Complete Part 1-4 worksheet

Coaching Managers to Leverage Engagement Data

It's essential for line managers to be able to examine engagement data and to understand what it means. It's also essential that line managers can have conversations with their employees about helpful changes they might be able to make in order to improve engagement, as Professor Nishii explains here.

And just how engaged are leaders? The research on the engagement levels of leaders may surprise you. The data shows:

· 25% of senior leaders are engaged.

· 16% of front-line leaders are engaged.

No one impacts the state of engagement more than an employee’s immediate leader. Most people don’t leave their jobs; they leave their bosses. Highly engaged leaders tend to have more engaged direct reports.

One of the things that differentiates highly engaged companies from companies that have lower levels of overall engagement is their recognition that engagement efforts are most successful when they're owned not just by HR professionals and senior leaders but also by line managers. It's essential for line managers to be able to examine engagement data, to understand what it means, and then for them to also be able to have conversations with their employees about what changes they might be able to make in order to improve engagement. Ideally, these line managers should also be held accountable for the role that they play in this engagement process. So in coaching line managers on how to do this well, there are basically four main steps that line managers need to be aware of and participate in. So, the first is for them to examine the engagement results, and for them to really understand what the engagement results say, what the data say, before they begin to share them with their employees. And they need to be able to consider the impact that they as managers have had on the level of engagement being reported by their employees. They have to look at those scores from the perspective of their employees and really try to understand what they say. The second step is for them to then explain the results and share the results with their employees. They need to ensure that all of their employees have a clear understanding of what the data show. And the purpose, and importance, right, of increasing engagement within the group. Why is it so important that they talk about this as a group? And once they present the results in a way that all employees can really understand, they should encourage a balanced discussion of both the strengths and the opportunities for improvement that might exist within the group, with regard to engagement. Then the third step is for line managers to really engage in this process with their employees of identifying possible solutions to the problems that might exist within the work group. So they should get input from employees on actions that they might be able to take as a group to improve engagement. They should get input from employees on the actions that they've already considered as a manager, that they might implement within the work group. And they need to lead these brainstorming discussions so that the group can really understand what's going on, and they can identify the actions that they think would be most beneficial for the group.

And of course, they should consider the impact and effort of various possible solutions that they're considering so that they can identify the best ones for the group. And then the last step is for the manager to take the lead on developing meaningful action plans that require the group as a whole, and the manager, him or herself to stretch and to grow. And these action plans should include both short-term goals and long-term goals. And they should include an analysis of the obstacles that might get in the way of successfully implementing these solutions. And research shows pretty clearly that when line managers are involved in this way, actually just by virtue of discussing engagement results with their employees, that alone has a positive impact on engagement because it shows employees that their views are being listened to and that they matter and that line managers are paying attention. But of course, if line managers go through this additional steps of involving their employees in the action planning process, the results are much better.