Effective Employee Engagement Training for Managers

When your employees are engaged, they are more likely to be invested in the work they do, rather than just going through the motions. A company with engaged employees sees work quality, productivity, and talent retention increase. On the other hand, disengaged team members lead to a lack of productivity and higher churn rates. To promote and grow employee engagement, your managers need employee engagement training.

Engaged employees care. They don't just want to contribute to and advance the company, they want to grow with it. Engagement shows through exceptional work results, like better products, improved services, increased sales, and expanded customer satisfaction.

Manager engagement with employees is key to creating engaged employees. Employees with engaged managers become committed themselves because they feel respected and valued. 

It takes a lot to engage employees, so employee engagement training for managers is critical.

The importance of employee engagement training for managers

Employee engagement training has a massive impact on businesses because managers that engage with their employees and create a strong culture of learning see the quality of work, productivity, and customer satisfaction increase. 

Continu reading: How to Measure Employee Engagement

A recent study by TinyPulse found that the number one reason people leave a company is for career growth. The same report also found: 

• 44% of workers don't feel like their positions offer sufficient growth
• 60% don't think their managers have clearly defined their roles and responsibilities
• 75% don't strongly agree their feedback and suggestions are taken seriously

What would those statistics mean if applied to your company's numbers?

Higher levels of employee engagement relate to lower attrition rates. Fortunately, employee engagement training for managers can help improve the levels of engaged employees

8 directives of employee engagement training for managers

To be engaged, employees need you as the manager to provide clear direction, and employee engagement training can help you learn how to offer them. 

Engagement isn't a one-way street. If you don't reciprocate the engagement and give employees what they need, your employees will disengage and may look elsewhere for what they need to grow and stay with the company. 

Here are eight directives managers should train on to improve employee engagement:

1. Appreciation 
2. Feedback
3. Contribution 
4. Listening
5. Information 
6. Connection
7. Encouragement
8. Training and development 

Let's take a closer look at each of these. 

1. Appreciation 

Though underappreciation is very common in workplaces, employees don't like it, especially when going above and beyond. Thoughtful, personalized, and public appreciation for specific accomplishments goes much farther than a general announcement of "good job everybody" at the end of a meeting. 

General admiration doesn't come across as sincere appreciation, though it is often the only appreciation many employees receive. Shift your focus to the specific acknowledgment of the value of each team member's contribution. 

2. Feedback

Like engagement, feedback involves both parties. It helps to get engagement feedback from your employees, but they need feedback from you too. Feedback makes employees feel they have a stake in the company and that you're invested in them and value their input. 

3. Contribution 

Employees need to know their contributions matter to the company's success. Employees who feel their contributions matter are more likely to become and remain engaged. Let your employees know what they do moves the company toward its goals and make a difference. Involve them in decision-making as much as possible. ‍

4. Listening 

Your team members need to be listened to (not just heard) and to feel that their opinions and suggestions matter. Letting them use their voices is critical and encourages engagement. Remember, your team members are your in-house experts, so it pays to practice active listening and think about what they say.

5. Information 

Knowledge sharing is a powerful tool. It's frustrating to be continually kept out of the loop and not know what's going on. Why be engaged if you don't know what's happening around you?

Update people on short and long-term goals and their various projects' impact. Informed team members feel like they are a valued part of the company and are more likely to engage.

6. Connection

Team members who feel connected to their peers and managers engage more organically with the company culture. Help them foster connections within the company by engaging with them on a personal level. 

New hires need to build connections, so find ways to connect with them and help them develop their relationships with and within the company. During the onboarding process is a great time to start making connections with new employees. 

7. Encouragement

Regular encouragement inspires people to perform better and increases their desire to get involved. When you notice and encourage members' work, they'll be more likely to engage with their teams. 

8. Training, Learning, and Development 

While few people would argue the importance of training employees, it's critical for training to be helpful. Are your employees getting the training they need to develop professionally and succeed in meeting company goals? 

Learning and development are significant contributors to employee engagement. Many studies have found ongoing learning and development have extensive benefits to organizations. 

Are you providing your employees with training and development opportunities so they can sharpen old skills and learn new ones?

Becoming an engaged manager, lead by example

One of the best ways to foster better employee engagement is to be engaged as a manager. Remember that as a manager, you set the tone in the company for your whole team. If you want people to be involved, you need to be engaged yourself. 

Here's how to be an engaged manager and create an engaging work environment for your employees:

Get to know your teams 

According to Forbes, someone's relationship with management is the most crucial factor in employee engagement. Start by welcoming new employees personally. Begin getting to know new employees and build relationships with them from day one to set the engagement tone and expectations immediately. 

However, don't neglect your veteran employees. If you have a good relationship with your employees, you'll better understand how to motivate and support them, which increases their engagement. 

Focus and support your teams 

Giving your employees clear learning objectives and priorities provides them with needed focus. When instructing them, provide the tools and support they need to carry out their projects. Engage in proactive planning with your employees and encourage innovation; in turn, they'll be engaged constructively. 

Mentor and develop people

Serve as a mentor to your employees. Help them develop their skills and confidence. Give them new opportunities and learn their goals so you can help build a plan to reach them.

Managers can also improve employee engagement by creating a mentorship program. Then assign veteran or knowledgeable employees to mentor newer employees. Now your seasoned team members feel appreciative of the new opportunity and recognition, while new hires receive the mentorship they need to succeed.

Consult with your team members

Your employees' knowledge makes them a significant resource. Leverage this by consulting with them to solve problems. Hold regular team question-and-answer sessions to develop ideas and facilitate improvements.

There are a few better ways to show employees you value them and their input than seeking their opinion and advice. It stimulates their engagement and encourages them to take a problem-solving approach to their work.

Develop yourself as a manager

Learning and development aren't just critical for team members. Managers need to continue their management training to keep engagement up. Managers are vital to promoting a learning culture in an organization. When employees see that you are making efforts to learn and develop, they recognize the importance of self-betterment.

The modern LMS managers need for engagement training

Continu is a modern learning platform that lets organizations create entire managerial training courses on employee engagement using powerful eLearning authoring tools. Build an engaged workforce with features designed to make employee learning, training, and onboarding engaging, such as:

• Virtual instructor-led training workshops
• Assessments, quizzes, and gamification
• Collaborative learning with social elements
• Deep integrations with the tools your team already uses
• Track and measure employee training progress
• Generate detailed reports on engagement levels

Provide your managers with the training resources they need to improve employee engagement with Continu.