Training employees is a smart investment because it directly affects the bottom line. Make it your goal to improve your employee engagement rate by training managers on effective leadership skills. You’ll see happier employees and increased profits.
Training has a direct impact on employee engagement. According to Dr. Jim Harter, Gallup’s engagement expert, engagement is a critical metric for an organization’s success. It affects everything from “absenteeism, employee retention rates, service levels and productivity; and ultimately it all adds up to about a 22 percent difference in profitability.”
Today’s Workforce is Unengaged
For management today, the benchmark is “32% engagement.” This has been consistent over the last couple of years. The blame for this lackluster engagement rate seems to point to managers for one of two reasons: 1) they either lack the skills to motivate people to perform or 2) lack the understanding of what drives workers to be fully engaged.
Inspire Your Workforce
Changing the workplace culture takes time. It’s like changing a ship’s course. Because of the effort required, you need to have a comprehensive strategy in place. For employees to adopt a new culture, it needs to be modeled first at the CEO and executive level, not middle management. However, once the CEO is committed to changing the culture, training at the manager level is critical.
There are simple things that a manager can do to improve engagement. But, these skills need to be taught since many are lacking today. One of the simplest ways is for a manager to show they care about their employees. This is the underlying principle. If it’s superficial or veiled as manipulative, it quickly backfires. According to Gallup, the bottom line is “Managers with highly engaged teams intentionally lead with heart.”
Effective Training for Managers
We’d like to hear your thoughts on the value and commitment of training managers. Leave a comment below. What has been your experience over the last five years? Do you see a renewed focus on the importance of manager training in your organization?
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