Manager and Leadership changes impact Employee Experience and Turnover, especially with external hires !
Nicolas BEHBAHANI
Global People Analytics & HR Data Leader - People & Culture | Strategical People Analytics Design
📈 A new manager caused a steady rise in turnover, while a new leader led to a sudden spike that eventually leveled off.
💡 Among over 100 Engagement, DEI, and Wellbeing questions analyzed, only one showed that having a great manager was more crucial than having great leaders: ‘My job performance is evaluated fairly.’
📣 Manager changes do affect the employee experience, with a slightly greater impact when the new manager is an external hire.
🗣 Employees primarily discuss their manager and career in the workplace.
🔥 While a great manager is important, it’s great leadership that ultimately transforms the employee experience, according to a new interesting research published by Culture Amp using global data 📊 from over 3 million employees who responded to surveys from over 4700 companies from July 2023 to July 2024.
✅A manager leading the conversation from the front.
Researchers found that employees primarily talk about their manager, followed by their career.
This observation supports the notion that employees often leave because of their manager.
✅Employee Engagement is highest when leadership is great
🚀 Researchers unsurprisingly found that employees with both a poor manager and poor leadership had the worst experience, while those fortunate enough to have both a great manager and great leadership enjoyed the best experience
✅Managers have the biggest impact only in performance reviews
Researchers discovered that among over 100 questions related to Engagement, DEI, and Wellbeing, only one highlighted the greater importance of having a great manager over great leaders: ‘My job performance is evaluated fairly.’
They concluded that since managers are responsible for writing performance reviews, they significantly influence employees’ perceptions of fairness in the evaluation process.
✅Manager change impact Employee Experience
As expected, researchers found that employees’ commitment declines when they have to adapt to a new manager, with a slightly greater impact if the new manager is an external hire.
✅Leadership changes have a bigger impact than manager changes on employee engagement.
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Researchers examined over 13,000 new senior (VP+) leaders and their impact on reporting lines. They found that leadership changes have a greater effect on commitment levels than manager changes. However, the distinction between external and internal hires is less clear.
Even a year later, turnover rates remain higher for those experiencing leadership changes compared to manager changes.
☝️ While some turnover may be involuntary due to team restructuring, the consistently higher rates suggest that not all turnover is due to involuntary exits.
📍 Finally, researchers offer the following recommendations for leaders to better support their teams:
✔️ Include questions about leadership in employee surveys.
Not all companies add questions about leadership in their engagement surveys. But this is a huge missed opportunity
✔️ Give them the data.
Leaders can’t address what they don’t know is happening. Share data that show how their actions directly impact employee experience, engagement, and retention – it’s a powerful motivator.
✔️ Offer tailored training and development.
What employees need from leaders shifts over time, and expectations have been increasing.
✔️ Tools to scale development.
Leaders need resources that make growth manageable, not overwhelming.
✔️ Elevate the voice of women leaders.
Women leaders seem to be more attuned to the employee experience. Make it a priority to hear what they have to say—they can help uncover challenges and opportunities others might miss.
☝️ 𝙈𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬:
This remarkable global research uncovered fascinating new insights: leaders have a stronger correlation with employee commitment than managers. A great leader can compensate for a poor manager, but not vice versa. Leadership changes lead to larger drops in commitment and higher turnover rates compared to manager changes. Therefore, leaders should heed researchers’ recommendations to better listen to their employees and avoid any negative impact on employee experience.
Thank you 🙏 Culture Amp researchers team for these insightful findings:
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Vice President Human Resources, SHRM-SCP
2moThese are compelling insights on how leadership brand at a macro level is more powerful than manager’s influence at a micro level. Thank you Nicolas BEHBAHANI Manager is definitely a key contributor to productivity and output, however studies also show that newer workforce, driven by purpose are keen on alignment with organisation’s direction and intent and this is where leadership brand is of immense value. Effective leaders have a wide circle of influence and do have the power to weed off managers responsible for toxic culture and other inappropriate workplace practices. With proactive and systematic succession plan, open and transparent communication and early induction of new entrant managers and leaders to the organisation’s culture and context, companies can foster better acceptance and alignment.
Human Resource Professional | MBA | Coporate Recruiting Professional- ASA | Ex-Wirtgen Group,A John Deere Company
2moVery informative research! It’s clear that while managers drive daily operations and fairness in performance reviews, leaders set the tone for culture and long-term engagement. The finding that leadership changes have a greater impact on turnover than manager changes underscores the importance of thoughtfully onboarding and supporting senior leaders, particularly during their first year. Thank you for sharing!
Industry Veteran | Exploring Future of Work | Great Manager’s Coach & Mentor
2moYes, this research is a continuation of a trend we've observed - A Confirmation Nicolas BEHBAHANI. 🍻Imagine adding a new element to a bucket filled with water; there will undoubtedly be ripples. But, if you add slowly from the side, like pouring beer into a tilted glass, the transition is much smoother. 🧞♀️Company culture & leadership matter the most. In a good culture, the welcome is so strategic that employees are naturally inclined to support the betterment of their company's success. ❓Story: In an age-old company, when a new CHRO was introduced, the Group CHRO advised him - HOLD, (Dont be in hurry) don’t do anything for a few months, just observe (fortunately, there was a luxury due to the retirement of the old CHRO).
HR Strategist. Lecturer and International Speaker on HRM and Value Management.
2moI am not of the opinion that people leave organisations due to a 'bad manager' but rather leave organisations that fail to provide new managers with the training and coaching/mentoring required to successfully lead people (through good succession planning). Newly appointed managers need to step back and review the situation before deciding to make changes and, if change is required, they need to include everyone in the change process - listening to their ideas, concerns and views. Great post Nicolas - thank you so much for sharing such thought-provoking insights.