Manager Empowerment Report - Achievers

ManagerEmpowermentReportImpact your entire organization with the right resources for manager effectiveness

2From Achievers Workforce Institute | Management Empowerment Report

It is often said that people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. It would be difficult to overstate the incredibly powerful impact managers have on the extent to which we feel satisfied, supported, and stimulated at work.

So much so that managers are responsible for 70% of their employees’ engagement (Gallup, 2015). Which leads to the question, what makes for a strong manager and how can organizations empower managers to be more effective in driving productivity, retention, and engagement? That’s the question that the Achievers Workforce Institute strives to answer in this report.

At the Workforce Institute, we always begin with science. From manager contact to strength-based management, academic and business research gave us the building blocks with which to design this study. We then surveyed more than 2,000 people worldwide to understand the impact their managers have on their work experience, whether they would recommend their managers to others, and how engaged they were at work.

What did we find?What we found was striking. The relationship between manager effectiveness and employee engagement is undeniable. Simply put, the more effective a manager is, the more engaged their team is likely to be. To bolster that finding, we were also able to identify specific levers that clearly drive the effectiveness of managers, in the real world.

Taken together, these findings serve as the basis for this ground-breaking report that offers both insights and practical value to senior leaders looking to truly empower their managers. That empowerment is fundamental to Achievers’ mission to help employees do the best work of their lives and is fostered through recognition, employee voice, and manager empowerment. Throughout this report we’ll explore how these three pillars create a strong foundation for the employee experience and engagement of people at work.

Introduction


One survey finding that particularly surprised me was the low percentage of managers who have received training in the core areas that allow managers to be effective in engaging their team members. For example, just half (48%) of managers have been trained in one-to-one meeting best practices, with even fewer saying that they were trained in the areas of professional development or recognition. Organizational leaders simply cannot expect managers to effectively support and engage their people without providing them with the tools, resources, and training to do so. Good managers become so through insight, development and support — essentially, empowerment. Conversely, bad managers are often actually just under-supported, under-developed, and under-engaged, themselves. Thus, it’s imperative that every organization empowers their front line people leaders, their managers, with regular, consistent, cross-functional training for all managers.

Also noteworthy, junior individual contributors were found to be the least likely employees to receive effective management, leaving them at greater risk for disengagement and attrition. This cohort was less likely to have regular one-to-one meetings with their managers and most likely to have last received formal recognition from their manager more than a year ago. Overall, junior employees are receiving more limited access to manager-driven support, leaving them feeling adrift and alone in their early years of work.

We know managers have a critical role to play in leading, engaging, and retaining the people on their team. Fortunately, we now have clear ways to empower them in becoming more effective managers every day. By investing in the right tools, resources, and training to empower managers throughout your organization, you can scale manager effectiveness so every individual at every level has the support and leadership they need to excel. Imagine the impact on your organization if you could ensure that every manager was empowered to be effective.

That’s the vision of this report and we hope you find it inspiring and practical to help build effective, empowered managers in your organization.

Dr. Natalie BaumgartnerChief Workforce Scientist, Achievers

CONTENTSKey findings 5

Manager effectiveness 7

Effectiveness and engagement 9

The fundamentals of manager 11effectiveness One-to-one meetings 12 Recognition 13 Professional development 14 Strength-based management 15 Empathic leadership 16

Manager empowerment 17 Recommendations 19

Appendix 1: The most at-risk 21cohort

Appendix 2: Global results 23

5

Key findings


Key findings

Manager effectiveness is crucial for employee engagement

Empathic leadership drives manager effectiveness

Less than half of managers have received training in ways to better lead their teams

Recognition is one of the biggest predictors of manager effectiveness

Professional development discussion predicts manager effectiveness

1 4

52

3

While it may seem obvious that a more effective manager has a more engaged team, we wanted to prove it with data rather than assumptions. The data showed a strong correlation between manager effectiveness and engagement with 89% of respondents who would recommend their manager also reported being highly engaged. This shows the importance of improving manager effectiveness to boost company-wide engagement.

