Effective employee engagement is a key management skill. Managers are usually promoted because they have other skills which make them stand out. They may have good technical skills, vision or a strategic ability. This does not mean that they are good leaders and they often struggle to engage the rest of their team. They can learn this skill and giving them the right tools will pay handsome dividends.
Why is Employee Engagement Important?
Think about the best employee you have ever managed. He inspires trust, is loyal and understands your goals. He actively listens to what you want from him and encourages others to help him achieve this. Now think about the worst employee you have ever managed.
He is disruptive and sometimes aggressive. This manager is quick to blame others for any mistakes and is often arrogant. He does not co-operate with his colleagues and finds fault in everyone and everything. In all cases he is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
How Much Does this Cost your Business?
A manager who is not properly engaged in the business causes harm in his own right, especially if he is in a senior role. Also, this manager will not be able to engage others, including his peers and his direct reports. This has a ripple effect the permeates through a department or division, or even an entire business. For example, good junior employees may be lost to competitors or they could simply become bored and frustrated. This will subtly damage your business causing stagnation and a loss of potential income. It will put off customers, damage your reputation and create conflict both internally and externally.
The Key to Successful Employee Engagement
So what is the one key skill a manager needs to increase and improve employee engagement? Well, first and foremost, managers must recognise that employees are individuals. Employees must be engaged one at a time, because everyone is different. Managers need to understand this and adopt a flexible approach instead of expecting everyone to respond in the same way. They need to create an engagement plan for every single one of their direct reports. This takes time and patience, but the rewards are huge. Profitability will go through the roof. Employee job satisfaction and well-being will improve across the team. Employees will work more effectively and become individual ambassadors for your business.
We can help managers identify those employees who are not truly engaged with the business and its goals. We can also teach managers what they need to do to engage each individual member of their team. We have a well established process to enable you to achieve the goal of 100% employee engagement. We would be very happy to discuss this with you and how it can work for your business. If you would like to find out more, please email or call Kim on 07595 369485.
