Managers are being urged to get to know their staff better, or they risk losing their best and brightest talent in 2012.

Leadership Management Australasia chief executive Andrew Henderson said managers usually concentrate on business operations and profits on a day-to-day basis, rather than focusing on their people.

However, he warned that those who fail to understand what makes their employees tick - both inside and outside of the workplace -may lose the opportunity to help their staff reach goals and perform better on the job.

"There's a lot more to the individual than their title and job description," Henderson said.

He pointed to the job satisfaction of employees, coupled with skills shortages and high staff turnover levels, as being the biggest issues that threaten to stand in the way of business success in the year ahead.

Henderson added that it was those leaders, managers and HR professionals who take the time to get to know their people better, who will be more likely to hang on to their staff, and thereby increase their performance and build their company's productivity.

This means taking the time to understand your employees beyond their work, by having an appreciation of their family and home life - because when people are not performing on the job, there's a good chance that it is due to problems outside of work.