We asked respondents if they felt seen and understood as a person by their manager and found that 91% of respondents who would recommend their manager also feel seen and understood as a person. We’re calling this metric empathic leadership. This type of leadership requires understanding your team’s needs and feelings, prioritizing them, and responding individually rather than treating your employees as a generic group that can all be motivated in the same way.

In a worrying trend, less than half of managers had been trained in the types of management investigated, with an average of 37% saying they had received at least one type of training. This includes management staples such as one-to-one meetings and more advanced techniques like strength-based management.

Satisfaction with, and frequency of, recognition is strongly correlated with manager effectiveness. With almost 9 out of 10 (86%) respondents who would recommend their manager also saying they are regularly recognized — it shows that regularly, effective recognition is key to manager effectiveness.

Another top area for driving manager effectiveness is planning and discussing professional development. Just a quarter (27%) of disengaged respondents say that their manager supports their professional development goals, compared to 88% of engaged respondents.

7

Manager effectiveness


Manager effectiveness

What is manager effectiveness?Manager effectiveness is the degree to which people leaders, from frontline managers to the C-suite, are able to connect with, motivate, and optimize their teams. This report looks at what factors contribute to manager effectiveness and how we can measure it day to day.

Why does it matter?Third party research shows managers make up 70% of their employees’ engagement level (Gallup, 2015) and better managers are more able to attract and retain top talent (Lazear et al., 2012).

How are we measuring manager effectiveness?There is no single accepted way to measure manager effectiveness. We asked respondents whether they would recommend their manager to another employee.

This is the metric we are using to determine manager effectiveness. Think of it like a Net Promoter Score (NPS) for managers — those whose employees would highly recommend them are having their needs met and exceeded every day. This report builds on the Achievers Workforce Institute Manager Empowerment Model to measure key levels for effectiveness.

What can we do with the information?Once you know the key ingredients for manager effectiveness you can start to empower managers with the tools, training, and resources to consistently engage employees to drive business results. We’ll explore this in more detail later in the report.

9

Effectiveness andengagement


Effectiveness and engagementWe found that there is a strong and direct correlation between whether a manager is perceived to be effective by their employees and whether their employees are engaged.

More than 9 out of 10 (95%) respondents who would recommend their manager also reported being highly engaged. This trend works in reverse as well — individuals who are very disengaged are six times more likely to say they would not recommend their manager.

Individuals who would recommend their managers are twice as likely to

be very engaged

The fundamentals of manager effectiveness

11


One-to-one meetingsManager contact is a foundation of manager effectiveness. People who are not at all engaged are three times more likely to never meet their managers one-to-one compared to people who are very engaged. This doesn’t necessarily mean you must meet one-to-one with your team every day — although people who would recommend their managers are 37% more likely to meet with them daily. Instead, focus on regular, high-quality meetings that cover a range of topics.

Just one third of managers are discussing professional development, and even fewer are recognizing recent achievements or discussing overall morale and engagement.

Disengaged people are more than five times more likely to be dissatisfied with both how often they meet one-to-one with their manager and the quality of those meetings compared to the overall results.

The fundamentals ofmanager effectiveness

We can see the wide difference between these areas when we look at different levels of manager effectiveness:

WORKFORCE INSTITUTE TOP TIP:Offer managers a “best practices” guide to one-to-one frequency and content. A good guide based on the survey findings would be to meet weekly and to ensure discussion is not just focused on tasks. Recognition and professional development are especially important, as we will explore in the next sections of this report.


RecognitionPeople who would recommend their manager are almost three times as likely to say their manager regularly provides them with recognition that makes them feel valued. People who would recommend their managers are also 46% more likely to discuss recognizing recent accomplishments in their one-to-one meetings, compared to the overall average. Respondents who would recommend their manager are also 11 times more likely to say their manager regularly recognizes them, compared to those who would not recommend their manager.

