The majority of managers in IES's research had learnt about engagement mainly by observing their own and others' behaviour, then adopting the good bits and discarding the bad. For some (eg those who did not regard themselves as ‘people oriented', or who were naturally shy or reserved) it had been a hard slog to adopt the behaviours they observed as being successful in engaging teams to perform well.
So, what behaviours are seen as ‘engaging'? Managers and team members gave very similar responses. An engaging manager:
- has integrity
- gives clear explanations and direction
- is interested in the people in his/her team, and knows what interests and motivates them as individuals
- wants team members to develop and succeed
- involves the team in decision-making and work organisation, and delegates effectively
- is visible and accessible
- has high expectations of the team
- recognises and celebrates success
- tackles poor performance and difficult behaviour quickly and thoughtfully
- is a good internal networker.
Most organisations will probably be able to recognise these behaviours in several people within their population of first line, middle or senior managers. However, it is highly likely that they will also be able to identify at least an equal number of disengaging managers - those who, for example, show little interest in their team, take the credit for the team's achievements but blame them if something goes wrong, give muddled instructions, micro manage, or shout a lot. Most managers are somewhere in the middle - better at some aspects of people management than others, but lacking in the ability to really inspire their team to perform well.
HR practitioners typically find it very easy to identify engaging and disengaging managers within their organisation, but are less certain about their wider engagement role. Unfortunately, engagement sometimes acquires an HR label, partly because of its focus on people, and partly (less laudably) because senior managers may be unwilling to accept responsibility for engaging employees, and may perhaps even suspect that their own management style leaves something to be desired. Even without backing from the top, there are things that HR can do to encourage an engagement focus. One is to ensure that the organisation has good quality policies and procedures, that are understood by managers and accessible to employees. HR is also in the best position to interpret staff survey results and disseminate these widely. Supporting managers in their day-to-day people management is another HR role that is valued highly when delivered well.
In organisations where engagement truly has the backing of the Board and the senior executive team, and has become ingrained in the culture, HR can really fly. In this environment, the senior team will lead by example and it will be much easier for employees throughout the organisation to understand what behaviours are desirable, and what is unacceptable. HR can do a lot to ensure that the engagement message is consistent and prominent.
Given that even engaging managers have not always found it easy to identify the best behaviours to adopt, HR has a role in describing and disseminating these. Many organisations have competency frameworks with behavioural descriptors. HR can ensure that engaging managerial behaviours are clearly identified and described within these frameworks. Other organisations, while not going down the competency route, have defined the ways in which they expect employees and managers to behave in their dealings with both customers and colleagues. HR's role here is to ensure that everybody knows about these expected behaviours, and that there is a channel by which employees who experience behaviour that is contrary to expectation can raise their concerns without fear of reprisal.
To really give engagement teeth, some organisations have built it into their recruitment, performance management and reward systems. Candidates for managerial posts are assessed at least in part on their skills in engaging individuals and teams. Managers whose teams rate them highly (eg via 360 degree appraisals), and who have high engagement scores, get a bigger bonus or performance related pay uplift than those with lower ratings. While this may seem harsh, especially given that engagement is sometimes seen as a soft skill, it is worth remembering that the engaging managers in IES's research all had a very hard performance edge.
Perhaps above all, it should be HR's role to facilitate the development of engaging behaviour in managers throughout the organisation. Engaging management can be built into management training at all levels - from first line supervisors to senior managers. HR usually commissions such training, and perhaps even delivers much of it, so the function is in a really strong position to ensure that engaging behaviours are clearly identified and encouraged. Another HR activity, induction, presents an opportunity to get the engagement message across to employees and managers, and to ‘buddy up' new managers with people already in the organisation who are positive advocates of engagement.
Dilys Robinson, is a principal research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies
