How to engage your staff and create a more productive workforce

An important part of the supervisor’s role is motivating employees, and it is a major concern for seasoned and new supervisors alike.
What many supervisors may not realize is that there are skills managers can learn to help motivate employees and create greater employee engagement in the workplace.
“Managers play a key role in promoting employee engagement,” says Annette Kolski-Andreaco, manager of Account Services for LifeSolutions, an employee assistance program (EAP) that is part of UPMC WorkPartners’ suite of health and productivity solutions and an affiliated company of the UPMC Insurance Services Division.
“Engaged employees advance an organization’s goals, resulting in a personal and organizational win-win,” she says.
Smart Business spoke with Kolski-Andreaco about how managers can best help their employees become more engaged and, as a result, have a more productive and effective workforce.
What do we know about the level of engagement among American workers?
Fewer than 30 percent of working Americans are considered engaged employees. And yet, when employees are engaged, they find their work more challenging and absorbing.
How can supervisors help raise employees’ engagement levels?
Surveys of employees show they have three universal needs: respect, positive relationships and personal development. Managers need to know that these needs can be addressed and advanced every day in the workplace by their actions and in the practices of the organization.
Daniel Pink writes in his book “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,” that there are three components of internal motivation that are key to achieving engagement — mastery, autonomy and purpose. When the work environment, through the manager-employee relationship, allows for the development of these three components, internal motivation is often the result.
In simple terms, to actualize autonomy, for example, organizations through their managers can allow for more involvement in decisions about employees’ task choice, deadlines and work teams.
Mastery relates to the universal need for personal development, the human need to move forward and get better at something. Consequently, managers should find opportunities for employees to grow professionally.
Finally, purpose can be operationalized when managers connect employees’ work to how it fits in to the advancement of the organization’s goals and success.
Managers often turn to EAPs for consultation in how to engender more positive engagement among their employees. EAP professionals consult with managers at all levels to assess the issues and can suggest actions that stand the best chance of being effective.
Can you restate those manager tasks more simply?
The three important ways managers can support and encourage employees are first, to demonstrate — both in word and in deed — that the employee’s contributions are valued.
Second, they need to connect the employee to the team and the organization.
Finally, managers need to be on the lookout for opportunities that enable employees to grow, innovate and apply new ideas.
In what ways can supervisors demonstrate that they value their employees’ efforts?
One important way is by presuming that every employee is competent and then treating him or her accordingly.
This is a more positive approach than is usually used. A supervisor also can help employees identify individual goals and then support them in achieving those goals. Recognizing and discussing how individual goals can align with organizational goals is yet another way.

By staying connected with people and showing interest in their lives, a supervisor can increase engagement. Sometimes it just boils down to finding a way to communicate often, express appreciation for people’s skills and work, and acknowledge their achievements and progress every day.

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