As the Workforce Institute explored in the 2020 Culture Report, recognition is one of the strongest levers for employee engagement, with people who are regularly recognized having higher engagement than those who are infrequently recognized. This data shows the important role manager recognition plays in both manager effectiveness and engagement. People who would recommend their manager are 63% more likely to have been recognized in the last week. People who are very disengaged are almost three times more likely to say their last formal recognition was more than a year ago.

95% of respondents who would highly recommend their manager

are regularly recognized

RECOGNITION TOP FINDINGSEmployees recognized in the last week are more than twice as likely as average to highly recommend their managers.

People who would recommend their managers are 46% more likely to discuss recognizing recent accomplishments in their one-to-one meetings, compared to the overall average.

Respondents who would recommend their manager are 11 times more likely to say their manager regularly recognizes them, compared to those who would not recommend their manager.

40% of disengaged respondents were last recognized more than a year ago, compared to just 14% overall.

WORKFORCE INSTITUTE TOP TIP:The 2020 Culture Report found that employees recognized in the last week were twice as likely to be engaged as those recognized more than a month ago. Achievers data shows that those recognized 12 or more times a year are more likely to report feeling engaged. So aim for at least monthly recognitions. To be effective recognitions should be public, timely, specific, and values-based.

https://www.achievers.com/resources/white-papers/2020-culture-report/


Professional developmentResearch shows that professional development is a crucial retention tool. This report also shows that it is an important aspect of manager effectiveness and engagement. People who would recommend their managers are 33% more likely to discuss professional development in their one-to-one meetings compared to the overall average.

Unfortunately, the 2020 Culture Report found that professional development became less culturally aligned during COVID-19, implying that organizations are less likely to be focused in this area. However, when cost saving measures are put in place, career development becomes more, not less important. Imagine the scenario that a skilled, in-demand employee is asked to forgo pay increases and bonus during the pandemic. They are much more likely to remain engaged and committed if their manager is actively discussing long-term career plans that include promotions and upskilling. Compare this to the employee whose manager has never discussed professional development with them. Who is more likely to remain engaged and bring their best efforts to work every day?

In fact, disengaged respondents are three times more likely than engaged respondents to say their manager has never discussed professional development with them.

Just a quarter (27%) of disengaged respondents say their manager

supports their professional development

WORKFORCE INSTITUTE TOP TIP:Manager coaching isn’t the only way to facilitate professional development. In Gallup’s 2018 survey, they identified “Connector Managers” as a powerful resource for employees. These managers identify employee needs and connect them with colleagues and stakeholders throughout the business to help them develop specific skills and competencies.

https://www.achievers.com/resources/white-papers/2020-culture-report/


Strength-based managementThis style of management focuses on employees’ strengths to recognize and build on these areas to help them become more confident, competent, and capable. This report shows that strength-based management should be considered a core approach to improving manager effectiveness. People who are engaged are almost twice as likely to say their manager appreciates and encourages their strengths. People who are disengaged are 71% less likely to agree with that statement.

Part of strength-based management is setting appropriate performance objectives. Disengaged people are almost half as likely as engaged people (44% vs. 83%) to say their performance objectives are relevant, achievable, and helpful to their day to day work efforts.

96% of respondents who would recommend their manager feel their strengths are appreciated

and encouraged

WORKFORCE INSTITUTE TOP TIP:Recognition is a great starting point for strength-based management. At Achievers we say, what gets recognized, gets repeated, so encourage employees to double down on their strengths with regular, public, values-based recognition.


Empathic leadershipThe Achievers Workforce Institute Engagement Science Model shows that engagement is highly fluid, exceptionally personal, and requires rapid micro-action. An empathic approach to leadership answers the personal requirement, as it allows managers to connect with their employees one to one.

