The workplace is less happy than ever. New evidence from Gallup suggests that employee engagement is at an historic low. How should we respond to this challenge? We know managers are a crucial element regarding employee wellness and employee 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 increased productivity.

1. Managers Can Foster
Productivity Through
Considered Engagment

2. 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
inemployeeengagement- they are a good place to focus if morale is low
in your organization.The research found a number of key themes that
cancreateapositiveworkenvironmentthatwillpromoteengagement
and productivity.

3. Communicate with a purpose.
Good managers share with reports what the organization is doing and
where each employee fits into the broader context. Employees
cannotbefullyengagedinthecorporatevisionandcompletetheir
part if they don’t understand how their day-to-day efforts impacts the
overall organization.

4. 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 engagementishighestwhenemployeescommunicatewiththeirman-
agersonadailybasis.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.

5. Focus on performance conversations,
not ratings within a matrix.
Build a culture where managers help employees set goals and prioritize
workandprovidefrequentfeedbackonprogressinacollaborativeteamset-
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-
minedmutuallyagreedupongoalswhiledevelopingtheirskillsandcom-
petencies. Talent development grows out of this rich environment.

6. Beawareoflanguageandtimespentonpositives.
Monitor your language. Encouragemanagerstotalkaboutwhatdidwork
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- youwillbecomeaselffulfillingprophecy. 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.

7. 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.
Awarenessisthefirstcriticalstepinelevatingour
performance game, one interaction at a time.