Posted by Laura Sheffield on Fri, Sep 03, 2010 @ 03:24 PM
This cartoon is laughable because it is surprisingly close to reality.
Often, when organizations plan employee engagement surveys, they forget the most essential piece of the puzzle—trust. Trust requires transparency, honesty, and truly anonymous survey results. Sadly, we occasionally have to remind our clients that a deceitful survey process is counterproductive.
A trusting relationship fosters honest feedback from employees. A distrusting relationship leads employees to give insincere feedback out of a fear that if they were honest, what happened to Dilbert would happen to them.
In order for an employee engagement survey to be effective, a trusting relationship must be pre-established in the organization. The pre-existing trust comes from how management has administered employee surveys in the past, what real changes have been made as a result of previous feedback, how management treats the workforce, and the integrity of the individual executives.
This established trust should be maintained through the facilitation of the survey. True anonymity of survey participants is the key to maintaining trust. Surveys administered and processed directly by management can sometimes appear suspicious in that regard. Surveys run by an outside company, especially when the outside firm is committed to maintaining anonymity for employees, can nurture the trust required for surveying success. Having an outside firm handle the feedback demonstrates to employees that management is uninterested in individual results and is instead focused on receiving overall information on the state of the firm.
Dilbert will never be an engaged employee. His company has never established the trust (see other Dilbert cartoons).
What do you see as the relationship between trust and employee engagement? How do you establish trust in your organization? Does trust need to be managed?
Posted by Laura Sheffield on Wed, Aug 11, 2010 @ 12:39 PM
Zappos, the online shoe company that has become so much more than a shoe company, is everywhere known as the customer service company. They don't just serve customers, they try to dramatically stun them. And that, more than anything else, is the core of their business. At this point, it doesn't matter what Zappos sells.
The company could do anything and succeed. Their profits have jumped from $70 million five years ago to an estimated $1 billion this year. Zappos has created this explosive success by first cultivating employees that are fanatical about Zappos. You can't provide excellent service to customers without first having engaged employees.
How do they do it? A Harvard Business Review blog post examines one facet of Zappos culture that is part of creating an engaged workforce. It's "one small practice that offers big lessons for leaders who are serious about… filling their organization with people who are just as committed as they are."
Here's the one small practice: after a new hire’s first week of intensive work at Zappos, the new employee is offered full salary for that one week plus a $1,000 bonus to quit and walk away from the job.
The Zappos mentality? If the new employee takes the offer, good riddance. Zappos wants commitment, excitement about the job, and employees that want to work for Zappos more than they want an immediate $1,000.
If an employee will stay despite a monetary offer to quit, it's a good sign that they'll be engaged. Zappos has learned that engaged employees are better at serving customers. And when serving customers is the core of your business, it's a pretty good idea to have employees that are good at it.
Would your employees quit the job if you offered them $1000 to do it? What does that say about your company? About the design of their position? About the employee engagement level in your organization? How do you make sure your employees are committed to the business?
Posted by Laura Sheffield on Mon, Aug 09, 2010 @ 03:12 PM
Many employees experience fear, anxiety, and distrust when they hear that their company is about to conduct 360-degree feedback surveys. Participants worry about what people will say about them and how the results will be used. Those providing feedback fear that they might be identified by their comments and the person will react negatively towards them.
On both the organization and individual level, proper communication should be used before conducting 360-degree feedback surveys to ease anxiety and ensure valid results. Employees should be briefed on the reasons for the 360 survey, the survey process, and how the results will be used. They should also be given the opportunity to ask questions about the 360-degree feedback process. Employees are more likely to have a positive experience with the feedback process when they know more about it.
Most importantly, giving forewarning and clear communication prior to the administration of a 360 survey lessens opportunities for miscommunication and fosters trust between the company and the employees. With a clear understanding and increased trust, employees are more likely to participate and more likely to give honest feedback. Employees that are given communication prior to the 360-degree feedback process are also more inclined to change as a result of the feedback they receive.
Posted by Charles Rogel, MBA on Thu, Jul 08, 2010 @ 11:55 AM
Many people feel that employee empowerment is the same as employee engagement, but there are distinct differences.
Employee empowerment is giving employees the authority make decisions about their jobs. Instead of managers deciding who to hire and how to staff a shift, the employees on an empowered team collectively make these decisions and more. Empowered employees may be given the authority to decide work schedules, productivity goals, and even daily priorities.
Employee empowerment is a component of employee engagement. The more employees feel like they have the authority to make decisions about how their work is done, the more engaged they become in their work and company. Empowerment leads to greater collaboration and sharing of ideas. It can also lead to productivity gains and increased performance. Employee engagement suffers if employees don’t have the authority to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
Employee engagement describes how committed and energized employees are about their jobs. Because empowerment is only a component of engagement an employee can be entirely empowered without being engaged. This could be caused by low compensation, a jerk boss, or burnout.
To acheive employee engagement an organization needs some level of empowerment, but employee empowerment alone does not ensure employee engagement.
