In this episode we talked with author and thought leader Linda Holbeche and discussed the top 10 most important things that a leader needs to do to improve employee engagement.
Linda’s career history combines extensive experience and expertise in management and organisational development with a strong track record in leading-edge research.
Linda is co-Director of The Holbeche Partnership (THP), a research-based development consultancy. She is also the author of over 50 research reports and more than 100 articles and since 2000 has been consistently judged an influential thought and practice leader by HR Magazine and Personnel Today.
Linda is the author of a number of books including Engaged: How To Unleash Your Organization’s Potential Through Employee Engagement.
Join us as we discuss with Linda how to improve employee engagement and how specifically to do so in “the new normal.” Learn how organizations and leaders can address the stresses that come from addressing working from home as well as hybrid work. Hear real life stories of how Linda has guided organizations on creating employee engagement and trust among employees and managers alike.
Here is a link to Linda’s book:
Engaged: How To Unleash Your Organization’s Potential Through Employee Engagement
Here is a link if you want to Connect With Linda on LinkedIn:
Linda’s LinkedIn Profile
Linda’s Top 10
1. The Importance Of Connection
“It’s important to recognize that engagement has to do with relationships. It’s a relationship between a person and their job as well as a person and the organization. To build that relationship there has to be some kind of connection to what that person is about, and their day job.” -Linda Holbeche
2. Shifting The Emphasis On Voice
“If people are listened to, even if their ideas are not the ones that finally get taken onboard, they are more likely to go along with what is decided because they have been respected.” – Linda Holbeche
3. Make Employees Partners In Designing How Work Gets Done
“I counsel against the notion that leaders have the absolute solution to how to move forward.” – Linda Holbeche
4. Supporting People As Individuals
“Managers need to be able to show empathy and provide the kind of support that people might need. Not everybody, not all the time, but to understand what each person needs.” – Linda Holbeche
5. Scoping Out A Path Forward For Team Members
“For us, scope is people having the freedom to develop themselves in the way they want to develop themselves in their career and having the opportunities to do so.” – Linda Holbeche
6. Helping People Get Into Roles Where They Can Make The Most Out Of Their Inherent Talents
“Most people like to be in a job where they can make their own decisions, so there is a self-determination to it.” – Linda Holbeche
7. Make Time In The Office Count
“There can be real merit in people spending short periods of time in the office with things that are done much better face-to-face. Yes, you can have remote team meetings, etc. But there are other times where meetings are better done face-to-face.” – Linda Holbeche
8. Create Career Paths
“I think this notion of career pathing, which is not a technical process exactly… but I think it’s a useful one for management as well as employees to work with HR to create maps of job types and opportunities that can become a living system that people can tap into and see where opportunities may come up.” – Linda Holbeche
9. Act On Feedback And Reward Fairly
“If you are going to do something that leads to focused action… you can hold large scale engagement activities and really have people both spurred into action as well as guided through structured conversation. And as a result of that everyone is clear on what should be acted on.” – Linda Holbeche
10. Support Line Managers
“Supporting line managers is about finding the best line managers and getting them informally acting as peer managers to those who aren’t performing as well.” – Linda Holbeche
