Leaders Should Engage to Retain and Drive Employee Performance

According to a recent survey conducted by Right Management, an astonishing 83% of the North American employees polled indicated that they plan to actively seek a new position in 2014. In addition, Harvard Business Review published a research report in 2013 which indicated that 71% of the 550 executives surveyed, placed employee engagement as a key factor in their ability to achieve organizational success. However, only 24% of these same executives indicated that they believe their workforce is highly engaged. These two sets of findings provide a great deal of insight into the job satisfaction levels of employees, as well as point to a need for organizational leaders to make employee engagement a priority.

Employee engagement is not just important for retention; employee engagement has consistently been linked to employee and business performance. While senior leaders play a major role in creating a culture that facilitates employee engagement, the employee-manager relationship is even more critical - specifically, the way in which managers continuously manage the performance and development of employees. Unfortunately, recent research by Dale Carnegie found that 80% of employees who were disengaged were also dissatisfied with their current manager.

Employee Performance Management is a Key Leadership Competency

Managers who possess strong skills in employee performance management and coaching will create an environment where the relationship they have with employees will thrive. In a recent Forbes article, leadership author Mike Myatt stated, "Employees who are challenged, engaged, valued, and rewarded (emotionally, intellectually, and financially) rarely leave, and more importantly, they perform at very high levels." In the viaPeople Whitepaper, Solve the Leadership Mystery, we specifically discuss the way two companies created successful leadership profiles and linked leadership behavior with employee performance and employee engagement.

The Leadership Competency of "Managing Employee Performance" includes 7 important behaviors:

1. Consistently communicating and clarifying goals to direct employee efforts and goal accomplishment.
2. Initiating consistent, continuous conversations about performance and development.
3. Providing timely feedback to employees to help strengthen specific areas needed to perform their job effectively.
4. Addressing performance issues in a direct and timely manner.
5. Accurately assessing the needs, strengths and development opportunities of others.
6. Providing support, challenge and resources to facilitate effective performance and ongoing growth.
7. Recognizing achievements, successes and increased contribution through development.

Building the Competency of "Managing Employee Performance" in Your Leaders

Organizations can take steps to build the strength of this competency in their leaders in a variety of ways. These behaviors should be introduced and taught to all new managers to provide a set of foundational skills. Ongoing education and coaching will serve to reinforce and hone the skills of managers. Performance Management Software, like the solutions offered by viaPeople, can provide tools for managers to collaboratively set goals, track performance and feedback, and manage development plans. If training and support are provided, organizations should integrate these behaviors into the criteria upon which are leaders are evaluated as part of the performance management process. 

The best way that leaders can gain feedback on their skills in this area is through the receipt of feedback from their direct reports. Many organizations integrate Upward Feedback into the performance evaluation process to provide leaders with insight into their behaviors and the impact that they are having on the team. viaPeople’s Performance Management solution allows Upward Feedback to be easily integrated into the performance evaluation process so that leaders can be held accountable for the management of employee performance and development.

Learn more about how your organization can use the viaPeople performance management solution to help increase the capabilities of your leaders. Click below to take a quick tour.