97% of respondents who would recommend their manager also feel seen and understood as a person by their manager. In contrast, 68% of those who would not recommend their manager disagreed with the statement.

Empathic leadership is also connected to creating a strong sense of belonging, which is important for retention and engagement. According to this survey, 90% of respondents who would recommend their manager feel a strong sense of belonging. In addition, people with a strong sense of belonging are twice as likely to say they are very engaged.

People who would recommend their manager are 13x more likely to strongly agree with

the statement “I feel seen and understood as a person by my

manager”

WORKFORCE INSTITUTE TOP TIP:Empathic leadership starts with investing

in your team as individuals. Encourage managers to understand how different team

members are motivated and what their goals are. Listening is critical to effectively

acting on employee needs. Enable your managers with a continuous listening tool so

they know what their team’s top concerns are and are able to respond individually in

one-to-ones.

Managerempowerment

17


What is manager empowerment?Manager empowerment is all the steps an organization can take to give managers the tools and resources to improve effectiveness. If effectiveness is the goal, then empowerment is how you get there.

Why does it matter?Your managers are only as good as their training and resources. Without the right tools and training in place, you cannot expect managers to excel in their roles. Employers need to empower managers with straightforward, actionable insights to improve their effectiveness, thereby improving employee experience and engagement throughout the organization.

Less than half of managers have been trained in any of the areas we asked about. On average, one third of managers have been trained in each area. This indicates that organizations are expecting managers to pick up best practices on their own, or perhaps to do the work independently in each area. From foundational skills such as one-to-one meetings, to key tasks such as professional development and setting performance goals, managers need support to improve effectiveness across all these areas.

We asked which single area of training would be the most advantageous for them and the answers were almost evenly divided, with a slightly higher number (21%) saying professional development training and support is the one area that would enable them to be a better manager.

Most are invested in improving where possible. Three quarters (74%) would use an app or software to be a better manager. Imagine the ability to scale manager empowerment so every manager in your organization was effectively engaging and motivating their team. This impact would be felt in every level of the organization and cannot be overstated.

Manager empowerment

Recommendations

19


Recommendations

Train managers in crucial effectiveness areas

Create a culture of recognition

Focus on professional development

Lead with empathy

1

2

3

4

Training and development is the first step toward manager empowerment. Without learning best practices and roleplaying scenarios, leaders cannot expect managers to exceed expectations when issues arise on the job. Introduce compulsory management training across your organization to ensure a consistent, high quality response to management problems.

Crucial effectiveness areas: • Recognition • Strength-based management • Professional development • Empathic leadership

Recognition is an important lever for effectiveness and engagement. By creating a culture of recognition from the top down and the bottom up, you ensure frequent, high-quality recognitions throughout the organization. This in turn will improve manager effectiveness and employee engagement. Ensure your recognitions are public, timely, specific, and values-based to be most effective.

With surprisingly few employees regularly discussing professional development with their managers, many organizations are missing the opportunity to engage and retain their staff. Put in place professional development plans for individuals at all levels and ensure it is part of the regular conversation during one-to-one meetings. One option is to use technology to operationalize professional development, giving managers the nudge they need to effectively lead in this area.

Empathic leadership was one of the strongest correlations with manager effectiveness. Managers who can see their teams as individuals, with unique perspectives, needs, and skills, are more likely to be seen as effective by their employees. Incorporate empathic leadership into their training to build empathy within your organization, and model empathic leadership from the top to set a good example.

Appendix 1:The most at-risk cohort

21


Are organizations losing sight of junior employees? Junior individual contributors reported consistently lower results when assessing the manager effectiveness levers such as one-to-one meetings, recognition, and professional development.

One in five (21%) are never meeting one-to-one with their managers and just 64% have a professional development plan, compared with 74% overall. A further 23% say it has been more than a year since their last formal recognition from their manager.

Let’s compare how many strongly agreed with the following statements, compared with the overall average.

