In managing employees “engagement” is important to the success of the company.  Even though the term is being bounced around freely, the truth is it’s a powerful way to manage teams.  What does “engagement” mean?    Employees that are fully present to the success of the company produce results.  Managers can keep the employees busy, though it doesn’t mean they are engaged.  So how do you get an employee fully present?

For an employee to be engaged, they need to be part of the decision making process.   Yes, initially it is absorbs alot of your time, though when a manager embraces employees’ contributions in the decision making process, they are more involved and hence more invested in the results.

I’m one of many informational sites that provide knowledge around managing employees.  I found these interesting and thought-provoking sites and thought they had something to offer you in your quest to being a great manager.

Extreme Leadership – Steve Farber
Steve is an expert of leadership development and his approach is to bring out the passion in your employees.  He is the author of “Radical Leap.”

Leading Blog…Build a Community of Leaders
Leadership is everybody’s business. It is for men, women and children. It is for families, business and communities. It is for you.   They do a good job in reviewing different books on leadership and change.

Employees have so little time to learn and they have to eat…so why not put the two together.    Lunchtime seminars are great way to share in-house knowledge as well as bring in external business tools.

Like any program, you have to market it….what’s the value to the employee to give up their lunch or to stop working. What’s the value to the company?

More and more employees eat while working.  You want to manage the employee’s effectiveness on the job.  This could be a nice break for them.   Visually I believe that we need a change and taking employees away from the PC for an hour gives such a break. 

Today’s business environment is based on ‘knowledge’ and creating a learning culture is critical for the continued growth of a business.  What does that mean in managing employees – you have to promote learning for yourself and your employees. 

Companies that support continuous learning are usually successful because training affects the bottom line of a business.

Since there is a shortage of talent with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet business demands, why not take your internal talent and grow them. Compensation is important but if you follow employee surveys, you will find that ‘learning’ is critical to an employee’s satisfaction and to the overall retention within a company.

You are the manager and that includes coaching your staff. Your primary focus is to find the best employees, train them, set standards and guide your employees to higher performance levels. It’s about reframing how you see your role as a manager from demanding to coaching performance levels. Coaching an employee includes knowing their skills, depth of job knowledge and the basic gifts or talent they bring to the table.

What is coaching? Coaching is a more enjoyable way to interact with your employees. Like a coach of a sport’s team, you want to encourage your team, ensure they know how to play, know the rules of the role, clarify any misconceptions, and be there to listen and support them as they grow in their job knowledge.