Abstract
In a fully employed economic environment the retention of employees becomes a critical factor for organizational success. My curiosity to understand why employees leave organizations led me to a meta-analysis of the research literature of supervisory – employee relationships and supervisory training programs. This study attempts to answer the question, does intentional relationship building between supervisors and employees improve the organization’s retention rate? Research supports that supervisors have a significant impact on employee retention. The research also shows that there is strong movement away from traditional employee-supervisor relationships towards an employee centric culture. Organizations that invest in supervisory training and development programs see a positive return on investment, inclusive of the reduction of turnover. My research revealed a gap in the data. There is limited data available that focuses on how to develop supervisor’s skills in the area of intentional relationship building. This would be a good topic for future research.
