Allyson is the VP of People & Culture at Blueboard, an experiential rewards platform for employers.
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We've known for years that the manager and employee relationship is core to business success.
Managers provide support, resources, guidance, constructive and positive feedback, recognition and connection to individual employees. According to Gallup, this relationship is responsible for the majority of variance in employee engagement scores.
But after two years of a pandemic, a shift to hybrid work (and now a growing movement to return to the office) and one global crisis after another, employees are disengaging from work at a rapid pace. And the manager-employee connection gap is growing.
Last fall, research company The Starr Conspiracy conducted a study on behalf of my organization focused on connection at work and found that just 38% of employees say their company effectively enables them to build an authentic relationship with their manager.
Given the weight of the manager-employee relationship, organizations need to address this gap—and do it quickly. Fortunately, there are four straightforward steps you can take to nurture the connection between your managers and employees.
Four Ways To Close The Connection Gap Between Managers And Employees
1. Define what connection means at your organization. “Employee connection” is often discussed in soft—rather than concrete—terms. But having a clear definition is the first step to taking meaningful action. In our study, we defined a connected workplace as "one where employees feel:
• Connected to the company's mission, values and leadership vision
• Connected to their coworkers and managers through authentic relationships
• Connected to their work—that they have a positive impact on the company’s goals
• Connected to their personal aspirations—that they’re growing and developing in the ways that mean something to them"
If this definition doesn’t work for your organization, I encourage you to create your own. The goal should be to define connection in specific terms so that you can identify and address the causes of manager and employee disconnection.
2. Identify where the gaps lie. Not all manager-employee connection problems stem from the same source. So a critical first step is to get clear about what’s causing them at your organization, and within each team.
The best way to find out the answers to these questions is to tap into structured feedback channels. Use your recurring employee surveys. Include opportunities for upward feedback in performance review cycles. Encourage managers to add a connection-focused set of questions to their recurring one-on-ones. Once you’ve collected enough feedback, you can identify common themes, share your learnings with managers and work with them to figure out next steps.
3. Help managers succeed in their roles. There’s no denying organizations ask a lot of our managers. We expect them to take care of their day-to-day responsibilities while also being cheerleaders, mentors and problem-solvers for employees. But we don’t always give them the support they need to succeed in their ever-expanding roles.
It’s no wonder that, as of December 2020, the resignation rate for managers was nearly 12% higher than the previous year. When our managers are burned out, they simply don’t have the capacity to connect with employees.
As an HR leader, there’s a lot you can do to address this problem. Start by:
• Providing Clarity. Many organizations don’t provide enough clarity around a manager’s role, responsibilities and power. What are the boundaries of their job? Who can they turn to when they need support? When managers don’t know how to answer these types of questions, it can lead to frustration and negatively impact the way they connect with employees.
• Offering Resources. Being a manager isn’t intuitive. It requires a specific set of skills that take time and care to cultivate. So find ways to provide resources that help managers grow as managers—whether that’s through one-on-one coaching sessions or online courses.
• Creating Shared Spaces. Managers often feel an immense amount of pressure to have all the answers. Knowing this, it can be helpful to give them an opportunity to connect with other managers across departments and teams—to provide them with a space to ask questions, share experiences and be understood.
4. Encourage a culture of recognition. Our research found that companies with a formal recognition program are twice as likely to report they’re able to address connection challenges. So if you’re looking for a way to close the gap between managers and employees, consider cultivating a culture of recognition.
Here are a few recommendations:
• Introduce a manager-driven recognition program. Let managers take the wheel when it comes to recognition. As an HR leader, you can empower them by providing a discretionary budget and a clear set of guidelines on how and when to reward employees. The reason we encourage a manager-driven approach is that it’s more meaningful to the reward recipient when they’re recognized by the person whose opinion they value the most.
• Focus on experiential rewards. Consider rewarding employees with experiences instead of cash, gift cards or stuff (full disclosure: my company offers this service). Experiential rewards give employees the opportunity to choose an experience that means something to them—whether it allows them to connect with a personal passion, a loved one or a hobby they have yet to explore. Seeing what types of experiences their people choose can also help managers understand what motivates, inspires and fulfills their direct reports—which, in turn, can deepen their relationship.
If you’re feeling the connection gap at your organization, know you’re not alone. Rather than viewing it as a problem, approach it as an opportunity—as a chance to get to the root of issues that were present even before the pandemic—and build a better, stronger foundation that will help your company thrive in this new world of work.
