5 Tips for Better Employee Engagement

Employee development is an increasingly important part of any manager's job. Happy, fulfilled employees contribute more. According to Jack Welch, Executive Chairman for the Jack Welch Management Institute and  former CEO of GE, “There are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know about your organization’s overall performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow."

 

“It goes without saying that no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it,” Welch continues. With this in mind, it is important to develop a customized approach to employee engagement. In his recent Harvard Business Review article, Sydney Finkelstein explores this topic.

 

Finkelstein cites a 2016 Gallup poll of millennials that found that managers are critical to the experiences that younger employees have at work, with almost 90% of them valuing “career growth and development opportunities.”

 

To satisfy this growing need for engagement and development, he lays out five key tips bosses should keep in mind as they manage their team.

 

1. Organize developmental information about your employees into a spreadsheet. Keep track of a range of information for each employee.

2. Consult and update these grids on a weekly basis. Take 15 minutes at the end of each week to think about your team members.

3. Do a deeper dive every three months.  Look for patterns for each employee.

4. Talk to team members. Talk to team members informally one-by-one and discuss a path to success.

5. Consult the grid each year when writing performance evaluations. This will result in more insightful reviews.

 

Finkelstein points out that while some managers may object to using their valuable time to follow these steps, it is imperative if you want to build an exceptional team. This, he says, could even turn you into an exceptional boss.

 

Read more about the tips in Finkelstein's article here.