How to select managers who can engage staff

Employee engagement is a ‘hot’ HR topic with plenty of articles on what it is, what drives it and how you measure it.

The APSC [http://www.apsc.gov.au/stateoftheservice/0809/index.html State of the Service 2008-09 Report] devotes a chapter to Employee Engagement. Employee engagement is a term used to refer to "how much an employee supports the purpose and values of an organisation and demonstrates that commitment through their behaviour and attitudes." It means being satisfied or motivated, having a sense of personal attachment to their job and organisation such that they go the extra mile in performing their work.

The APSC Employee Survey was used to identify 14 workplace factors that are strong drivers of engagement. These factors are:

• Goal Clarity
• Team Performance and Relationships
• Immediate manager
• Intrinsic Rewards
• Autonomy/Empowerment
• Work-Life Balance
• Performance Feedback/Accountability
• Learning and Development
• Job-Search Match
• Agency Culture
• Remuneration
• Recognition and Feeling Valued
• Senior Leaders
• Career progression.

This information gives selection panels a basis on which to identify potential managers who will support and drive staff engagement. They will be the managers who give staff reasons to believe in the organisation, recognise their contribution, deal effectively with bad experiences (such as harassment and poor performance), develop staff and motivate staff to go the extra mile.

Any panel selecting staff with supervisory, team leadership or management responsibilities should be assessing their capacity to engage staff. At interview questions should be asked to gauge:

How well a person understands the drivers of staff engagement.

What steps they take to:

• Recognise staff achievements.
• Involve staff in decision-making.
• Ensure access to flexible working arrangements.
• Help staff to understand the bigger picture.
• Motivate staff when things go wrong.
• Give constructive feedback.
• Model professionalism.
• Develop staff capabilities.

How they conduct a career management conversation.

What experience they have with handling under-performance and harassment and other forms of unacceptable behaviour.

What evidence they can offer to show of self-awareness, such as the impact of their behaviour on others.

Whether they can articulate what contribution their team or unit makes to the bigger picture, and how they make a difference.

If the new person is going to lead a new team or lead a demoralised or under-performing team, they had better have some skills in staff engagement. If the team is performing well then you certainly don’t want to bring in someone who is going to undermine this situation.

Astute organisations would mandate in their retention strategy that selection panels assess managers’ staff engagement capabilities. Doing so would be part of a range of tactics to support organisational culture, take seriously the ‘staff are our most valuable asset’ rhetoric, and increase the chances of staff being satisfied, motivated and productive.

Other useful articles:

• Make day one memorable for new staff
• If you're higher up you're intimidating

Dr Ann Villiers, learning guide, professional speaker and author, is Australia's only Mental Nutritionist® specialising in mind and language practices that help people build flexible thinking, confident speaking and quality connections with people. Visit www.mentalnutrition.com to learn more about Mental Nutrition. Visit www.selectioncriteria.com.au for free resources unlocking the mysteries of public service jobs.