Employee engagement (EE) has become a focus area for many
companies particularly as they realize statistics consistently show that an
engaged workforce delivers far better results.
Many of those statistics also indicate a high level of disinterested or
even disengaged employees in many companies.
While the emphasis on engagement is a positive shift, many organizations
bury initiatives within Human Resources or Organizational Development rather
than treating it as a truly strategic issue.
A simple survey of companies shows many approach the topic as an HR issue. If a company doesn’t employ its HR as a
strategic asset, asking them to take on the EE task often becomes simply another
function instead of a strategic lever.
Another phenomena in the EE world is the proliferation of
surveys and other communication related initiatives. Some great work has evolved out of this focus
with a new suite of survey tools more specifically focused on evaluating
engagement as opposed to employee satisfaction.
However, if companies don’t have a strategic plan in place to capitalize
on the insight generated by surveys, even engaged employees can become disinterested
or disengaged. With the explosion of
consultants, tools, and books on the topic, EE is rapidly becoming another
specialty area that busy executives are being pressed to address.
EE at its core however is far simpler than all the buzz
makes it out to be. There are four
simple concepts that if applied consistently can dramatically increase the
level of engagement, all without elaborate surveys and tools. They are:
Vision, Valued, Visible, and Vital.
These four Vs are the core of
EE.
Leadership must first have a clear vision for the organization they lead. This isn’t about fancy vision statements
supported by posters and other rah-rah initiatives. What I’m referring to is a clear focus for
why the organization exists, what it stands for, and where it’s going. It creates a compelling force that employees
easily recognize and can embrace. In my
experience, when vision represents a true aspirational statement of intent, it
has the ability to generate creative momentum and alignment.
For employees to become engaged, they must feel valued not only for the work they do,
but their contributions to the company’s success. This starts with first-line managers
regularly noticing and recognizing individual employees. They must be reminded that the work they do
is important to the company regardless of what function they perform. This is particularly true for employees in
positions that may not be very visible to others. It’s far too easy for people to judge one
position more important than others and when that happens, the people in roles
not viewed with the same respect as others can become quickly disenchanted. Think the janitor or receptionist isn’t as
important as a program manager? Just try
running the organization without them or have a receptionist that greets
callers with disdain. Being valued is
one of the most essential human needs and managers that get this right often
find themselves surrounded by employees willing to go the extra mile because
they know leadership is grateful and they notice.
Employees also want to realize they are visible to the organization.
What this means is that they aren’t treated as back office or ‘behind
the scenes’ assets without faces. This
is particularly hard to do as organizations grow and people become lost in the
maze of organizational hierarchy or in the case of geographically dispersed
groups, become the forgotten outpost in Timbuktu. To make sure people remain visible,
management must maintain a strong two-way flow with managers regularly shining
a spotlight on their teams to senior management and leadership routinely taking
the time to meet directly with employee groups and individuals. Taking the time usually equates to ‘they care
about me’ and increases employee affinity to the company.
Lastly, employees want to know they are a vital part of the company’s
success. To do this, the company’s
strategy must be clearly traceable to the work of every individual so they can
associate their own efforts with the success of the entire business. This isn’t as difficult as it may sound. Translating strategy and aligning individual
work with company objectives can be as simple as connecting the dots between
decreased re-work on the factory floor to improved throughput and decreased
operating cost. The key is to localize
the message. For example, if John is
able to decrease re-work at his position by 5 units per day and if John’s
colleagues all did the same, they would be able to ship 500 more units per day
and generate an additional $10,000 profit per week. That ultimately means that the profit sharing
pool will be $480,000 larger this year.
When people can connect what they do in practical terms that not only benefit the company, but themselves as well, employees will begin to realize how
vital they are to the business.
I’m not suggesting you abandon surveys, fire consultants, or
shut down initiatives. If these activities
are generating value and improving engagement, then by all means keep using
them. What I am suggesting though is
that you not make EE into another elaborate set of projects and initiatives
supported by dedicated staffs, large budgets, and frequent management
reviews. EE is as simple as following
the four Vs on a consistent
basis. In the end it’s all about
Leadership 101; treat others as you want to be treated, ensure they feel
valued, are visible, and they know they are vital to the success of the
organization. Support them with a clear
and compelling vision and help them connect the dots between their individual
effort and the bigger picture. It’s as
simple as that.
Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy
execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive
leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth. Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and
connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+. Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.
You can find Duane’s blogs at:
