Managers Can Foster Productivity Through Considered Engagment

The workplace is less happy than ever. Why? New evidence from Gallup suggests that employee engagement is at an historic low. How should we respomd to this challenge? We know man-agers are a crucial element regarding employee wellness and employ-ee engagement - in fact managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement- they are a good place to focus if morale is low in your organization. The research found a number of key themes that can create a positive work environment that will promote engagement and productivity.

Communicate with a purpose. Good managers share with reports what the organization is doing and where each employee fits into the broader context. Employees cannot be fully engaged in the corporate vision and complete their part if they don’t understand how their day-to-day efforts impacts the overall organization.

Build strong manager-employee relationships. Leaders need to ask managers to get to know their employees as peo-ple – and not just employees. This type of relationship requires ongo-ing and frequent communication. The recent Gallup research shows that engagement is highest when employees communicate with their man-agers on a daily basis. This communication is not just about work; man-agers and employees should share what is happening in their world outside of work to build authenticity & trust. In some cases - due to workload and the number of direct reports a manager is responsible for -this can be challenging - but the completion of this goal bears strong short term benefits.

Focus on performance conversations, not ratings within a matrix. Build a culture where managers help employees set goals and prioritize work and provide frequent feedback on progress in a collaborative team set-ting – honest communication doesn’t just occur once a year to check a box for HR. Whats really the benefit to the organization is not rating employees or evaluating performance on a scale; it’s about frequent conversations to ensure employees are progressing toward predeter-mined mutually agreed upon goals while developing their skills and com-petencies. Talent development grows out of this rich environment.

Be aware of language and time spent on positives. Monitor your language. Encourage managers to talk about what did work instead of what didn’t, to discuss what they want employees to do in-stead of what not to do, be proactive not prescriptive. The time you spend focused on negatives is another area to monitor. If you have 60 minutes for the annual performance review don’t spend 55 minutes on negatives - you will become a self fulfilling prophecy. Leaders understand JFK’s aphorism: Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan. Your office will lose confidence and engagement will spiral is the only thing the boss owns are victories. This behaviour causes angst and spreads. If you are consistent in your focus on positives and talk about successes instead of issuing warnings not to repeat failures - you will go a long way to foster a winning team.

Although these elements of performance review are easily done research shows that managers and supervisors are falling short. Yes this is very understandable and in fact, Gallup’s research shows that only one in ten people actually possesses the innate talent to do these things naturally. It takes commitment and organizational support to do this well.

Awareness is the first critical step in elevating our performance game, one interaction at a time.