Finding 5
Managers — especially newer managers — want and need help having conversations with employees on career, advancement, and professional growth.
46% of managers don’t feel confident coaching for career development.
Managers are the linchpin for organizations in delivering important conversations around performance and career development. So, how equipped are these people leaders when it comes to having critical check-ins? Managers expressed confidence in their ability to have e ective conversations around performance but said they need more tools and support — particularly from HR — to coach for career growth and advancement. This data reveals a need to support newer managers, in particular, because they are not providing the same experience to employees as their more tenured colleagues.
46% of managers don’t feel confident coaching for career development.
The manager is one of the most critical levers of employee experience, and overall, this research shows employee confidence in their managers. Where only 39% of people said they always like working for their company, 48% said they always like working for their direct manager — and only 11% said they rarely or never like working for their boss.
Good performance conversations with managers have a multiplier effect on outcomes across the board
Always engaged
Very productive
Always feel valued
Always like working for the company
Let’s begin with conversations around performance. When people are satisfied with the conversations they have with managers about their performance and work goals, there is a multiplier effect on outcomes across the board. Well-coached employees are more likely to say they are always engaged, very productive, always feel they belong and are valued, and like working at their company.
In Finding 4, we saw how important career conversations are to making employees feel supported and able to see a critical pathway for internal advancement.
A large group of employees remains unsatisfied with the support their managers are giving them for career and development. This should be a red flag for managers. Only half (51%) said their manager is a help to them in their professional growth. Another 33% said their manager is neither a help nor a hindrance, and 16% considered them an outright barrier to their careers.
This may be in part because managers are simply not confident in having conversations about careers with their direct reports. Many supervisors — especially new managers — said they feel ill-equipped for conversations about career and advancement.
Only 54% of managers feel confident delivering career development and coaching
The coaches want coaching. While 71% of respondents said they were able to deliver high-quality performance feedback, only 54% felt confident offering career development and coaching. One in ten didn’t feel confident in either one.
Managers want more support in…
Managers want better support from their organizations. Their top priorities are more guidance in coaching performance (41%); help with reviews, assessments, and ratings (40%); and assistance in helping employees develop skills and path careers (38%).
Managers are highly receptive to receiving help and feedback. In fact, they were 15 percentage points more likely than individual contributors to say they want more feedback on their work.
Only 24% of managers say they always get the support they need from HR
Supporting managers is particularly important in the current climate because they were significantly more likely than individual contributors to say they were looking for or open to changing jobs in the next year (47% versus 34% of individual contributors).
Like individual contributors, managers also have low trust in their organization’s leaders (31%) and HR (24%) — something that should be concerning for their business partners in those areas.
Only 24% of managers felt they always get the support they need from partners in human resources, while nearly a third (32%) said they rarely or never do.
Where only 39% of people said they always like working for their company, 48% said they always like working for their direct manager.
Tenure is an important part of this story. Employee satisfaction with manager conversations on performance and career growth correlates with the tenure of one’s manager.
While new managers have roughly the same frequency of check-ins with their reports on performance and career, we saw that experience level significantly impacted employees’ satisfaction with these conversations.
Tenure is an important part of this story. Employee satisfaction with manager conversations on performance and career growth correlates with the tenure of one’s manager.
While new managers have roughly the same frequency of check-ins with their reports on performance and career, we saw that experience level significantly impacted employees’ satisfaction with these conversations.
Satisfaction with manager conversations is linked to manager tenure
On performance and work goals On career, advancement and professional growth
- Less than 2 years 31%
- 23%
- Flexible work options 32%
- 28%
- My career goals and purpose 38%
- 32%
- Company culture 45%
- 38%
Employees with more tenured managers were far more likely to say they liked working for their manager: 56% said they always like working for managers with 10+ years of tenure versus 40% for new managers with less than two years of experience. Similarly, employees are more likely to feel their manager cares about their career development when that manager has 10+ years of tenure (63%) versus 43% for new managers.
All of this should set off alarm bells for leaders who want to ensure a consistent employee experience across all managers in the organization. It is clear that employers need to do a better job of training and supporting managers earlier in their tenure.
Read our recommendation
5
Provide resources to strengthen managers and promote coaching.
Being an effective manager requires relational and coaching skills that may not come naturally. HR should support managers with the resources and training they need to communicate and connect employees’ work to the organization’s purpose as well as to coach and enable their teams and direct reports.
Strengthening your managers will have an outsized impact on the business. Ask them what resources and tools they require, and develop a menu of support options that address significant needs. To make your effort cost-effective and scalable, leverage a technology solution that allows you to embed these capabilities in the flow of work and with just-in-time, context-aware nudges, recommendations, and best practices that empower managers to be their best.
Seek to continuously improve and fine-tune your plan with managers to ensure you meet their evolving needs.