In a vast workforce, there’s a seam of people that hold the key to unlocking mass engagement (happy and productive people) within your business.
Senior managers (those at the top who sit at very big tables) of a disengaged company, will see productivity slip and a higher level of staff turnover happen.
They’ll push their middle managers for answers, not realising that the answer is staring them straight back in the face.
It’s Time to “Man Up to Managers”!
There are four broad enablers for engaged employees. One of them is (no surprise) Engaging your People Managers.
Managers need training on how to behave around their people. They need coaching, even sometimes on the simple stuff like how to be nice and show that you care about your people. They also need someone to show them that they don’t need to be everyone’s friend! It’s ok to be firm – as long as it’s fair.
Great managers are the ones whose team goes the extra mile. They’re the ones that feel good about themselves on the inside and it shows in their work and your bottom line.
Remember, people remember not what you do or said but how you made them FEEL.
How to Unlock the Magic Within your Managers
• Make sure your middle managers aren’t copying bad behaviour traits of their managers – i.e. negative learnt behaviour (are you a good role model yourself?)
• Ensure your managers understand the principles of effective people management and employee engagement – how it links to engaged people and how by getting it right they actually make their own jobs easier
• Teach them the importance of recognition (link to our recognition blog)
• Remember that it starts at the very grass roots of your business, before people are made managers, teach your people about respect, engagement, praise and generally being all round better people at work!
It’s relatively simple human stuff but get it right and you’ll unlock untapped potential and productivity –high engagement levels – in all of your people. Go on – help your managers to work their own ‘manager magic’ in your business – what are you waiting for?
Maggie Pavlou
People Gauge
