Immediate managers have a huge impact on engaging employees. The best managers develop personal relationships with employees, provide regular feedback and recognition, clearly communicate goals and expectations, and empower employees. Struggling managers can improve by gaining self-awareness through 360-degree feedback and coaching. They must be willing to change undesirable behaviors like inconsistency and lack of communication. Upcoming webinars will provide tools to help managers and HR professionals strengthen engagement.

1. ENSURING IMMEDIATE
MANAGERS’ BEHAVIOUR
ENGAGES EMPLOYEES
Monthly Webinar Series
March 26, 2015

2. 2
Topic Agenda
Item Time
(min)
Introduction 2
The Importance of Immediate Supervisors in
Engaging Employees
5
What do the “best” immediate managers do
differently?
10
How to Improve Engagement Among
Struggling Managers
15
Q&A 5
Norm Baillie-David
SVP Engagement - TalentMap
Monica Helgoth
VP Engagement - Western Region
Agenda

3. 3
15 years in business
7,000+ employee engagement surveys
since inception
1,000,000+ employees surveyed
500+ employee engagement surveys
annually
Only 1 Focus
TalentMap by the Numbers

4. 4
Sample Clients & Benchmark
Award Programs Technology & Engineering Not-for-Profit & Association
Financial Services
Health Sciences
Other

5. The Importance of Immediate
Managers in Engaging Employees

6. “Employees don’t leave
companies; they leave
people” – common quote
6

7. 7
+4 +12
-1 +2
+15 +13
+6 +6
+10 +5
-2 +7
-1 +7
+12 +3
+2 +9
-14 +5
-1 -1
+4 +10
4
5
7
7
8
10
7
7
8
12
10
12
9
12
14
15
18
18
22
23
24
23
25
26
88
83
80
78
74
72
71
71
68
66
66
62
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Immediate Management
Work Environment
Teamwork
Professional Growth
Innovation
Senior Leadership
Performance Feedback
Customer Focus
Compensation
Work/Life Balance
Organizational Vision
Information and Communication
% Frequency
Unfavourable Neutral Favourable
Data is rounded to the nearest whole number
* Number indicates % Favourable score
+/- CLIENT
2013*
+/- TM
Benchmark
WHEN IMMEDIATE MANAGEMENT IS STRONG…..

8. ….IT LOSES RELATIVE IMPORTANCEvs. DELTA
TO BENCHMARK
8
Compensation
Work Environment
Performance Feedback
Professional Growth
Work/Life Balance
Information and
Communication
Teamwork
Innovation
Customer Focus
Immediate Management
Senior Leadership
Organizational Vision
Strong
Engagement
Driver
Weak
Engagement
Driver
Worse Than
Benchmark
Better Than
Benchmark

9. Difference Between Functional Group and CLIENT Overall
CLIENT
Overall
DEPT1
DEPT2
Response Count 300 130 170
Compensation 41 -22 12
Work Environment 77 -13 9
Performance Feedback 73 -15 7
Professional Growth 70 -3 5
Work/Life Balance 58 -20 11
Information and Communication 51 -18 9
Teamwork 66 -6 -3
Innovation 74 -6 5
Client Focus 76 -6 2
Immediate Manager 66 -27 19
Management Team Leadership 65 -18 8
Organizational Vision 66 -8 0
Engagement 81 -13 11
Executive Director Leadership 62 -20 4
9STRUGGLING MANAGERS COLOUR EVERYTHING
Worse Same Better

10. ……AND INCREASE IN IMPORTANCEs. Delta to
Benchmark
10
Compensation
Work Environment
Performance Feedback
Professional Growth
Work/Life Balance
Information and
Communication Teamwork
Innovation
Client Focus
Immediate Manager
Management Team
Leadership
Organizational Vision
Executive Director
Leadership
Strong
Engagement
Driver
Weak
Engagement
Driver
Worse Than
Benchmark
Better Than
Benchmark

11. 45%
60%
26%
Client 2013
Client 2014
Benchmark
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
% Frequency
Top 5 Reasons for Leaving
(TalentExit Benchmark)
11
Lack of
career/promotional
opportunities
Poor job fit
Immediate
manager
leadership skills
Compensation
Lack of job
challenge
….AND INCREASE TURNOVER RISK
Are you looking for or thinking of accepting a
job with another employer (% Yes)?

