109 How big is the employee engagement prob- lem? A recent study by the Gallup Organi- zation indicates that less than one third of employees are engaged at any given time. That’s shocking, and the number has been consistent since the year 2000 when Gallup first studied this. So, what can companies do to assure a high-level of employment engagement? Hire great managers. Company initiatives are nice, but employee engagement starts one manager at time. Highly talented and moti- vated managers find ways to create employ- ee engagement naturally. Here is how great managers cultivate employee engagement among their people: • They establish and maintain strong rela- tionships with their direct reports. There is a lot of lore in business that managers should not get too close to their people because they might lose their objectivi- ty, or they might have to discipline them someday. Do we advise parents they shouldn’t get too close to their children because they might lose their objectivity or have to discipline them someday? Silly. Great managers get to know their people as humans and know a lot about what is going on their lives, not just the work- place. They take a genuine interest in the people who report to them and help them relate what they do at work each day to achieving their personal life goals. None of this, by the way, impedes their ability to be objective. Objectivity and a close re- lationship are independent variables. Exit surveys indicate the number one reason people leave a company is their manager didn’t care about them, not money.