Optimizing the Frontline Manager Experience: A Strategic Lever for Employee Retention and Performance

Frontline managers play a pivotal role in shaping employee engagement and driving organizational success. According to Gallup, 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager. Engaged teams are more productive and contribute positively to business outcomes. Moreover, great team leaders can increase job satisfaction threefold and double retention rates. Yet, despite their crucial role, frontline managers face numerous challenges, leading to high levels of dissatisfaction and burnout. In fact, 47% of agents report being unhappy with their managers, and managers themselves experience burnout at higher rates than their teams.

In our recent webinar, “Optimizing the Frontline Manager Experience: A Strategic Lever for Employee Retention and Performance,” hosted in collaboration with BAI, industry leaders Jim McHugh, Senior Director of Strategic Alignment and Employee Development, and Michelle Goldsberry, Senior Business Integration Specialist at Purpose Financial, shared insights on how their organization leverages technology—especially Centrical—to transform the frontline manager experience and improve both employee retention and performance.

Watch Now: Optimizing the Frontline Manager Experience: A Strategic lever for Employee Retention and Performance

Integrating Gamified Learning and Performance Management

Purpose Financial uses Centrical across multiple departments, as Jim McHugh explained: “We have three primary teams using Centrical: our branch operations, which span 22 states; our call center operations; and our collections teams. Each of these teams has specific performance metrics tied to their objectives and incentives. Centrical has given us the tools to align performance with those goals across all departments.”

Their partnership with Centrical demonstrates how gamification can revolutionize learning and performance management for frontline managers:

• Enhanced Engagement: By introducing game-like elements, employees become more motivated and engaged in their tasks. Michelle highlighted, “We’ve seen an increase in friendly competition across all of our teams. They love seeing where they rank on the leaderboard, which has driven higher engagement and retention.”
  
• Individual Performance Metrics: Managers gain visibility into individual performance, enabling personalized coaching and recognition. Jim added, “It gave our leaders visibility into their team’s performance metrics, which helped personalize coaching for those falling behind and recognition for those excelling.”
  
• Behavioral Changes: The focus shifts from coaching and rewarding a branch as a whole to individualized feedback, fostering a culture of personal accountability and growth. Michelle added, “One of the biggest behavioral changes we’ve seen is managers moving from coaching entire branches to focusing on individual contributions, which has increased both accountability and engagement.”

Key Results and Takeaways

The integration of gamified performance management led to notable improvements:

• Increased Productivity: Highly engaged employees outperformed their peers, leading to notable performance improvements across various teams and departments. Employees who logged into Centrical more frequently outperformed their peers by
  • 160% for Individual New Money
  • 134% for Calls Handled
  • 71% for Average Talk Time
  • 106% for Overall Productivity
    
• Stronger Manager-Employee Relationships: Managers gained deeper insights into team dynamics, enabling more effective coaching and meaningful support.

Conclusion

Investing in the frontline manager experience is essential for boosting employee engagement and performance. By adopting innovative approaches like gamification and real-time performance tracking, organizations can empower their frontline managers, leading to a more motivated workforce and improved business outcomes.