Expert insightJunior employees are getting lost in the shuffle. They’re feeling unseen and unknown. Not only are they missing out on basic manager contact, but they lack a sense of belonging, don’t have the performance objectives that offer them meaning at work, and don’t have a clear path forward due to missing professional development.

It seems many organizations are focusing on senior individual contributors and managers for key engagement levers such as professional development and manager relationships.

Organizations need to see time spent with junior workers as a crucial investment. If you can forge strong connections early in their career it will have a profound and lasting impact on their career.

Every meaningful contact moment with your people is an investment in their engagement.

Appendix 1: The most at-risk employee group

Junior individual contributors are least likely to recommend their managers and least likely to be engaged

19%Average

14%Junior

Contributor

25%Average

19%Junior

Contributor

22%Average

16%Junior

Contributor

Appendix 2:Global results

23


I feel seen and understood as a person by my managerI feel seen and understood as a person by my manager I have received training to support my direct reports

0 50 100

Average37%

Australia24%

Average22%

Australia43%

My manager regularly provides me with recognitionthat makes me feel valued

I am very satisfied with how often I meet one on one with my manager

Australia18%

Average19%Australia Average 24%24%

I would recommend my manager to other employeesI am very satisfied with the quality and content of my one to one meetings with my manager

Australia20%

Average21% Australia

29%Average24%

I am very engaged in my current roleMy manager appreciates and encourages my strengths

24%

26%

Average

Australia

Australia37%

Average35%

HOTSPOT: Managers are not providing recognition as regularly, which is a key driver of engagement and satisfaction

HIGHLIGHT: Australians are 21% more likely to recommend their managers, indicating that manager effectiveness is higher than average

AUSTRALIA



0 50 100

Average37%

Canada26%

Average22%

Canada43%


Canada28%

Average21% Canada

27%Average24%



Canada17%

Average19%Average 24%Canada 32%


24%

25%

Average

Canada

Canada37%

Average35%

HOTSPOT: Recognition is below average, indicating room for improvement in how often managers acknowledge their teams’ hard work

HIGHLIGHT: Canadian employees are more satisfied than average with their one on one meetings

CANADA



0 50 100

Germany25%

Germany21%

Average22%

Average37%


Germany18%

Average21% Germany

19%Average24%



Germany21%

Average19%Germany Average 24%23%


24% AverageGermany33%

Average35%24% Germany

HOTSPOT: Just a quarter of managers have received training to better support their direct reports. That means three-quarters are having to figure it out on their own

HIGHLIGHT: German managers are above average on recognition, which we know is a key driver of engagement

GERMANY



0 50 100

Ireland33%

Ireland17%

Average22%

Average37%


Ireland16%

Average21% Ireland

21%Average24%


24% AverageIreland34%

Average35%20% Ireland



Ireland14%

Average19%Ireland Average 24%21%

HOTSPOT: Ireland lags behind the average in a number of key areas including one to one meetings, strength-based management, and empathic leadership

HIGHLIGHT: 26% of Irish respondents were recognized in the last week, higher than the average of 23%

IRELAND


NETHERLANDS

HOTSPOT: Just 15% would recommend their managers, the lowest of any country. This indicates low overall manager effectiveness and a big opportunity for improvement

HIGHLIGHT: Dutch respondents were mostly likely to have been recognized in the last week with 31% saying they had been formally acknowledged by their manager within that timeframe


Netherlands12%

Average21% Netherlands

15%Average24%



Netherlands Average 24%18%Netherlands

14%Average19%


24% AverageNetherlands30%

Average35%18% Netherlands


Netherlands17%

Average22%

50

Nertherlands33%

Average37%

0 100


HOTSPOT: Unfortunately these strengths can’t outweigh that Singapore had low overall engagement, with less than a third saying they are very engaged

HIGHLIGHT: Singapore was above average in a number of categories including manager training, strength-based management, and overall manager effectiveness


