Managers, Stop Asking Your Employees 'How are you?' - Ask These Questions Instead

Create a healthy culture.

Build employee loyalty. 

Engage. Engage. Engage. 

Ever since the start of the Great Resignation and the end of high retention rates, these tasks have been chanted at managers and team leads over and over.

Managers play a pivotal role in driving team productivity. It's not just about setting goals, managing workflows, or overseeing projects; it's also about building strong connections with team members. The statistics prove the point:

• According to Gallup, employees who feel engaged and have a strong connection with their managers are 59% less likely to look for a new job. Furthermore, organizations with highly engaged employees see a 21% increase in profitability.

• A survey by TINYpulse revealed that 91% of employees believe that their manager can have a significant impact on their overall job satisfaction.

• A study by the Harvard Business Review found that high-quality relationships with managers can increase employee performance by up to 56%.

• Research by LinkedIn found that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. 

It's also clear that regular and meaningful check-ins with team members are essential for increasing employee engagement. However, the typical exchange often goes something like this:

Manager: "How are you?"

Employee: "Good."

Let’s face it. This conversation isn’t going anywhere in terms of employee engagement.

So, how can you conduct quick and meaningful check-ins?

It all starts with scraping the ‘How are you’s’

Effective check-ins are not just a box to tick off a manager's to-do list; they are an investment in the team's well-being, growth, and, ultimately, productivity. By asking specific questions and actively listening, managers can create a work environment where employees feel valued, motivated, and empowered.

A powerful approach to asking meaningful, targeted questions that lead to more insightful answers is by using personal user manuals. These manuals, including our free digital version, are valuable resources for checking in with your employees and facilitating check-in exercises.

At LLUNA, we kick off meetings with a quick check-in by sharing our current work/life mindset and superpower from our personal user manuals. This helps us gauge the team's overall mindset and understand how each person is feeling. For example, if someone mentions feeling like a juggler, it opens the door for a more in-depth conversation: "What are you currently juggling? Oh, your mother-in-law just moved in with you, and you're juggling that and the new project you're about to kick off? How can I better support you during this time?"

This approach is far more effective than the typical "How are you?" "Fine."

Managers, let's retire the generic statement and start asking the right questions to truly know your employees. Watch your team flourish as a result.

Create personal user manuals for your team for free here.

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