Measuring Team Engagement Levels

Attracting talent and increasing motivation at work.

Contagious commitment: that is the conclusion of the study “Catching Prudence’s Like Catching a Cold”, carried out by psychologists at the University of Florida. They observed that the people serving as subjects, who had been treated without regard for the behaviour of those they later met, would in turn behave similarly. This phenomenon is chiefly due to the tendency of human beings to imitate what surrounds them. “Man is the most imitative of animals,” Aristotle was already writing in the 4th century BC.

Without surprise, at work, a leader’s attitude colours their tone, style, wording, confidence, consistency: it brings people together and generates a positive atmosphere, analyses the researcher and lecturer Léon Gurtner, author of Speech, Presence, Charisma and Leadership (Slatkine). More clearly, an unstable, egocentric, manipulative manager creates a harmful atmosphere. His remarks are confirmed by a survey carried out by the consulting firm Rochus Mummert. Among the 1,000 employees surveyed, 45% considered management to be responsible for the company’s good (or bad) atmosphere, while 39% attributed this responsibility to the founding family or the owner.

Thus, there would be a real domino effect of emotions, qualities and values. When the top of the pyramid is benevolent, the positive attitude of senior managers spreads throughout middle management, who in turn show themselves benevolent towards their teams, who are then warm and attentive towards the company’s clients.

Not seeing oneself in a flattering light

How can more benevolence be introduced into companies? “The main obstacle is managers’ lack of self-awareness combined with ignorance of their role in collaborators’ benevolence and ability to engage,” replies Raphaël Cohen, author of the book Les leviers de l’engagement [The Levers of Engagement] (Eyrolles). For example, to be a manager, whether in communication, motivation or authoritarianism, is in reality to know others and oneself.

Yet a leader often receives from others more positive feedback than what is actually conveyed, regardless of what the other person perceives. This ability to distance oneself can only develop through listening to others. That obviously presupposes a capacity for self-questioning, for stepping back, and that comes at the cost of a significant effort. The game is worth the candle, however. A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey shows that engaged employees increase productivity and profits by up to 35%.

What engagement score?

To help managers gauge the level of engagement they can foster in their collaborators, Raphaël Cohen designed, with a group from MDA Formation, a questionnaire, one part of which is online, free of charge (www.rapymentor.com). Questions such as “Does your manager give you the desire to give the best of yourself?” or “Would you recommend your manager?” and “Would you continue to be led by your manager?” or “According to you, to what extent can your manager, and the qualities you attribute to them, attract talent and retain it?” make it possible, for example, to assess the impact of a manager on their teams, but also their legitimacy.

Once the score has been obtained, each executive receives an email with their engagement score, which is read by them alone. The objective? To allow a manager who wishes to improve their leadership to train or take coaching and ask other methods of support. “You could then look at yourself in the mirror by asking yourself in particular the following questions: in what am I a source of inspiration for my collaborators? Is the level of engagement maximised by what I inspire? What could I change to inspire and increase the level of commitment of my teams?”, Raphaël Cohen continues.

At the end of a trial period of one year, a new engagement score is measured. The results can then be communicated to the individual’s circle (hierarchy, HR, collaborators and colleagues), “and leaders are always free to act with this level of transparency. If an organisation does not think it appropriate to carry out this measure, it should question the importance it gives to the opinion of its collaborators. When a skill is not measured, it is because it is judged not to be important.”

For that matter, other professions have customer ratings for their services. TripAdvisor, in the hospitality sector, but also RateMyProfessor.com, which lists the evaluations of 1.7 million teachers by their students, are striking examples. “Your collaborators are also your clients. It is therefore inconceivable not to publish managers’ scores. Do what is necessary to obtain good ones!”

The virtuous management influencer

For Bilan, the Hôtel Le M, in Megève, agreed to become the first hotel to measure the level of engagement that one of its managers obtains from their teams. The members of management, but also four key services (restaurant, housekeeping, spa, reception/concierge/driver) are particularly encouraged to take part in the exercise. The management first wanted to evaluate these aspects in the light of its application for the Festival’s prize, which also reveals room for possible progress. The establishment does not have, in particular, a governance charter defining the values and fundamental principles that inspire and guide employees across the various departments.

“As for the engagement score, they were convinced that being able to know the usefulness of this measure to achieve better results… it is clear that the quality of the relationship between a manager and their collaborator is a factor in the latter’s productivity and attachment to the company,” analyses one manager.

Unsurprisingly, among the executives who obtained a very high engagement score, satisfaction was at the forefront. “It feels good to know that our management style is perceived by our teams as fair and benevolent, and this enthusiasm from another manager. We all need psychological reinforcement… And adapting so that the leader perceives the collaborator through their qualities and professional expertise will inspire a desire for excellence and an urge to surpass oneself. Companies that use ranking in evaluations and who award bonuses based on this generate generally lower motivation and performance. Conversely, a manager praised by their teams experiences, if the testimonies are to be believed, a gain in energy and motivation.”

As for those with average to low engagement scores, they were received with philosophy and a genuine desire for continuous improvement. “The result of this test was a bit of an electric shock and, of course, a questioning of ourselves. We analysed the manager. Although we have put in place a management support scheme, we are still only at the beginning and our speech was perhaps not, in the first moments, all that reassuring. We wanted to hear everyone out first and then let people know what is planned,” says one executive. “From one score to another, we have the will to improve ourselves” and to conclude: “We have therefore decided to step up our efforts to generate greater commitment from our teams and management support or even serious coaching may be necessary.”

Speech, Presence, Charisma and Leadership by Léon Gurtner, Slatkine Editions. The Levers of Engagement by Raphaël Cohen, Eyrolles Editions.