Singapore27%

Average21% Singapore

25%Average24%



Singapore Average 24%22%Singapore22%

Average19%


0 50 100

Singapore33%

Singapore23%

Average22% Average

37%


24% AverageSingapore29%

Average35%22% Singapore

SINGAPORE


HOTSPOT: Overall Swiss results were below average on a number of fronts including empathic leadership, recognition, and overall manager effectiveness

HIGHLIGHT: Swiss respondents are more likely than average (58% vs 54%) to have a professional development plan in place. We know professional development is an important driver of engagement


Switzerland18%

Average21% Switzerland

17%Average24%


24% AverageSwitzerland30%

Average35%15% Switzerland



Switzerland16%

Average19%Switzerland Average 24%21%


Switzerland15%

Average22%

50

Switzerland25%

Average37%

0 100

SWITZERLAND


UK

HOTSPOT: Overall the UK numbers were above average, showing that UK employers are putting significant effort into training and supporting managers

HIGHLIGHT: One-third (32%) of UK respondents would recommend their managers, the highest of any country, indicating impressive manager effectiveness


UK26%

Average21% UK

32%Average24%



UK Average 24%UK

26%Average19%25%


Average35%

Ireland34%

24%

26%

Average

UK


0 50 100

UK41%Average

37%UK

25%Average22%


USA

HOTSPOT: While overall satisfaction with recognition was above average, just 21% were recognized in the last week. Recognition frequency is one of the easiest levers to pull to improve engagement

HIGHLIGHT: US respondents had the highest engagement of any country by 7 percentage points. Engagement is the end goal of manager effectiveness so this is an excellent measure of success


USA25%

Average21% USA

28%Average24%



USA Average 24%USA

20%Average19%25%


0 50 100

USA45%Average

37%USA

25%Average22%


Average35%

USA44%

24%

28%

Average

USA

About the report

33


About the reportThe findings in this report are based on a survey of 2,094 respondents conducted in September 2020. The results presented in this report were found to be statistically significant (p-value << 0.05).

About the Workforce InstituteThe Achievers Workforce Institute is the science and research arm of Achievers. It is known for making cutting edge workforce science accessible to leaders, guiding them in how employee recognition, employee voice, and manager empowerment drive business results.

Visit achievers.com/workforce-institute to learn more and subscribe to our updates.

What industry do you work in?

What is your seniority level? What age range are you in?

>60

45-60

30-44

18-29

6%

24%

41%

28%

https://www.achievers.com/workforce-institute/


Great culture is the ultimate driver of organizational success. Achievers’ employee voice and recognition

solutions bring your organization’s values and strategy to life by activating employee participation and

accelerating a culture of performance.

Achievers leverages the science behind behavior change, so your people and your organization can

experience sustainable, data-driven business results anywhere in the world. Integrated insights fuel

smarter solutions that deliver just-in-time nudges to the entire organization and an industry-best

customer success and support team guides you on every step of the journey.

Global Offices

United States6220 Stoneridge Mall RoadPleasanton, CA 94588U.S.APhone: 1-925-226-9990

Australia & SingaporeLevel 2, 534 Church St, Richmond, Victoria, 3121 AustraliaPhone: +61 3 9107 4418

Canada190 Liberty Street, Suite 100 Toronto, ON M6K 3L5Canada Phone: 1-888-622-3343

UK/EMEABlackhawk NetworkWestside London Road Hemel HempsteadHP3 9TDPhone: 0344 3815061

Contact Us Today

Toronto | Pleasanton | London | [email protected]

www.achievers.com

https://twitter.com/Achievers

https://www.facebook.com/achieverscommunity

https://www.linkedin.com/company/achievers

https://www.achievers.com/blog/

https://www.achievers.com/

Manager Empowerment Report - Achievers

Documents

Transcript of Manager Empowerment Report - Achievers