Preparing managers early helps to reduce turnover, lift performance and build stronger teams.

Running a small or medium business means wearing multiple hats, from serving customers and managing cash flow to keeping operations moving. With so much competing for your attention, training and supporting managers can easily be pushed down the priority list.

When that happens, the impact is often felt quickly through increased turnover, performance issues and shifts in workplace culture.

Where SMEs often struggle with preparing managers

Great employees are often promoted into management roles because they’re strong performers, not because they’ve been trained to lead.

Once promoted, they’re expected to manage while still learning how to lead, which can quickly become overwhelming for them and their teams.

This can lead to:

• Inconsistent handling of performance issues
• Increased workplace conflict, disengagement or absenteeism
• Increased compliance risk where managers are unclear on obligations

For many business owners, this is not a lack of care, but a lack of time and structured support. The cost of turnover, lost productivity and ongoing disruption can be significant, particularly when skilled employees are difficult to replace.

The critical role managers play on retention and workplace culture

A recent BambooHR study found that 47% of employees who resigned said they loved their job but left because of their manager¹. This highlights the direct influence managers have on retention and performance, shaping the day-to-day experience of work.

Managers play a central role in:

• Setting expectations and modelling behaviour
• Influencing team morale and fostering psychological safety
• Shaping workplace culture through daily interactions
• Supporting recruitment, onboarding and retention
• Managing performance, wellbeing and conflict as the first point of contact

Australian workplace research shows that strong workplace relationships, including fair treatment, respectful communication and early issue resolution, are closely linked to productivity and retention. This is particularly true in small and medium businesses, where managers have a visible impact on daily work.²

When managers are not well prepared, this creates a preventable retention risk. Gallup research shows that at least 42% of employee turnover is preventable, yet often not addressed³, with ineffective management consistently identified as a key driver of disengagement and resignation.

For time-poor SMEs, this highlights the value of building practical, consistent management capability early, rather than reacting once issues escalate.

How Workforce Evolve Module 4: Prepare management supports your managers and business

Module 4 of Workforce Evolve has been designed for busy SMEs, helping managers build practical capability across the areas that matter most in day-to-day people management, including:

• Understanding employment obligations so they can make fair, consistent and compliant decisions
• Managing performance effectively including how to address underperformance early, handle difficult conversations and use structured processes such as Performance Improvement Plans
• Supporting better recruitment outcomes by understanding their role in hiring and contributing to fair, inclusive processes that improve retention
• Thinking more broadly about talent including engaging local communities and alternative talent pools to stay competitive in tight labour markets

This includes simple, actionable steps such as encouraging early and respectful performance conversations, clarifying legal and safety obligations, and reinforcing the impact managers have on culture, retention and productivity.

The upside of investing in management capability

Management quality plays a significant role in whether employees choose to stay with BambooHR research showing that:

• 72% of employees say their manager’s feedback helped them progress
• 66% say their manager supported positive career growth
• 44% say regular feedback sessions are the most valuable form of development¹

These reinforce a simple truth, staff stay where they feel supported, valued and guided.

A simple investment with long-term impact

Preparing managers is not about creating perfect leaders overnight. It is about giving them the confidence, awareness and tools to lead people effectively.

Preparing your managers is not just a leadership initiative. It is a retention strategy, a risk management strategy and a long-term investment in the success of your business.

If you are a Workforce Evolve participant, log in now to complete Module 4 and access practical management tools.

If you are not yet registered, sign up for free to start building confident, capable managers who can support your people and business to thrive.

¹ BambooHR (2025). The Boss Effect: 90% of employees do not quit jobs, they quit bad bosses. https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/data-at-work/data-stories/the-boss-effect   

²  Frontline Human Resources (2025). How strong workplace relations drive productivity and retention. https://frontlinehr.com.au/articles/how-strong-workplace-relations-drive-productivity-and-retention/

³ Gallup (2024). Employee turnover is largely preventable but often ignored. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/646538/employee-turnover-preventable-often-ignored.aspx