Why improving employee and manager relationships is vital to boost engagement
| Pages | 67-70 |
| Published date | 30 March 2020 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-01-2020-0003 |
| Date | 30 March 2020 |
| Author | Cerys Johnson |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Why improving employee and manager
relationships is vital to boost engagement
Cerys Johnson
Abstract
Purpose –The author, CEO of a global enterprise, set out to explore the impact of employee and
manager relationships on engagement. Her goal was to then determine strategies to improve these
relationshipsto boost engagement.
Design/methodology/approach –The author first reviewed studies regarding the impact of engaged
employees on businesses and the role of employee and senior relationships with regards to this. She then
explored the most effective approaches to improve these relationships and thereby employee engagement.
Findings –While it is not the only factor involved,there is a clear correlation between the relationships
between employees and business leaders and employee engagement. There are several strategies
businesses can adopt to improve the communication between these parties and remove hierarchical
barriers,which will in turn improve employee engagement.
Originality/value –The value was in demonstratingthat there are a wide variety of strategiesbusinesses
can use to improveengagement, using technology as well as traditionalmethods to ensure they reach all
membersof staff.
Keywords Employee engagement, Retention, Productivity, HR
Paper type Viewpoint
Engaged employees have a lot to offer businesses. Not only are they likely to be more
productive but they also demonstrate 21 per cent greater profitability and 24
per cent to 59 per cent less turnover, accordingto Gallup (Nink and Robison, 2016).
When you consider that the cost of replacing an employee has been found by the Society
for Human Resource Management to cost up to twice their annual salary (Wright-Whyte,
2019), there is significant value to be assigned to improving employee engagement.
However, finding the optimum approach to achieve this has often been a case of trial and
error with varying levels of success — from implementing HR tools and technologies to
testing the four-day working week.
Yet, one approach that is essential to boost engagement is improving the relationship
between employees and senior leaders. With Gallup’s “State of the American Manager”
report (Beck and Harter, 2015) finding that managers account for at least 70 percent of the
variance in employee engagement scores across business units, it is vital not to
underestimate the impact these relationships can have on an organisation. By nurturing
positive relationships between employees and managers, enterprises can help their
employees to feel valued, engaged and like they have purpose within their organisation.
Vitally, to achieve this, employees must be given access to business leaders, a platform to
voice their opinion, and for these senior members to recognise and understand their
employees as individuals. As businesses look to bridge the gap between employees and
senior leaders there are several key areas they must address: review processes,
communications, the social sideof the organisation and ensuring they provide effective role
models.
Cerys Johnson is based at
the REPL Group, UK.
DOI 10.1108/SHR-01-2020-0003 VOL. 19 NO. 2 2020, pp. 67-70, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 jSTRATEGIC HR REVIEW jPAGE 67
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