“V” is for Employee Engagement

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:

www.mindfulperspectives.blogspot.com

www.connect2action.blogspot.com