A few years ago, I had the privilege to hire one of the best managers I have worked with to date. The department he was entering was incredibly challenging to lead. Most staff were entry level, the shift patterns were unkind, and the attrition and sick leave rates were through the roof. No one wanted to work in this area of the business and keeping a manager there was difficult. It was an HR nightmare. Within 12 months in the role, this new manager turned the department around. Suddenly staff were asking to report to him, sick leave was more than halved, and attrition rates plummeted. In addition to this, productivity increased in his area of work and engagements scores for his staff were higher than any other department. 

How did he do it? Simply put - he was a good leader. He took time to communicate with his people, he explained “the why” every chance he could, and he treated his people as equals. That didn’t mean he was a pushover. In fact, he was very clear on his expectations, and he was quick to follow a process when it was required – making my job easier. He was however compassionate, listened to his staff and attempted to put out fires as soon as they arose. I talked to him once about development into a higher position, but he wasn’t interested. He liked middle management and the influence he had to impact the business. 

I would argue that your middle managers are one of the most important roles that exist in any organisation. A good middle manager has the biggest influence on your internal company culture and determines how effectively work is outputted.  If you have limited time and resources to grow and develop people, then I believe that this is the layer of development you should be focusing on.

Investing in good middle managers makes sense. Its important to recognise their value and treat them well. Its also important to understand that these roles are some of the hardest in the organisation. There is pressure coming from multiple sides and if you don’t ensure that they have the tools and the resources that they need to manage well, eventually that pressure may become too much. 

For a middle manager to lead effectively they need time with their people. One research done in the states in 2014 has indicated that the optimum time a manager should spend with their individual report is 6 hours a week per person.  This research showed a 29% increase in employee engagement to their work. From my experience, most managers would struggle to find 6 hours a week per individual report, but the reality is that many managers don’t even have the time to spend 20 minutes one on one per person. The consequences of this can be detrimental and often leads to staff issues, low morale, and poor output. While managers often don’t have time to spend with people, they also can’t afford to not spend their time with them.   

When hiring a middle manager, its important that you don’t set them up for failure. Even the best leader is not a superhero. It’s important that you help to analyse how much time a leader can devote to their team while having to complete their own work. The more people that report to them, then the less time they will have to spend on projects or administrative tasks. If they are rewarded more for the project work, then they will likely prioritise this over time spent with people and your organisation will suffer. Take the time to talk to your middle managers and make sure that they have the tools they need to succeed. Invest in a training plan to ensure that they know how to lead effectively and can prioritise the right things. They are the key to creating a great Employee Experience in your organisation.