Your Team Leaders Drive Engagement: Here’s why
New research by ADP, a leading provider of human resources software and services, suggests managers striving to understand the art of employee engagement take lessons from the “team leaders” who report to them.
ADP says just 16% of employees surveyed said they are “fully
engaged.”
So, what are the other 84% up to all day long?
If you’re a manager concerned with elevating engagement, reducing turnover and attracting top talent, you’ll want to see these key takeaways from ADP’s international survey of 19,000 workers:
- Biggest driver of engagement is whether you work
on a team: Employees who identify as part of a team are 2.3 times more likely
to be fully engaged. - Trust is a foundation of engagement: Employees
who trust their team leader are 12 times more likely to be fully engaged in
their work - The United Arab Emirates has the highest
percentage of fully engaged workers at 26%, while China has the lowest with
just 6%. Engagement in the United States sits at 17%
According to ADP, the study surveyed more than 19,000 employees (one thousand per country in a stratified random sample) around the globe to measure their level of engagement and identify the work conditions most likely to attract and retain talent.
Team leaders drive engagement
Results suggest a real driver of engagement is team
leadership. Employees who worked in teams reported being 2 to 3 times more
engaged than those who work alone. The finding is especially notable since in
most organizations team leaders do not have direct authority over the other
employees on the team.
In some ways, it should be no surprise that team leadership drives engagements as team leaders are in the trenches with their fellow employees day-in and day-out, sharing directly in the wins and losses and being held accountable by their managers for the results.
Because of this close interaction, team leaders generally have the opportunity to connect with employees on a far more personal level than the typical manager does. A good team leader knows how to find and fire-up the motivation insides good employees.
Good team leaders generally:
- Develop a strategy the team will use to reach
its goal - Provide any training that team members need
- Communicate clear instructions to team members
- Listen to team members’ feedback
- Monitor team members’ participation to ensure
the training they are being provided is being put into use, and also to see if
any additional training is needed - Manage the flow of day to day operations
- Create and distribute reports to update managers
on the progress
Great team leaders take it up a notch by having:
- A clear elevating goal — they have a vision
- Results driven structure — visions have a
business goal - Competent team members — with right number and
mix of diversity - Unified commitment — they are a team, not a
group - A collaborative climate — aligned towards a
common purpose - High standards of excellence — they have group
norms - Principled leadership — the central driver of
excellence - External support — they have adequate resources
The post Your Team Leaders Drive Engagement: Here’s why appeared first on HRMorning.
