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Performance Management

Published June 2008

Three Ways to Build Successful Manager-Employee Relationships

  Chris Musselwhite

The manager-employee relationship has a critical impact on performance. So why do companies often neglect to emphasize or provide training to help managers build this important connection?

Exit-interview research shows the No. 1 reason people leave their jobs is their managers. In fact, the only relationship that may be more important to an organization than the company-customer relationship is the manager-employee relationship. Yet, this all-important relationship frequently is left out of the equation when it comes to performance management and talent retention strategies.

Smart companies know if managers are trained and charged with responsibility for the success of their reports, departmental and organizational performance will take care of itself. Companies that don't drive home the importance of this relationship to frontline managers, or provide the necessary training, will eventually pay the price via the loss of good employees and decreases in performance that result from employee dissatisfaction.

There are three leadership practices essential for high-performing teams. Since high-performing teams are comprised of high-performing individuals, this model works equally well to show managers how to strengthen the manager-employee relationship and keep employee satisfaction high.

No. 1: Promote Understanding of Shared Goals and Task Relevance

For employees to work together effectively, they must understand group and individual goals. When this understanding is poor, work inefficiencies, lower work quality and low employee morale often are the result.

Lack of goal clarity often is misidentified as an individual performance issue. This leads to blame, conflict and increased turnover by frustrated employees who are working hard but not getting the results the organization expects. Often, organizations will address this through personnel changes, but because they are addressing a symptom and not the cause, the problems will inevitably resurface.

When employees understand shared goals, talent managers can cultivate an atmosphere focused on problem solving, removing performance barriers and delivering outcomes. This eliminates finger-pointing because when everyone understands the relevance of everyone else's contributions, employees have increased awareness of their interdependencies and thus have more respect for one another.

As a result, employees feel more valued and find their work more motivating, which leads to a greater commitment to the company, better individual contributions and higher employee satisfaction. This creates opportunities for increased collaboration and greater efficiencies, leading to improved team and organizational performance.

Effective managers promote better understanding of purpose by communicating the organization's mission, values and strategic objectives. To carry this good communication full circle, the effective manager also provides opportunities for employees to give feedback on this information and then takes it back to top management.

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