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New Research From MIT SMR Shows Talent Hoarding Is Destructive for Managers, Employees, and OrganizationsBlocking employee advancement is a lose-lose proposition. Why you should let your favorite employee move to another team. CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- New research released from MIT Sloan Management Review shows that talent hoarding — manager behaviors that prevent subordinates from pursuing jobs elsewhere within a company — is bad for organizations, employees, and managers themselves. "Why You Should Let Your Favorite Employee Move to Another Team" shares data-backed evidence that letting their best employees go is often in managers' own best interests. "Hoarding talent is a real short-term mindset with very long-term negative consequences for all..." Year after year, employees report that the No. 1 reason they leave an organization is the lack of opportunities for career advancement. JR Keller, an associate professor of human resource studies in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, argues that "hoarding talent is a real short-term mindset with very long-term negative consequences for all — managers, employees, and organizations." Managers can control this and should keep the following points in mind when considering their own leadership performance:
These effects persisted even when managers themselves changed jobs. Those who helped their previous subordinates earn promotions still received more, better, and more functionally diverse applicants when they first took over a new team. Their reputation for getting people promoted followed them throughout their organization and career. Managers are so important to internal mobility and development, yet most organizations do not have incentives in place for managers to develop the talent they have. "Managers need to be convinced that it is in their own best interest to develop their people, or they won't ever get the results they want," concludes Keller. "Managers should think about the time and energy they spend on providing their subordinates with development and career advancement opportunities, increasing their visibility, and helping them make internal connections as an investment not just in their subordinates' futures but also their own." The Research The authors analyzed 96,712 internal applications submitted to 9,896 open jobs posted by 3,431 hiring managers in the U.S. operations of a Fortune 50 company over a four-year period. This data allowed them to calculate the rate at which a manager's subordinates were promoted, which in turn enabled them to examine whether managers whose subordinates frequently moved to higher-level jobs elsewhere in the organization were seen as more attractive to work for than managers whose subordinates rarely advanced. The MIT Sloan Management Review article "Why You Should Let Your Favorite Employee Move to Another Team" publishes at 8 a.m. ET on April 24, 2024. About the Authors JR Keller is an associate professor of human resource studies in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. Kathryn Dlugos was formerly an assistant professor of human resource management at Penn State University. About MIT Sloan Management Review MIT Sloan Management Review is an independent, research-based magazine and digital platform for business leaders published at the MIT Sloan School of Management. MIT SMR explores how leadership and management are transforming in a disruptive world. We help thoughtful leaders capture the exciting opportunities — and face down the challenges — created as technological, societal, and environmental forces reshape how organizations operate, compete, and create value. Connect with MIT Sloan Management Review on: CONTACT: View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-research-from-mit-smr-shows-talent-hoarding-is-destructive-for-managers-employees-and-organizations-302123672.html SOURCE MIT Sloan Management Review |