How to use the Engagement by manager report

The Engagement by manager report helps you understand how manager behaviour influences engagement outcomes across your organization. It compares key engagement metrics for each manager and their direct reports, making it easier to identify managers whose teams are highly engaged, uncover opportunities for coaching or enablement, and understand how leadership behaviours may be influencing recognition and participation.

Use this report alongside the Engagement summary report to investigate organization-wide trends, and the Engagement by team report to compare engagement across organizational groups. Together, these reports help you move from high-level insights to team and manager-level analysis.

Participation, Reach, and Activation metrics are calculated daily. All other report data is available in real time. Prior to June 29, 2026, Participation, Reach, and Activation metrics were calculated weekly on Mondays, so historical results for these metrics may reflect weekly reporting intervals.

• Identifying managers whose teams may benefit from additional coaching or support
• Comparing engagement outcomes across managers
• Measuring the impact of leadership or engagement initiatives
• Reviewing recognition activity within managers’ direct-report teams
• Exporting manager-level engagement data for leadership reporting

Accessing the Report

The Engagement by manager report is available to:

• Global Admins
• Users who have been granted permission to view the report

Filtering results

Use filters to focus your analysis on specific managers or organizational groups:

• Focus on specific leaders or organizational groups.
• Compare managers leading similar employee populations.
• Narrow the report before sorting by engagement metrics.

Note: Team belonging, manager relationships, and direct report counts always reflect your organization’s current structure, regardless of the selected reporting period.

Understanding the Report

Manager

Displays the manager’s name and email address.

Country

Displays the manager’s primary Country.

Department

Displays the manager’s primary Department.

Location

Displays the manager’s primary Location.

If a manager belongs to multiple Countries, Departments, or Locations, only their primary assignment is displayed.

Direct reports

Displays the number of users who currently report directly to the manager.

Direct reports recognized

Shows the percentage and count of direct reports who received at least one recognition message from their manager during the selected reporting period.

Direct reports recognized = recognized direct reports / total direct reports × 100

Average recognition sent per direct report

Displays the average number of recognition messages sent by the manager per direct report.

Average recognition sent per direct report = total recognition messages sent by the manager / total direct reports

Direct reports activated

Shows the percentage of direct reports who logged into Kudos at least once.

Direct reports activated = activated direct reports / total direct reports × 100

Direct reports participating

Shows the percentage of direct reports who completed at least one supported engagement activity.

Direct reports participating = participating direct reports / activated direct reports × 100

Direct reports sending recognition

Shows the percentage of direct reports who sent at least one recognition message during the selected reporting period.

Direct reports sending recognition = direct reports sending recognition / activated direct reports × 100

Comparing and sorting manager performance

Use the report to compare engagement outcomes across managers and identify leaders whose teams may benefit from additional coaching or support.

Sorting engagement metrics can help uncover patterns across the organization.

For example:

• Lower percentages of direct reports recognized may indicate recognition is not reaching employees broadly.
• Lower activation rates may suggest adoption challenges within a manager’s team.
• Lower participation rates may indicate opportunities to strengthen engagement habits.
• Significant differences between managers may highlight opportunities to share successful leadership practices.

Exporting Report Data

You can export report data for additional analysis or leadership reporting.

To export report data:

1. Apply any desired filters and reporting period.
2. Click Download.
3. Select Download as Excel (.xlsx).

The Excel export contains the data displayed within the report and includes additional columns that are not shown in the in-app view.

These include:

• Employee ID
• Manager (the manager's manager)

• Compare managers within the same organizational group to identify differences in engagement outcomes.
• Review Direct reports recognized, Participation, and Activation together to better understand where coaching or enablement may be needed.
• Sort engagement metrics to identify managers with strong engagement practices that can be shared across the organization.
• Team belonging, manager relationships, and direct report counts always reflect your organization’s current structure.

Q: Who can access the Engagement by manager report?
A: The report is available to Global Admins and users who have been granted permission to view it.

Q: Can I compare managers within a specific department or location?
A: Yes. Apply team filters to narrow the report before comparing or sorting managers.

Q: Why do manager details stay the same when I change the reporting period?
A: Team belonging, manager relationships, and direct report counts always reflect your organization’s current structure.

Q: Can I sort managers by engagement metrics?
A: Yes. You can sort by any available engagement metric or organizational attribute. Only one sort can be applied at a time.

Q: Can I export the report?
A: Yes. Reports can be downloaded as Excel (.xlsx).

Problem: A manager isn’t displayed

• Verify the applied team and manager filters.
• Confirm the manager currently has at least one direct report.
• Check that the manager belongs to the selected organizational group.

Problem: Results don’t match the expected reporting period

• Verify the selected reporting period.
• Remember that team belonging and manager relationships always reflect your organization’s current structure.
• Participation, Reach, and Activation metrics refresh every 24 hours.

Problem: Exported data doesn’t match the report

• Confirm filters were applied before exporting.
• Verify the selected reporting period.
• Generate a new export after changing filters or sorting.

Need help interpreting your data? Reach out to Support or your Customer Success Manager.