When the economy really turns around and recovery begins, holding onto talent will be on every manager's priority list.

At least, it should be.

A sure sign of confidence in the economy is hiring additional employees. Increased opportunities for better work, different work, and simply other work will appeal, especially to a business's true talent.

Employees choose to leave not just because of greater pay or better benefits. More often than most businesses care to admit, employees leave because of their relationship with their managers. Almost five years ago the Saratoga Institute, associated with PricewaterhouseCoopers, revealed the seven most common reasons for employee turnover. Four of those seven involve manager-employee relations. Employee turnover comes from feeling their managers deliver:

1. Too little coaching and/or feedback.
2. Too few opportunities for personal growth or advancement.
3. Insufficient recognition and appreciation.
4. Lack of trust and confidence in senior leadership.

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So last week's B.U.M. posting may not have said enough. It only explored how a manager's behavior can prevent employee engagement. A manager's style -- or lack thereof -- can actually drive employees away.

Recruiting, hiring, and training new employees is more expensive than pleasing and keeping the ones already on board. But more than that, competition for high-value employees will increase as companies hire back to previous levels and beyond.

Here's the point: better management can begin to prevent potential talent loss right now. By attending to the factors listed above, a powerful management team will

• Work to build positive and power relationships with employees,
• Demonstrate vested interest in employees and their development, and
• Provide connective links between employees and senior leadership.

Employees enjoying a workforce offering those positives are less likely to want to go elsewhere.