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08 Nov 2017
by Patrick Woodman

Patrick Woodman – What every manager needs to know about creating an engaged workforce

Managers are responsible for cultivating employee engagement, for setting the organisation’s values and purpose, living and breathing it and nurturing it in their teams.

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There are five key drivers of engagement – and they aren’t necessarily what you’d expect. According to CMI’s Quality of Working Life report (2016), a sense of achievement from work, feeling part of a team, relationships with line managers, ability to decide how to get jobs done and career advancement prospects are key drivers of an engaged workforce.

Too many organisations lack engagement and trust, as our Middle Manager lifeline report shows, so there are three must-do steps for employee engagement:

1. Make your management team visible

Formal meetings and company-wide updates, while important, can de-personalise the relationship between employees and management. By sharing regular informal updates, the management team can make itself more accessible to and more closely engaged with the organisation, and employees can feel closer to the business and its purpose. After all, staff want transparency.

2. Reward with recognition, not money

Employees want to know their input is valued and that their contribution is an important part of the business. Bonuses are great, but they’re also temporary. Appreciation and recognition can be even more powerful, with a ‘thank you’ or ‘well done’ speaking volumes and leaving a lasting impression.

This can also be in the form of non-financial rewards such as, early Friday finishes, flexible working arrangements and home-working options. Reward behaviours, not just financial performance. Showing that you appreciate and value their work sends a clear message that their efforts do not go unnoticed.

3. Give employees a voice

Involve your managers with crafting the messages and information you want them to cascade to the rest of the business. CMI’s Middle Manager Lifeline report shows that managers are seldom asked for their input – yet they are the ones expected to bring the strategy to life with the rest of the business.

Ask them what works and what doesn’t, and collaborate with them to create the messages that they feel inspired to deliver. Staff are far more engaged if they can contribute their ideas and have greater scope to make decisions. From a day-to-day perspective, allow all levels of the workforce to have input on how they do their work. People are far more engaged if they have a degree of autonomy over their projects.

There isn’t one model for achieving amazing employee engagement, but there are common principles that tie together any approaches. Listen to your staff, value their contributions and reward accordingly. Your staff are central to your business’ success and with greater engagement, you’ll reap the rewards of greater productivity.

This article is written by Patrick Woodman, head of Research and Advocacy at Chartered Management Institute

Patrick Woodman, Chartered Management Institute