invest in development coaching and 10.3x more likely to train and incentivize their managers to be coaches
- Development Coaching in Businesses provides the following results:
- 1.4x more likely to exceed financial targets
- 2x more likely to delight customers
- 3.2x more likely to be a place where employees grow, develop, and unleash their full potential
- 6x more likely to build skills needed for career growth
- 3.2x more likely to engage and retain employees
- 3x more likely to adapt well to change
- 2x more likely to innovate effectively
Investing in a process or a building is good. However, investing in people provides immediate and long-lasting results for generations to come. If you desire to reach your organization’s full potential, it is time to see your people as the ultimate investment, not just another expense on a budget.
What will you do to invest in your people in 2025?
(Statistics via Gallup, Harvard Business Review, Nectar, Predictive Index, LeadershipIQ, Workhuman)
Jonah Erbe
President of LMI