12. What do the Best Managers do Better?
12

13. Personal and Emotional Relationship is the Most
Influential
13
Enhancing Employee Engagement: The Role of the Immediate Supervisor
Dale Carnegie Training, page 3

14. Among employees providing positive comments:
“My manager is a great guy and cares about his employees but he could communicate more with
the newer guys. Other than that he’s great!”
“I really think my manager is great. He gives me constant feedback on both positive and constructive
aspects. He is trustworthy and consistent, he cares about me especially my work life balance.”
“I am extremely happy with my manager, I came from another store where my manager could care
less what happened to his employees as long as he had a fat cheque coming his way at the end of
the day. That being said, my current manager is the complete opposite of that he cares about his
guys going home safe, over his profit at the end of the day, as well as he has sat down with me and
actually discussed with me what "MY" goals & expectations are for store and he is working with &
helping me attain my goals”
EXAMPLE POSITIVE COMMENTS

15. Comments regarding constructive feedback and recognition:
“ (Providing) more feedback with regards to what I need to improve to move up within the company
would be welcomed.”
“Listen to what people have to say, constructive criticism, and acting on it. Let their staff know what
a good job they are doing on a more regular basis. Be " fair " in general.
Comments regarding having more presence:
“Being more present at the front counter, involving himself with the customers and staff”.
“At times my manager is very hard to get in touch with, so more availability would be nice. I realize
he is busy.”
“Saying no to extra project work when already overloaded to spend more time with the team.”
Comments regarding providing more help with career goals:
“Contructive feedback and general care and concern for everyone in the shop as people, and not
employees. Support in career goals and long term objectives.”
“Direction and future career plans with store. What does he expect? How do I know he knows that I
want a career path with store? What career paths can I choose from as a store employee.?
EXAMPLE COMMENTS: REQUIRE IMPROVEMENT

16. • Sets clear goals and expectations
• Trains and coaches staff individually
• Leads by example
• Trusts staff with tasks
• Empowers decision-making, but
remains informed
• Communicates openly
• Recognizes talents (more educated)/
reinforces value to organization (less
educated/front-line)
• Provides constructive feedback,
informal and formal
• Encourages knowledge sharing
beyond “silos”/actively discourages
knowledge hoarding
• Encourages staff to offer new ideas
• Keeps staff informed and provides a
window on “the big picture”
• Provides ambiguous or changes
expectations often
• Expects staff to “learn by doing, i.e.
on their own”
• Says one thing, does another –acts
inconsistently
• Tells staff “how” to do tasks/micro-
manages
• Believes s/he will always do a better
job than staff
• Believes that “no news is good news”
– positive feedback not required
• Only provides negative feedback
• Enforces status quo: “we’ve always
done it that way”
• Feels privileged by being in the “inner
circle” and shares little information
DESIRABLE vs. UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOURS
16

17. “Seems to care about me as a person”
The single most important differentiator…..
THE CARING MANAGER
17
Engagement among those who agree/strongly agree: 90%
Engagement among those who disagree/strongly disagree: 55%
Source: TalentMap Benchmark Database
N=101,649

18. How to Instill Positive Engagement
Behaviours Among Struggling
Managers
18

19. Meet with staff and identify behaviours. Ensure behaviours
don’t extend into abuse. Understand and Empathize.
Individual coaching – not through group work
Never in front of peers or staff.
Anticipate deflection, denial, resistance (see next slide)
Focus on addressing specific behaviours, not “personality”
Consider engaging external coach.
Ensure accountability for behaviour changes over agreed
time periods. Spell out consequences for failure to change.
Consult manager and staff (separately) regularly.
“COMMON SENSE RULES”
19

20. UNDERSTAND STAGES OF RESULT
ACCEPTANCE
20

21. BEGIN WITH SELF-AWARENESS
21

22. A 360 Degree Feedback Program Counters Faulty
Self-Perception
22
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jackzenger/2014/04/17/the-singular-secret-for-a-leaders-success-self-awareness/

23. SIMULATIONS AND PEER-COACHING ARE USEFUL
TOOLS
Half-Day workshop teaches HR
professionals and managers:
• How to interpret and communicate
survey results effectively
• How to interpret and use verbatim
comments
• Exercises to diffuse the onus on the
individual
• Creative lateral thinking techniques to
stimulate innovative idea generation
• Idea prioritization and evaluation
techniques
23
Example “Fish bowl” Simulation

24. Event Format Topic Date
TalentMap Webinar
with Conference Board
of Canada
Live Webinar
Online
Engaging Employees through
Career Growth & Development
Mar 31st
11:00 am EDT
TalentMap Webinar Live Webinar
Online
Professional Growth in Nonprofits
with Limited Opportunities
April 21st
12:00pm EDT
2015 HRIA Annual
Conference
Edmonton Getting Employees to Own
Engagement
April 23rd
TalentMap Webinar Live Webinar
Online
Improving Employee Engagement
when Senior Leadership is the
Problem
April 30th
12:00pm EDT
Conference Board
“Engagement 2015”
Calgary NEW Research: 10 Years On –
What Do We Really Know?
May 25th
Upcoming TalentMap Learning Sessions

25. THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
25
Monica Helgoth
VP Engagement – TalentMap West
mhelgoth@talentmap.com
1-888-641-1113, x515
Norm Baillie-David
SVP Engagement
nbaillie-david@talentmap.com
1-888-641-1113, x504