In the midst of a pandemic, when your organization is trying to keep up with and adhere to local, state and national regulations and orders to keep residents and staff members safe and healthy, staff training on human resources issues may not be foremost in your plans. Yet as recruiting and retaining workers continue to be challenges in senior living, a new survey suggests the importance of such training.

Employees leave managers, not companies, the Society for Human Resource Management said its recent survey affirms. According to the society:

  • 84% of survey respondents said that poorly trained people-managers create a lot of unnecessary work and stress.
  • 57% said managers in their workplace could benefit from training on how to be a better people-manager.
  • 50% of participants said they believe their own performance would improve if their direct supervisor received additional training in people management. 

The top five skills people-managers could improve, according to respondents:

  1. Communicating effectively, 41%;
  2. Developing and training the team, 38%;
  3. Managing time and delegating, 37%;
  4. Cultivating a positive and inclusive team culture, 35%; and 
  5. Managing team performance, 35%.

“There is no relationship in the workplace more powerful than the one between people managers and employees,” SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor Jr. said. “As working Americans challenge organizations to manage and lead differently, those that don’t will find themselves left behind.”

So as you’re looking around your community and wondering how to maintain or improve morale and keep your best workers, give a thought to these findings and skills and see whether your own employee research or training program might be in order.