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Manager Impact on Engagement Calculator

See how many people's engagement is riding on managers who have not been given enough support.

Your numbers

Engagement at risk
 
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How much do managers really affect engagement?

A lot. Gallup's research attributes about 70% of the variance in team engagement to the manager. That means the difference between an engaged team and a disengaged one usually comes down to the person leading it, more than pay or policy.

Where Compono fits

Knowing 70% of engagement variance sits with managers is the easy part. Knowing which managers are struggling, and why, is where most employers go blind. Existing HR tools track who manages whom and who has completed training (the process risk). Compono Engage reads the behavioural signals that show where a team is disengaging (the people-insight risk), and Compono Develop builds the manager capability to fix it. Built on decades of psychometric research and trusted by mid-market and government employers across ANZ.

Let's fix this together

How it's calculated

Employees at risk = under-supported managers x average team size. The under-supported figure comes from the percentage you enter against your total managers, and multiplying by team size shows the reach. This is anchored on Gallup's finding that managers account for about 70% of the variance in team engagement, so the people reporting to a struggling manager carry most of that risk. Adjust the percentage to reflect what you know about your management layer.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of span of control in the HR Glossary.

Common questions

What counts as an under-supported manager?

Someone promoted for technical skill without coaching, or carrying a team with no training in feedback, development and difficult conversations. Many new managers get the title and the headcount but very little support in the parts that actually drive engagement.

What can I do about the employees this flags as at risk?

Start by backing the managers, since that is the lever with the most reach. Capability building, coaching and clearer expectations all help, and the gains compound across everyone reporting to that manager rather than fixing one person at a time.

Is team size or number of managers the bigger factor here?

Both matter, because the at-risk figure multiplies them together. A few under-supported managers with large teams can expose as many people as many managers with small teams. The percentage of managers who are under-supported is usually the lever you can move fastest.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the relevant authority in your country or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.