Employee management: The key to an engaged workforce

Effective employee management ensures that day-to-day operations run smoothly while keeping workers engaged and productive. Great managers know how to identify and nurture the strengths of their team members, coaching them up and providing opportunities for professional development. But when leaders instead micromanage and undervalue employees, dissatisfaction, high turnover rates, low performance is the norm. That’s why giving your organization’s managers the training and tools they need to lead is so important.

Let’s dive into what top-tier employee management looks like and how your organization can use it to drive long-term success with capable, resilient teams that are ready to meet future challenges.

What is employee management?
Employee management is the process of guiding and supporting employees to ensure they perform well and contribute to company objectives. It’s a holistic discipline that involves everything from interpersonal communication , to effective delegation, to analyzing and acting on data . The best managers look for ways to maximize the potential of each employee by collaboratively defining goals that align with organizational priorities, establishing open channels for two-way feedback, and recognizing team members’ achievements .
Well-managed employees are motivated and have the confidence needed to explore new ways of doing things, boosting innovation across your organization. When employees receive regular recognition and support from leaders, they’re more likely to feel valued and stick with your company year after year, improving employee retention and saving the company significant recruitment costs. A reputation for great employee management can also set your company apart as an employer of choice and attract the very best talent.
5 steps for managing employees well
You can start to improve employee management at your company by implementing these five strategies.
1. Set clear expectations
Setting clear expectations is what every other part of employee management relies on. When employees understand their roles and responsibilities, they’re more likely to perform well and meet the targets leadership sets. Together with HR and other leaders, managers should define job duties and carefully communicate performance standards. Communicate these expectations during onboarding and reinforce them through regular check-ins where employees have the chance to provide real input, so the directives from the top actually make sense for every team member.
Employees who know what is expected of them can prioritize their tasks and manage their time more efficiently. Setting expectations fosters a culture of real accountability as well, keeping everyone on the same page regarding how and why leaders will assess performance. It even benefits employee wellness by preventing misunderstandings and reducing the stress that often accompanies ambiguity.
2. Provide regular feedback
Constructive feedback helps employees understand their strengths and how they can improve, accelerating their professional development. Managers should adopt a balanced approach, incorporating plenty of positive feedback and focusing on coaching employees to succeed, rather than emphasizing team members’ flaws and expecting them to resolve any issues without support. And make sure that managers don’t wait until the annual performance review to dump all their thoughts on their direct reports at once. All feedback should be timely, specific, and actionable , and employees should be given the chance to offer input of their own , so managers can better meet team members’ needs.

3. Analyze and act on employee input
Giving employees the opportunity to exercise their voice in one-on-one meetings is great. But it won’t give your managers a comprehensive, real-time window into their team’s desires and challenges. Many employees aren’t comfortable sharing all their honest thoughts with a manager personally – even if that manager has established a trusting relationship with them.
Your company must establish anonymous feedback channels where team members can express themselves without the fear of judgment or blowback from management. Look for an employee engagement platform with intelligent and responsive feedback tools – like pulse surveys and AI-powered chatbots – that provide managers with a regular steam of data on how their employees are feeling. The most feature-complete platforms also assist managers as they develop customized action plans that address the issues employee feedback reveals, ensuring that employees feel heard and managers can be responsive to the needs of each team member.
4. Encourage continuous learning and development
Providing team members with the chance to explore professional interests and advance their careers is one of the most satisfying aspects of employee management. When employees expand their skill sets and knowledge base, they can assume new responsibilities and discharge their current duties more effectively. A robust talent development program is one of the best ways to keep team members engaged throughout their time with your company. Managers are the ones who handle the critical tasks of identifying individual training needs, personalizing learning paths, and helping employees overcome any challenges they encounter along the way.
5. Recognize and reward achievements
Recognition from their manager is the most powerful, direct way to demonstrate that an employee’s hard work is valued. Beyond keeping team members engaged and happy, employee recognition reinforces the behavior that leads to business success, encouraging employees to continue performing at high levels.
It’s not realistic to expect managers to be aware of every time an employee does something that deserves recognition, however, or for them to consistently find individual, meaningful ways to reward team members – especially when so many of today’s work environments are hybrid or fully remote . Instead, your organization should empower management with an employee recognition and rewards platform. The best recognition solutions let managers join in on each instance of recognition that involves one of their team members, both by sharing genuine messages of thanks and by offering reward points that employees can redeem for merchandise and experiences that they actually want.
Make employee management exceptional at your company
Exceptional employee management is the key to a productive, motivated, and loyal workforce. The Achievers Employee Experience Platform is the fastest way to elevate employee management at your organization. With Achievers Recognize , managers can offer meaningful recognition to all their team members on a daily basis. Managers will also never be in the dark when it comes to employees’ needs and concerns, thanks to Achievers Listen . Achievers Listen includes the reporting and analytics features managers need to keep their finger on the pulse of employee sentiment and implement targeted action plans.
Try a free demo of the Achievers Employee Experience Platform today to start transforming your organization’s employee management practices for the better.