Intuitively, we know managers impact staff engagement. In fact, the Advisory Board's Survey Solutions team has quantified exactly how much managers impact engagement: Staff who rate their manager as excellent are five times more engaged than staff who rate their manager as poor.

Strong communication with staff is one of the hallmarks of an excellent manager. But communication can be an abstract concept, so we've identified seven specific conversations managers should have with employees throughout employees' careers.

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Resources for each of the 7 conversations

1. Behavioral-based interview with job candidate

Use the Behavioral-Based Interviewing Toolkit to build a custom set of BBI questions.

2. New hire check-in

Our check-in template includes questions to discuss in the first conversation with a new hire.

3. 30/60/90 day check-ins

Our 30/60/90 day check-in template includes questions to ask during these conversations.

4. Regular recognition

Assess your staff's personal preferences for recognition, so you can reward them in the ways that are most meaningful to them.

5. Performance review

This worksheet helps managers prepare a watertight outline ahead of time that will ensure they get their message across clearly and thoughtfully.

6. Goal-focused mid-year check-in

This template will help guide your mid-year check-in, and our full study offers more best practices to sustain staff interest in goals.

7. Phased retirement plan discussion

Check out our full study for more on how to navigate frontline staff retirements.