Engaging Employees
How does one measure a concept? According to Webster, "a concept is a thought or opinion, a general notion or idea, especially one formed by generalization from particular examples." Measuring a concept can be achieved by polling a broad sampling of "particular examples" and analyzing the results. All business operates on numbers - earnings, stock prices, capital gains, losses, sales performance and overhead to name a few. Without a form of measurement, it can be difficult to determine how a company is performing. There would be no basis to judge if the company is doing better or worse; measuring how engaged employees are is no different.
Employee Engagement is a concept that is generally viewed as managing the discretionary efforts of a team. By increasing the level of commitment of each employee, the likelihood that they will feel invested in their jobs will increase. When an employee is engaged to her/his job they will act in a way that furthers their organization's interests. An engaged employee is a person who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about her/his work.
An accounting department probably doesn't have a line item for human assets, even though people may have heard from senior management that "the employees of the company are our largest asset." How does an organization take advantage of the "human capital" investment? There is a perceived dichotomy in creating metrics to measure how engaged an employee may be; the challenge to employers is to look beyond the numbers and realize that an investment in an idea can produce a tangible result.
Measuring Engagement
The first challenge is to measure employee engagement. What is the measurement standard? Who should measure? Who should get the results of measurement? Fortunately, The Gallup Organization (www.gallup.com) has conducted a large amount of empirical research on employee engagement. They have studied the responses of 3 million employees who have participated in a 12-question assessment of employee engagement levels and have been able to delineate between engaged, not engaged and actively disengaged employees.
According to the "Q12 Gallup Poll", 29% of the workforce in the U.S. is considered engaged in their jobs, 55% is not engaged and 16% is actively disengaged. When company executives are asked what they believe the percent of their "engaged workforce" is, most will range considerably higher than just 29%. The reality is if more than 29% of your workforce is engaged in their jobs, the company mission, and their daily responsibilities, your organization is very likely the most productive in its class! With these statistics in hand, an organization can measure whether it is performing above or below average compared to other companies in the U.S.. Research shows that a well managed workforce is more profitable, more productive and displays a higher degree of loyalty.
"Managing" Solutions
It can be difficult to get a clear understanding of how seemingly small nuances to employee management can have such a large impact on a company. Managers play a key role in the success of the organization. Gallup research points out that while people join companies, they leave due to managers and supervisors. Consider the following elements of the Q12 poll and how closely related they are to manager performance:
- I know what is expected of me at work.
- I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
- At work I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
- My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
- There is someone at work who encourages my development.
There are principles a manager can utilize to impact the level of engagement in the company. They can begin with the idea that employee performance is directly related to skills, knowledge and talent. Insight tells us that skills and knowledge are learned traits whereas talent is selected through the hiring process. While every employee has talent, the managerial challenge is to effectively identify that talent when assembling a team.
Use Your Strengths
When a manager identifies employee strengths, the employee and the manager are ready to build a foundation to be engaged in the job. When an employee is aware of her/his own strength, it becomes an asset in setting professional and personal expectations. Consider this, when there is effective collaboration within the workforce to align employees with jobs and responsibilities, the first step is being taken towards engaging employees. People will feel more positive about their success and are more likely to actually succeed when their responsibilities align with their strengths. Too often employees are misaligned with their individual talents and, in turn, they cannot say they have an opportunity to "do what they do best" every day.
According to Gallup, it took "25 years and more than a million employee interviews" to come to the central factor of impacting employee engagement and, through measured impact, the performance of organizations. Management - not pay, benefits, perks or an energetic leader - was the critical player in building a strong workforce. This "ideal manager" is more than a concept, it is an actual person.
It Starts With Recruiting
Traditional recruiting strategies are captured in the typical employment ad using phrases such as "minimum bachelor degree required and 5 years of experience…," etc. Many trends are now suggesting that this strategy is ineffective and irrelevant. A more common statement is, "bachelor degree and/or equivalent years of industry experience." Employers are embracing the idea that they are seeking the ideal person for the job, not just a statistical match to the job requirements.
The recruiting and selection of talent still starts with the search for a basic skill set and knowledge level. These basic factors can help ensure that the time invested in recruiting has the potential to discover great managers. The analysis should not stop at the statistical match. It has been established that the fit between the talents and skills of the manager and the specific position is important to engage employees, both at the management level and the employee level. Beyond simply conducting an interview the company may also administer knowledge and skill assessments. A manager should have an idea of who is the right person in addition to what are the required skills before they start the selection process.
Bring It Full Circle
A final level of engagement is the concept of the adult learner. What are the elements of a learning system that are required to engage an adult learner? Data suggests that learners retain only about 10% of what they see and about 20% of what they hear. In strong contrast, 80% of learners retain what they actually use and do in real life.
When a company finds an effective manager who builds an ideal team of professionals, all being utilized for their strengths, everyone is engaged at work and can easily remark that when they show up to work, "they simply do what they already do best." When the department is required to adapt to new challenges, the stage is now set for everyone to participate as an engaged learner. Engaged employees become engaged learners in the context of real problems that force them to acquire knowledge through actual application of know-how in their own work setting.
It is difficult to see exactly how a concept such as engaging employees to their jobs can produce quantitative results. The process is ever evolving and constantly changing and it begins by positioning the right individuals in positions of management. The end result will become clear when a company analyzes the chain reaction that can occur. An effective manager will develop an engaged team and, in-turn, they will adapt to the ever-changing demands of the workplace by enhancing their existing know-how of what they already do best.
For more information on the Q12 Gallup poll, please visit http://www.gallup.com