Posted by Laura Sheffield on Tue, Jun 01, 2010 @ 03:40 PM
Over the last couple years, I've developed a habit of frequenting locally-owned restaurants in my area. I enjoy trying the new appetizer, chatting with the restaurant chef and owner, and watching the masterpiece of a small business succeeding.
One restaurant in particular consistently leaves me awestruck. I am not exaggerating when I say that it captivates me. Sleek tables and simple black chairs lie beneath naked light bulbs that hang from the ceiling. Unframed, locally-created artwork beautifies the walls. None of the entrées use fluffy ingredients; the food is kept uncomplicated and basic with an emphasis on local ingredients. Flowers in the middle of the table are grown in the backyard of a lady who lives just a couple miles from the restaurant. I tell you, it's magical.
Why? Because this restaurant is consistent in living by its core belief.
A quote on the wall of the restaurant articulates, "When you have the best and tastiest ingredients, you can cook very simply and the food will be extraordinary because it tastes like what it is." (Alice Waters) This restaurant believes the quote and lives it, keeping not only their food simple (and therefore extraordinary), but also carrying their mantra through their entire operation. Notice the local art, the simple white plates, water without ice, and the hanging light bulbs.
Beliefs inspire actions. Actions, backed by beliefs, cultivate meaningful success. They also cultivate admirers, like me, who write about their experience with the business on a blog.
What are your organization's core beliefs? Do you know? Do you care? Do you operate in accordance with your organization's values? Do you want admirers to write about their magical experience with your company on a blog? Create a corporate culture and live it.
Three steps to creating consistent core beliefs and generating meaningful success:
1.Take a pulse of your current corporate culture and values. Use an employee survey or an assessment to generate an understanding of whether or not your employees perceive a system of beliefs in your company. Do they see a foundation of beliefs? Do they work in accordance? Do they agree with your organization's values? Do they reflect the core values in interactions with your customers?
2. Define your vision of the future and your idea of an ideal corporate culture. Through single words, images, quotations, prose, or any other medium, describe the corporate culture you envision for your organization. How will you carry your organization's values through every aspect of your business? As we coach leaders and individual contributors, we often find that they are disconnected from the vision, or simply don't know what that vision is.
3. Outline the progression from the current corporate culture to the ideal. How will you move from Point A to Point B? How will your employees be led from Point A to Point B?
Every time I leave the restaurant, I leave wanting the restaurant's simplicity to pervade every aspect of my own life, just as it has the life of the business. I leave wanting the organization's values to be a part of my life.
Shouldn't that be how your customers walk away from an experience with your organization?
Posted by Laura Sheffield on Thu, May 20, 2010 @ 11:45 AM
We've discovered this exceptionally entertaining clip on YouTube detailing research and conclusions about motivation from Dan Pink to the RSA, the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts. Enjoy.
Posted by Paul Warner, PhD on Wed, May 12, 2010 @ 11:03 AM
We all know the feeling of becoming so absorbed in our work that we lose track of time. The author Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, in his book "Flow" demonstrated the results of hundreds of interviews with successful painters, dancers, poets, and others who had careers which allowed them this vital engagement on a regular basis. His research showed that while all the paths of these careers are unique, the outcome is the same: there is a connection between the person and their job.
Our 15 years of research on employee engagement shows a similar pattern. We have found that 28% of employees fit into the "Fully Engaged" category. A closer examination of this group suggests that employee engagement does not exist because of the person or their environment- but the connection between the two. The fully engaged employee:
- Knows how their job contributes to the overall mission and goals of the organization.
- Has a job with enough variety to keep them challenged and engaged.
- Is able to use their talents and abilities effectively in their current position.
The good news is that you do not have to be a poet or scientist to experience the above factors in your job. We have researched engagement in jobs that range from manufacturing to university professor; and the findings are still the same. People experience the highest level of engagement when they feel a connection with their job, they are challenged, and are able to use their talents effectively.
Posted by Tracy Maylett, Ed.D. on Thu, Apr 22, 2010 @ 07:33 AM
In most Employee Engagement Surveys we ask employees to rate the level to which they agree to the following statement: "I clearly understand my role and responsibility within this organization." Another closely related question (statement) is, "The work I do plays an important role in the success of the organization." These are important engagement questions, as they help assess the most critical driver of employee engagement: an employee's understanding of their role within the larger picture of success for the organization.
The importance of this concept is demonstrated in the age-old parable of the stone-cutter in front of the quarry who is asked, "what are you doing?" To this question he replies, somewhat distantly, "I'm squaring up this stone." The inquisitor then goes on to ask the next person the same question, to which the reply comes "I'm helping to build a great cathedral." Clearly, the second stonecutter unmistakably understood his role in the success of the organization. He was also much more than a stonecutter-he was a part of a team that was building something much greater.
Seeing the Bigger Picture
Many employees, rather than seeing their role as that of a contributor to a greater cause, see only their piece of the process.
