Recognise This! – Gallup research shows “best” managers empower, recognise and communicate with their employees regularly, supported by an effective performance management system.
If present trends continue, this week’s series of blog posts may be an ongoing theme of “isn’t that obvious?” Yesterday, I shared results of the Parnassus Fund (consisting of companies that treat their employees well and with respect), which performs consistently better than the S&P. Today, I’m sharing about Gallup research showing the manager/employee relationship is critical to employee engagement.
I’m sure we’ve all uttered the truism: “People leave managers, not companies.” This is the research to back it up as featured in an Incentive magazine article:
“A new article from Gallup researchers points to the pivotal role that the employee-manager relationship plays in driving the performance of companies. Drawing on data from more than 50,000 employees across 10 major industries, the analysts found that while effective engagement and recognition programmes are key to a company’s success, strong relationships between managers and their subordinates are the key factor in making those programs work.”
Breaking this down further:
- * 70% of employees giving managers a “best” rating also ranked the company’s recognition and engagement system as very good (vs. only 5% who rated managers as “best” also saying recognition programmes were poor)
- * 85% of those rating their manager as “below average” said their recognition programmes were poor
Call me an optimist, but I really believe the vast majority of managers want to do right by their employees. They want to facilitate excellent work and help their employees in the best way possible. Yet, why do so many fail? I also believe we don’t equip managers with the tools they need to be the best managers they can be.
Managers know they need to recognise and reward employees for exceptional effort. Perhaps they’ve even received training on this management philosophy. But have you given them the tool and process needed to not only recognise employees, but to do so in a meaningful, personal way tied to what matters most to your organisation (demonstration of your core values in contribution to achieving strategic objectives)?
Desires and objectives without a means to deliver are nearly useless. Empower your managers to be the “best.”
