The Influence of Supervisors on Employee Performance

Citation: Housman, M. The Influence of Supervisors on Employee Performance. San Francisco, CA: Evolv, Inc., 2014.

Abstract: It is well established—both empirically and anecdotally—that the way supervisors work, communicate, and interact with their teams has a profound impact on employee outcomes. The key question, however, is which specific supervisor attributes matter most for employee performance and retention.

To answer this question, we analyzed data from two companies comprising approximately 1,400 supervisors and 3,000 employees across the United States and the Philippines. Using a range of econometric techniques, we found that supervisors exert a substantial influence on employee outcomes. In fact, managerial effects accounted for roughly 37% of the explainable variance in employee separation behavior.

When examining which supervisor characteristics predicted retention and performance, we observed both commonalities and cross-cultural differences. In both the U.S. and the Philippines, supervisors who were referred into their roles by another employee led teams with better outcomes than those who were not referred. However, the role of supervisor education differed by geography: higher levels of supervisor schooling were associated with significantly shorter transaction handling times in North America, but longer handling times in the Philippines.

These findings highlight the power of big data and advanced econometric methods to control for confounding factors and to correctly interpret results across culturally diverse populations. They also underscore that effective management is not one-size-fits-all and must be understood within its broader organizational and cultural context.