It’s said “people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.” So if you’re a manager whose employees are quitting, there’s a good chance you’re part of the cause. Sure, other factors contribute to turnover, such as low pay or an overly strict culture, but let’s focus on what you have the direct power to change—your own actions!

Take stock of your work and management styles, and see how these five changes can make a difference in your employee relationships and retention rates:

1. Work your employees appropriately. Broadly, employees like managers who act like they care about their team more than their production numbers. The quickest way to show you don’t care is to consistently demand long hours without regard to employees’ personal lives. (And did you know that longer work hours yield diminishing returns, to the point that working more hours doesn’t increase productivity at all?) So be sure your team’s tasks are distributed appropriately among each member, and try pulling the “Can you stay late?” card only when you’re under the gun.
2. Recognize your employees’ efforts. It’s the top reason employees quit: underappreciation and lack of recognition. And what does it really hurt to offer a “Thanks for all your hard work” or to buy lunch for the team during a rough week? Little kudos stack up to make employees feel valued, especially when big kudos, such as raises, aren’t on the immediate horizon. So find out what makes your employees feel special, and then motivate them!
3. Choose your team wisely. Top performers find few things more annoying than an underperforming peer, or worse, an underperforming peer who snags that coveted promotion. So to avoid annoying or insulting your best workers, choose and advance your team wisely. Screen job candidates until you’ve found the highest level of talent with the best cultural fit. Make sure each team member complements one another. And really take stock of your team and their talents come promotion time; who has put in the effort and professional growth to really deserve the next level, never mind to thrive in it?
4. Honor your commitments. You already know that bosses don’t like employee flakiness, but you know what? Employees don’t like boss flakiness either. As a leader, they expect you to set the standard, so if you say you’ll research an answer or you’ll meet with them at 2 p.m., you’d better stick to it. Otherwise you create employee mistrust and animosity, and you look like you don’t have it together. You also build an office culture where no one needs to honor their commitments, because heck, not even you do that.
5. Engage and challenge your employees. Your best and brightest won’t be happy with status quo, especially when status quo becomes mundane. Unless you work at developing your key performers, they will leave once they’ve mastered their tasks. Stretch skills and minds by offering employees creative opportunities (projects/processes they can implement or improve, or that they are passionate about), growth opportunities (mentoring or professional development), and intellectual challenges.

Your behavior plays a big—if not the biggest—role in keeping employees happy and engaged. Employees want to find a happy home at work, where they spend so much of their adult lives, and you want to catch and keep the best performers! By following these tips, you’ll foster behavior that makes employees want to stay!