Why do people Actually change jobs?

I believe that instead of blaming the managers, cant the organization look at the lacuna in the hiring and retention process that is usually at fault in not identifying the right fitment to the employee and ensuring that the right training is given to the employee at every stage of progression?

I saw in one of the debates (http://toostep.com/debate/why-do-people-change-jobs) that there has been an overwhelming opinion that people leave due to managers.

Though it appears to be true, I think all of us need to look at the inner workings of it.

Please remember that the entire concept of “being a Manager” is to “manage” things.

Let me divert a bit and type a bit about the difference between a manager and a leader:

Leader –
Thinks out of the box
Assesses situations/organizations
identifies Needs
Brainstorms with peers and identifies goals (get more projects, increase productivity, retain talent – which in turn can lead to a system that ensures that new hires are trained to  etc.)
Sets Goals

Managers -
Understand Goals (project execution within budget, schedule, with high quality and productivity – which in turn can lead to getting more projects,)
Plan to Implements Goals
Thinks of the Solutions for the goals
Assesses available resources and needs (to meet the goals as specified by the leaders in the organization)
Forms a team with available resources (needs to ensure that the team also learns and grows, is able to become future leaders and managers [retain talent goal]

As you can see the responsibilities of the manager is to do (manage) multiple things – all to meet the goals and specifications set by the leader – to enable the growth in the organization - resulting in the growth of the people associated with the organization.

 Well, now lets look at two aspects – the hiring process and the retaining process.

The recruitment team doubles up as a secure gateway and prevents the entry of people who do not fit the needs of the organization.  They are the most important group in the organization in terms of ensuring that the right person gets into the organization in the right role. And who ever gets in gets the best fit – in line with the need (both personal and organization’s need). It is their responsibility to ensure that they evaluate properly the feedback from various technical/non-technical folks who have interviewed the prospective candidate and ensure that there is no discrepancy – both by the people who interview and to ensure that the need of the organization is fulfilled. It is their responsibility also to ensure that they alert the leadership/managers on the current trends on various technology in terms of pay, resource movement etc – so that the right policy changes and pay rates can be fixed. As they are the closest to the talent market, it also their responsibility to ensure that they suggest the organization the rules of right fitment etc. Usually they consider many parameters including looking at the ration of developer to team lead to manager etc. And typically, it is 50:5:1. (in large organizations)

The human resource team is crucial in ensuring that the employees who enter the organization get a comfortable atmosphere and an environment to stay and work. They are the ones who “pep up” the employees and also lend their shoulders and ears to any kind of grievances that employees may have.  The HR team is also responsible for ensuring that employees in the organization understand the processes and policies in the organization and also hear the voice of their customers (employees and the management) to bring about the required changes to aid the growth of the organization and its employees.

Together with the recruitment team, the HR team is responsible for the retention of talent in the organization.

If an employee is leaving; citing any reason, it should usually be the HR who comes first to discuss the concern of the employee. If not, then the HR has lost an important footing in terms of winning the employee confidence.  If the employee is citing the reason for leaving as “the manager”, then it is a clear indication that either the employee is at fault or the manager is at fault.
It is understandable that there is bound to be conflict when you put two people in a room, a bigger organization would naturally have many such conflicts and it is the responsibility of the HR to ensure that the conflicts are resolved. In case the conflict continues, it is then the simple fact that either the employee or the managers have not been put in the right role. The equation is that simple.

Please also remember that the term manager is very generic and most of the cases there is always a manager for any employee (including managers).  

Another dynamics – typically, there is a lot of movement of employees who have an experience range between 1-7 years.  And typically these are the majority of the work force of the organization and becomes the “Voice of the Customer” and these numbers are huge (50:5:1 – as indicated earlier). These people are typically their formative years in the work that they are in and they are in the process of understanding the dynamics of how to work. These people apart from being huge in numbers, are also very energetic and many a times very impulsive. (I don’t mean any offence to anyone here.. )
Many managers start their career as a manager at the end of the 7 year experience spectrum and typically join in as “Accidental Managers” and it is natural that they too are on the learning curve.
So it is but natural that what gets highlighted is that Managers are responsible for employees leaving the organization.

So what needs to change is the processes that are being followed by the hiring and retention teams to ensure that the right message gets through.