The Manager Effect: The Most Overlooked Lever in Employee Experience

The Best Employee Experience Strategy Starts One Level Down

Organizations invest heavily in engagement initiatives, recognition platforms, and culture programs. Yet for most employees, none of that matters more than one relationship: the one they have with their direct manager.

Managers shape how people feel about their work, their team, and your organization every single day. But when it comes to enabling them to do that well, most companies are leaving an enormous amount on the table.

This session examines what the research says about manager impact, where the gaps are widest, and what organizations can do to turn their managers into a genuine competitive advantage.

What You Will Discover:

• What the data reveals about manager impact compared to company-wide engagement and recognition programs
• Why so many managers struggle with recognition and feedback, even when they care about their teams
• The gap between what organizations expect from managers and the support they actually provide
• Practical steps to build manager capability and create conditions where better behaviors can take hold

Why This Matters Now

Only 22% of employees say they receive the right amount of recognition for the work they do. That number has not moved in years. Meanwhile, managers are being asked to lead more complex, distributed teams with less training and more on their plates than ever before.

Recognition is a skill that has to be taught and practiced. And as AI continues to reshape how work gets done, the human side of management — listening, connecting, acknowledging — becomes more important, not less. Managers who know how to build trust and deliver specific, timely feedback are the ones whose teams stay, perform, and want to show up.

Closing the manager enablement gap is the difference between programs that look good on paper and ones that change how people feel about coming to work.

Your Presenters

Michelle Coussens, CEO, Plan B Consulting Services LLC

Michelle is a sought-after speaker and business strategist who advises organizations on talent management, business strategy, and operational effectiveness. She has a strong track record of building new programs, driving efficiency, and improving long-term performance through innovation and disciplined execution. Michelle has worked across industries including consulting, education, and nonprofit organizations, and delivers highly rated sessions that provide practical value to businesses of all sizes.

Theresa Harkins-Schulz, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience and Products, Inspirus

Theresa brings deep experience leading recognition programs and driving engagement at Fortune 500 organizations. A recognized pioneer in employee recognition, she led the development of the award-winning recognition program at Delta Air Lines and served as Past President and Educational Board Chair for Recognition Professionals International, where she created the Certified Recognition Professional curriculum. She holds SPHR, CCP, and CRP designations and a degree in Public Health Education from Indiana University Bloomington, and applies that expertise to translate business needs into actionable strategies that create lasting organizational impact.

Who Should Attend

• HR and people leaders designing or evaluating employee experience programs
• Talent and organizational development professionals focused on manager effectiveness
• Culture and engagement teams looking to improve program adoption and impact
• Senior leaders who set expectations for how managers show up
• Anyone who suspects their managers want to do better but are not sure how to help them get there

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