The Power of Employee Engagement - Part 2

In the last article on employee engagement, we talked about what engagement is, the relationship between employee engagement, high performance, and company growth, and the cost of low employee engagement levels.

In this article, I want to focus on what a manager can and needs to do to raise levels of engagement. But first, let's build a little on the definition of Employee Engagement ...

We stated in the last article that employee engagement is "the extent to which employees put discretionary effort into their work, in the form of extra time, energy and brainpower". A good definition to be sure but there's more to it than that.

Employee engagement can be broken down into two areas - the first being emotional and the second, rational. Within these we can define 9 core statements that characterize engagement.

The 9 Core Statements of Engaged Employees

Emotional

1. I would recommend my company to a friend as a good place to work.
2. My company inspires me to do my best work.
3. I am proud to tell others I work for my company.
4. My job provides me with a sense of personal accomplishment.
5. I really care about the future of my company.

Rational

1. I understand how my unit contributes to the success of my company.
2. I understand how my role is related to my company's overall goals, objectives, and direction.
3. I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond what is normally expected to help my company succeed.
4. I am personally motivated to help my company be successful.

Obviously, an employee who would make these statements is highly engaged, but our topic today is how to increase the level of engagement in those employees who would not make these statements.

Managers Make The Difference

As was concluded in part 1, the most critical element to employee engagement is the front-line manager.

1. Managers need to discover and develop employees' talents if they want to keep them engaged.
2. Employees must have a strong relationship with, and clear communication from, their manager.
3. Managers have to challenge employees within their areas of talent, and then help them gain the skills and knowledge they need to build their talents into strengths.
4. Managers should help employees develop ownership of their goals, targets, and milestones, so employees can enhance their contributions to the company and increase their impact.

But saying it doesn't get it done. Managers need to know how to do these things and, sad to say, most MBA programs don't teach it.

Additionally, managers cannot do it alone. The organization must adopt a "talent management" culture in order to make engagement initiatives successful.

That being said, let's look at a few critical fundamentals that will lead to positive results.

Four Fundamental Actions Leading to Positive Results

1. Clarify Expectations

Create Goal Statements that formalize the following:

• What is to be accomplished
• Who will be involved

• When the activity will be completed

• How much it costs and which resources will be used

Evaluate work against measurable standards

-Positive Results will most likely include:

For the employee -

• Less frustration and stress - clear direction
• Higher level of motivation and satisfaction

• A common or shared language

• More effective communication with manager

For the manager -

• More effective communication with team member
• More focused and productive team member

• Higher productivity and accomplishment of business goals

• A common or shared language

2. Don't Leave Employees Out Of The Plan

Even the best plan can fail if the employees are not committed to it
Get Commitment
Get Accountability

-Positive Results will most likely include:

For the employee -

• Higher level of motivation and engagement
• Ownership to the process and to their own development
• Commitment and accountability to the plan

For the manager -

• A better performance plan overall - dual input
• Higher level of commitment and accountability from team members
• Streamlines work processes, saves time and money

3. Meet On An On-Going Basis To Share Feedback

Increase effectiveness of communication
Increase competence and confidence
Increase productivity and accuracy
Encourage a higher standard

-Positive Results will most likely include:

For the employee -

• Recognized for what they are doing well
• Learn if "off course", receive guidance, and improve performance
• Clearer sense of what's expected if goals change
• Less frustration and stress due to more timely feedback and input

For the manager -

• Time and opportunity to provide critical feedback
• Learn valuable information and gain insights
• Increased commitment, quality standards and productivity levels
• More insight into potential talent and development opportunities
• Increased quality of communication
• Increased levels of credibility and trust w/ team members

4. Providing Factual / Behavior-Specific Feedback

Give specifics and facts of performance
Be clear about what changes are needed
Provide objective guidance and direction
Focus on behavior vs. attitudes or personal characteristics
Solve problems and move forward

-Positive Results will most likely include:

For the employee -

• Commitment and accountability to changing their behavior
• Feels treatment is fair, professional
• Information provided is tangible, practical and actionable

For the manager -

• Clarifies performance outcomes
• Cultivates a more healthy environment
• Increases levels of credibility and trust w/ team members
• Focused team members, leading to:

• More timely results

• More accurate results

• More productive teams

Conclusion

The four fundamentals outlined above are only a starting point, albeit a good starting point. They are generic to the desires and talents of individual employees but are essential to all employees. As you know, management cannot be covered in an article or even a series of articles. It is far too complex an issue. But by successfully implementing a handful of procedures, managers can achieve dramatic results leading to higher levels of engagement.

In the future, we'll go beyond the fundamentals and talk about Strengths Based Performance, intrinsic motivation, the power of empowerment - and how these topics relate directly to employee engagement and the bottom line.

Sources For This Article

• Vital Learning - Achieve Positive Results by Avoiding Performance Pitfalls
• The Gallup Management Journal

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The Power of Employee Engagement - Part 1

Kevin Burkholder

Thu Oct 19

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