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Avoiding Managerial Misfits and Other Great Ways to Reduce Turnover

By Lou Adler, January 7, 2009

In my 20-plus years as a full-time recruiter I personally made 487 placements. These ranged from mid-level staff to senior management positions. My firm, which on average had 3-4 other recruiters, made an additional 1,200 similar placements. We had a replacement guarantee that ranged from 120 days for contingency searches and one year for a retained executive search. Regardless of the level or type of search, we replaced about 3-4 people per year. On top of this, there were probably another 15-20% who underperformed in some fashion.   

In 75% or more of the cases this underperformance could be attributed to one of these two fundamental causes:

1. Weak Job Fit: the person either couldn't satisfactorily handle all aspects of the job or lacked the motivation to perform some critical job needs.  
2. Lack of Managerial Fit: the manager's training and supervisory style clashed with the new employee's needs for being trained, developed, and supported.

We solved the Job Fit problem early on by preparing performance profiles to define real job needs when taking the assignment. Then we used our one-question performance-based interview to assess both competency and motivation and trained all of our clients to use it. This virtually eliminated the Job Fit problem.

However, employee motivation is also affected by the manager's style in dealing with subordinates, and managers rank their staff as sub-par when this mismatch exists. This is true even if the manager is at fault. Sometimes this is attributed to a "lack of effective communications," but from what I've seen, weak Managerial Fit seems the more likely cause. Solving this problem is a bit more difficult. This starts by understanding it better.  (Note: take our "Are You Hiring Misfits?" survey to understand where you company stands on this measure.)

Employees have unique training and developmental needs that are largely driven by the type of job the person is being hired for, the person's level of current competency, and how the person is best managed. Managers, likewise, have a preferred style of developing their staff and supervising their work – some managers are more involved, while others are more hands-off. I call how well the employee/manager styles mesh as Managerial Fit. For example, a manager who is constantly coaching, is actively involved in the planning process, and wants frequent progress reports, is going to de-motivate a normally proactive but highly independent subordinate. (Check out Blanchard and Hersey's Situational Leadership for related information on this topic, since this forms the theory behind managerial fit.)

When the manager's style meshes well with the employee's management needs, the performance of both improves. A mismatch brings them both down. From a hiring standpoint it's important to address Managerial Fit during the assessment process. Understanding the concept after the person is hired, even if there isn't a perfect fit, can represent an opportunity to improve team performance, reduce turnover, and prevent the need for hiring unnecessary replacements.

Managerial Fit is affected by three primary factors: 1) real job needs, 2) the manager's core style, and 3) the employee's management and development needs. Real job needs are best defined by preparing a performance profile for the job. A manager's core style can range from extremely controlling to extremely hands-off, including the in-betweens, like the training, coaching, and delegating styles. A manager's ability to adopt different styles based on job and subordinate needs determines the manager's overall effectiveness. Those more skilled here can hire and develop a broader range of people. Logically, this is an attribute that should be measured when considering anyone for a managerial position or promotion. Determining Managerial Fit starts by first determining the manager's style and range.  (Contact us if you'd like to learn more about how to make this assessment.)

For new hires it's important to prepare a performance profile before interviewing anyone. A performance profile lists the top 5-6 performance objectives of the job in priority order. The hiring manager then needs to review them and determine which ones the manager is willing to invest training or coaching time into. If few or none, the new employee needs to be able to handle the work right away with little training or supervision. As part of this, the manager also needs to consider how much effort she typically puts into joint planning and following up with her staff. If it's a lot, make sure you hire people who are okay with this. For entry-level and process jobs more effort on the training, planning, and follow-up is usually required.

When interviewing candidates, start by asking them about their major accomplishments in comparison to real job needs. This gets at the Job Fit assessment. Then dig into how they were managed during these periods. Find out if they were mentored, and how. Also examine the person's biggest successes and biggest failures and determine if there was some pattern based on the work itself, the manager's style, or some combination. Ideally, look for flexibility to work under different manager styles, but expect that as people progress they'll want more independence. Collectively, this should be enough information to assess Managerial Fit. Be really careful at the extremes. For example, hiring someone who requires lots of coaching and support will be a problem for a strong delegator-type manager who just wants results. Likewise, a creative person who wants complete freedom will be a serious problem for a manager who requires daily feedback. (Check out our free webinars on this topic and/or contact us for specific information on how to assess Managerial Fit.)

A similar approach can be used to determine if there are any Managerial Fit problems in an existing team. Reassigning tasks can sometimes help overall team performance. Start this by identifying areas of underperformance, either by just asking or checking out a recent performance review. The lack of clear job expectations is probably at the root of the problem. Completing a performance profile with the team member and hiring manager will both verify and solve this problem. This will identify a Job Fit problem. Then compare the manager's style with the subordinate's developmental needs to determine if there is a Managerial Fit problem.

If the manager is unwilling or not capable of supporting the employee based on the real job needs identified in the performance profile, then consider some type of reassignment, either the manager or the team member. Preparing a performance profile for the whole department might allow for some wholesale shifting of roles, assigning people tasks and projects better suited for them. Most managers don't clearly communicate real job needs on an on-going basis, so don't be surprised if many underperformance issues disappear once people understand exactly what's expected of them. 

Once managers are aware of their style and recognize problems with Managerial Fit, they'll become more understanding of their role and their team members' needs. They'll also do a better job of hiring the next time. Aside from reassignment and self-awareness, specific management training might be in order. 

To improve on-the-job performance and increase job satisfaction prepare a Job and Managerial Fit assessment for all new hires starting immediately. Once the process is in place, conduct a similar assessment for every manager/staff problem you currently have. Unmasking existing Job and Managerial Fit problems this way will go a long way towards reducing turnover and avoiding costly and unnecessary new hires.

Note: don't forget to take our "Are Your Hiring Misfits?" survey and signup for our free Misfits webinar. The survey itself provides more details about the different managerial styles with the results available for instant viewing. You'll want send this link to your hiring managers, too.