What Keeping a Bad Manager Costs a Construction Company

I’ve talked a lot in my columns about best practices for hiring. But it’s just as important to pay attention to keeping great employees on staff. After all, the cost of turnover is remarkably high—according to an article from PeopleKeep, some studies predict that each time a business replaces a salaried employee, it costs six to nine months' of their average salary.  

So, what’s one of the biggest factors driving people to leave? Bad relationships with managers and supervisors. 

With the hassle and cost of hiring—and because firing people is not fun—it may be tempting to keep poor performers. Perhaps you even blame yourself or the lack of resources for an employee who fails to deliver, or you postpone termination in the hopes that the employee will improve. 

But keeping a bad employee on staff can do more harm than good, particularly when it comes to managers. 

Here are five things keeping a poor manager can cost your business: 

1| Staff morale. 

Morale is a huge factor in business success. Happy employees typically work harder, are more innovative and achieve better results. Unhappy employees stagnate, self-destruct and often leave. Fixing a morale issue is infinitely harder than preventing it in the first place. 

2| Staff attendance.

Employees who aren’t engaged and happy tend to take more days off work. It might be because they truly need a mental health day, or they could be interviewing with other companies. Absenteeism costs you in missed opportunities, sick wages and possibly temporary staffing costs. As a side effect, absenteeism leads to even lower morale because other employees have to pick up the slack. 

Related:3 Types of Interview Questions to Ask to Hire the Best Construction Job Candidate

3| Customer experience.

Indirectly, bad managers affect customer service by the decisions they make, by not keeping promises or by making frequent changes. Clients and vendors can smell bad management, so don’t assume your issues are under wraps. 

4| Growth and innovation.

Employees want to grow, learn and have career opportunities. At companies with poor management, employees stop striving for those things; if every day is a struggle even to stay at work, they don’t care about expanding their skills. And when employees stop trying, they stop innovating. 

5| Business efficiency.

A good manager helps employees rise up and perform to the best of their abilities. As a result, employees often will take more pride in and care more about their work. On the flip side, employees who don’t feel heard or appreciated become apathetic. When that happens, production and success rates drop. Employees may stop caring about hitting quotas and the success of the business in general. 

Related:Don’t Ask Construction Job Candidates These 4 Types of Questions

For how to avoid hiring bad managers in the first place, keep an eye out for part two in February.