Focusing your recruitment efforts on the management level may pay off
A recent study of more than 350 mid-sized manufacturers in Germany, conducted by professionals from the Institute for Employment Research, Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the London School of Economics, found better-managed organizations are systematically able to recruit and retain a superior group of employees — resulting in stronger productivity.
A great manager’s effect can be significant. “The Value of Bosses” study, conducted by three business school professors, suggested replacing a boss ranked in the lower 10 percent of a company’s quality standard with an effective manager from the upper 10 percent would more successfully increase a team’s total output than adding a new employee to the team.
Not surprisingly, managers also strongly influence engagement. Employees who are supervised by highly engaged managers are nearly 60 percent more likely to be engaged than workers who report to actively disengaged bosses, according to a recent Gallup study.
An effective manager can provide promising results. However, to hire (and fully utilize) the best one, you need to know what elements to look for during the manager recruitment process — and after — such as:
Candidates who aren’t experiencing career burnout
Managers who seem unenthused about part of the job could cause costly issues in the future. Only 35 percent of U.S. managers are engaged, according to Gallup’s research; ones who aren’t cost the U.S. $319 to $398 billion a year.
Effective managers who can be paired with high-quality employees
The impact on retention could be positive: Analysis published in “The Value of Bosses” working paper found that employees who are assigned to better managers are more likely to stay with an organization.
Employees you can invest in
Manager recruitment efforts can involve current workers, in addition to outside hires. Great managers, according to Gallup, exhibit several traits — including being able to create a culture of accountability and providing a compelling vision to motivate employees on an individual level. The research provider estimates about two in 10 people possess some characteristics of basic managerial talent; offer training and guidance to help them improve.
Despite their undoubtedly best intentions, companies don’t choose the best managerial candidate 82 percent of the time.
If you’ve made manager recruitment mistakes in the past — or are concerned you might someday bring a less-than-effective manager on board — read our blog posts on solving your most critical internal and external talent pool issues, creating an ongoing talent pipelining program and why you shouldn’t automatically overlook a Gen X or Y manager for additional tips on strengthening your organization’s hiring process.