Responsive Management to engage employees

Do you work in a team where not everyone gives 100%? Are you that person? If you're feeling less committed than before, or even disengaged, it's time to find out why! Leaders, project directors and managers face this challenge all the time. How do you keep your team motivated and your staff enthusiastic about their work?

Today, many companies are struggling to keep their staff. Indeed, when an employee is no longer involved, he or she eventually makes the radical decision to leave. The aim is to avoid this. But above all, we need to understand the reasons for this, and implement new practices to help everyone find their place in the company, and facilitate adaptation to new tools and practices, as well as integration into the team.

1. Engaging employees

If we stay down to earth, we can immediately see the effects of employee disengagement on the company. Firstly, it has a considerable impact on overall productivity and performance. Then, of course, the cost of an employee to his or her employer can amount to more than €10,000 a year.

Finally, as in all fields, this kind of behavior can only be a brake on further innovation. All it takes is one disengaged person to create an unstable environment for other employees. This slows down production as a whole. The result: not all customer expectations are met, the quality of work is not maximized, and some people just don't feel comfortable in their team.

Who's to blame? What is the cause of some employees' indifference? We can't ignore classic factors such as lack of flexibility (and even this is improving all the time these days), lack of communication or listening skills, or work overload or, on the contrary, very little assignment of tasks. Some may feel ignored or not considered for their true potential and skills.

The need for recognition

The need for recognition is not just a philosophical concept, but is very real in the world of work. Forbes reports that 37% of employees say that recognition is essential to increase productivity. It's true that employees who are recognized for their work and skills have more self-confidence. 

Today, we need to realize the importance of putting human relations at the heart of the way we work. 

Read this article on how to build an agile team. 

But other questions arise, other factors come into play, and these are linked to the rapid advance of technologies and new tools. Let's also take into account the lack of training at this level (no explanation, unavailability of managers, under-qualified people staffed on unsuitable tasks, etc.).

What's expected of a manager

Does this mean that managers are also a little behind the curve, not taking their responsibilities as seriously as they should? Their lack of commitment logically and inevitably leads to the same thing in employees. Unfortunately, this is often linked to the fact that not everyone chooses to be a project manager or supervisor, which explains this slackness in their responsibilities. 

Employees expect their manager or project leader to share a clear vision of the company's objectives and current projects. They also want him or her to be available to train them and answer their questions. Easier said than done, managers are not robots! They, too, face various challenges and annoyances that slow down their drive to work efficiently. That's why it's imperative to find solutions so that the rest of our employees don't suffer. 

Employee commitment

According to Forbes, employee engagement in France has plummeted over the past ten years, but this trend has become even more pronounced with the health crisis. The boundary between professional and personal life is becoming increasingly thin. Many have felt at a loss. At the same time, this merging of the two aspects of our lives has its benefits. We can use our personal experiences at home and at work to better communicate with others.

The confinement and unstable situation in which the crisis has placed us, has played an important role in our ability to manage strong emotions and develop essential soft-skills in our homes, but also in the office. 

"From office to home, from home to office, we mobilize these life skills for the benefit, in particular, of that emotional work so essential in both spheres."

Forbes

That said, measures still need to be taken to help employees find their bearings in this context which is hardly conducive to personal development. 81% of employees say they are considering leaving their current job (Source: Smarp). And most managers realize that a new engagement strategy is needed. But only a quarter of them actually do it. Is it a problem of commitment on their part, or of resources?

2. Responsive Management

This term, which is still somewhat new, refers to a new, modern leadership style adapted to the changes taking place in our constantly evolving society. These changes are as much about the market as they are about employee expectations. Traditional business management styles are no longer applicable today, as technology continues to advance and its integration into processes needs to be understood by managers. Managers must constantly train themselves and their teams. What's needed is a new style of management, one that is capable of adapting to change. 

Responsive management is a way of rethinking the management of employees, whether through practice or psychological support. Managers need to find ways of constantly renewing themselves and adapting to the different needs of each individual (employees, customers, superiors, market, organization, environment, etc.). A committed manager can re-motivate disengaged employees. 

"The new practice management is an understanding of developments in technology and society. This leadership style focuses on dreams as well as strategic goals, on networks as well as hierarchies, on experimentation as well as planning. It's a leadership approach based on people and engagement, both with customers, shareholders, society and employees." Source : Wearebeem

Less rigid management

As we said earlier, what employees expect are less rigid ways of operating. This is why responsive management focuses on more collaborative and engaging approaches. It encourages everyone to participate in the life of the company, to get personally involved in projects and to become more autonomous. Like recognition, these methods require soft-skills on the part of leaders, and have the capacity to create a healthy work environment. 

Finally, it's worth pointing out that managers who put responsive management into practice are multi-skilled, and their task is not an easy one. They need to regularly rethink their approach in order to keep the boat sailing smoothly. Managers are constantly learning. They seek to understand how best to use technology to accelerate their organization's processes. They remain open to new possibilities, while retaining some aspects of traditional management or leadership. 

"Responsive Management aims to combine speed of execution, adaptability and efficiency, with a view to delivering solutions with high customer experience content."

Forbes

3. Use a tool for better collaboration

A disengaged manager will not seek to innovate, and may not even see that his staff are facing difficulties of their own. An involved manager is better able to see the obstacles to team commitment. And very often this is linked to a poor understanding of digital tools, or to poorly performing tools. 

Using an ERP can make all the difference. It encourages the sharing of information and gives everyone a clearer picture of planning, tasks and project progress. This type of software involves the whole team in reporting and time tracking.

Save time in project management

The aim here is to help everyone save time, and to enable the manager to manage the project more effectively. This is made all the easier if everyone takes responsibility for their tasks according to their role. By using a tool like this, executives, managers and team members get the data they need to work better. This continuous sharing of information puts everyone on an equal footing, so to speak, and it's this kind of mindset that encourages employees to be more committed.

Sharing data to improve collaboration

Many employees are used to having very limited access to company data. Today, confidentiality is not the same if you use resource planning software such as Stafiz. All information is visible to everyone. Of course, certain functions are reserved for managers and other roles, depending on the tasks assigned or the hierarchy. However, we can confirm that everyone has their place, and this radically changes the dynamics of a team working in project mode. Individuals have everything they need to make better decisions and invest 100% of their time and effort.

Another read: Better management of your teams thanks to a management tool resource planning

Find out more about resource planning in Stafiz