Recently, I took a trip with my wife to a local supermarket to purchase items for an upcoming event. At the top of the grocery list were soft drinks. To our surprise, we had one of those rare occasions where the items we were looking for were on sale-and at a great price.
"All Pepsi products 2 for $1," the display noted clearly.
Among other soft drinks, we purchased A&W Rootbeer and A&W Diet Rootbeer, which were usually priced at $1.48 each. Upon reaching the checkout counter, we watched as the bottles were scanned. Each rang up at the expected $.50 price until the checker scanned the A&W Diet Rootbeer. Never trusting the scanning process, my wife was watching carefully and caught the error. She called it to the attention of the checker, who appeared to be quite put out at my wife's insistence that it be re-scanned at the correct price. The checker stated that the sale applied only to Pepsi products, and that she wasn't sure that A&W Diet Rootbeer was a Pepsi product. I quickly pointed out that the non-diet A&W Rootbeer she had just finished ringing through was clearly noted as a Pepsi product and had been scanned at the expected $.50. Reason would have it, I explained, that the diet and non-diet version of the same product must be made by the same company. This appeared to further annoy the checker.
The checker, with little apparent concern for her role in serving the customer, looked for us to concede. She quipped that she would have to call for a price check. The price check was made, a manager was summoned to enter in an override code, and five minutes later the correct price was entered in. To this checker, serving the customers in front of her, thus making the store profitable, was not part of her job. Her "job" was to scan items, collect payment, and move the customer quickly out of her line. Her inability to make decisions based on the greater cause cost this store five minutes of a checker's time, five minutes of a stock boy's time, use of a busy store manager, and ultimately a customer (not to mention those in the long line behind us)- far more than the $.98 difference in price.
Ultimately, the success of an organization is the culmination of the successes of individuals within the organization. A lack of understanding as to how an individual plays a role in the greater picture leads to lack of engagement, which leads to poor performance. In order to ensure employee engagement, ensure the individual sees the big picture.
Posted by Paul Warner, PhD on Thu, Apr 15, 2010 @ 10:51 AM
Employees are often required to put in long hours and deliver greater results without increased resources or incentives to motivate the extra effort. The more frequently employees experience this condition in their jobs, the more likely they are to burnout.
In its most basic form, burnout is defined as a prolonged state of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest in work. It is more than job stress and typically evolves into long-term disengagement.
Right now, employee burnout is a real threat. The Labor Department released the following figures: employee productivity (output per hour of work) rose at an annual rate of 6.6%, while labor costs dropped 5.9% in the same period. Effectively this means that nationwide employees are producing more while getting less. This situation dramatically increases the potential for individual burnout.
DecisionWise research through employee engagement surveys and employee observation reveals three signs of employee burnout:
1. Depersonalization: Work becomes a force that exists outside of the individual. The burnt-out employee will go to work and put in the time, but their jobs are no longer an integral part of their life.
2. Cynicism: The organization is expecting too much and giving too little. The employee has little hope that this will change.
3. Frustration: Not only is more work required, but there are fewer incentives for putting in extra discretionary effort. The obvious disconnect between incentives and effort is frustrating. In addition, the results of an individual's extra work are often not immediately evident in the financial state of the company; this causes further frustration.
The emotions listed above, the signs of burnout, dramatically increase the likelihood of complete disengagement in individual jobs and organizations. Following disengagement, an employee's next likely step is to look outside of their department or company for other opportunities. If the job search does not yield positive results, the employee will effectively be forced to stay in their current position. Ultimately, burnout conditions have a high risk of leading to a widespread quit-and-stay mentality.
Posted by Laura Sheffield on Mon, Apr 12, 2010 @ 12:36 PM
Managers want to fulfill their employee's needs so that they are content with their pay, hours, and level of flexibility. Managers strive for employee satisfaction. But does job satisfaction equal employee engagement?
Consider Connie. She is an assembly line employee who is satisfied with her job. Her job means steady employment. She feels satisfied with her pay (at least it's better than most of the jobs she could find down the street). She starts at 7:00 in the morning and gets off in time to pick up her seven-year-old from school. It meets her needs. However, for Connie, it's just a job. She can't say she looks forward to coming to work, and she doesn't find herself motivated to perform her best.
An employee can be satisfied with a job without being engaged in the job. Engagement is much more than being content on pay day and content with the ability to leave at 3 pm. That contentedness is merely job satisfaction, and though satisfaction is generally enough to retain employees, it's not enough to ensure productivity. On the other hand, employee engagement does promote increased productivity.
Managers must understand that an engaged employee is an employee who is deeply involved and invested in their work. This occurs when multiple job factors intersect and it is much more than job satisfaction alone. The confusion comes when we begin to use satisfaction and engagement synonymously.
Organizations with genuinely engaged employees have higher retention, productivity, customer satisfaction, innovation rates, and quality. They also require less training time, experience less illness, and have fewer accidents.
Simply put, satisfaction is not engagement-- and of the two, you want engagement.
Register for our latest webinar-"The 3 Essential Components of Employee Engagement."