BEST PRACTICE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES

CHARLES COTTER

23 OCTOBER 2014

HILTON SANDTON

Defining employee engagement

Diagnosis of current levels of employee engagement

Types of engaged employees

Key findings of Gallup global survey (2013)

Benefits of employee engagement

Best Practice Strategies to develop employee engagement

KEY PRESENTATION TOPICS

DEFINING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Are employees COMMITTED to the organization?

Are employees proud to work for the organization – company/brandambassadors? CITIZEN

Do employees put forth extra/discretionary effort to help theorganization and their colleagues achieve business objectives?COMRADE

Are employees enthusiastic and passionate about their work/jobs?CREATOR

Are employees CONNECTED (intellectually and emotionally) to theirwork/jobs – offer value add?

DIAGNOSIS: THE 5 C’S OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Gallup’s Q12 survey:

#1 Role clarity and expectations

#2 Resources – materials and equipment

#3 Role optimization and opportunities

#4 Receipt of recognition and praise

#5 Managerial care and interest

#6 Encouragement of personal and professional development

DIAGNOSIS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Gallup’s Q12 survey:

#7 Opinions and inputs are valued

#8 Job/task significance

#9 Fellow employee commitment to performance excellence/quality

#10 Collegial and harmonious working relationships

#11 Managerial interest in career progression and development

#12 Ample opportunities to learn and grow

DIAGNOSIS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

How can we grow?

Do I belong?

What do I give?

What do I get?

FOUR STAGES OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

71% of employees are disengaged:

45% are not engaged (BASICS)

26% are actively disengaged (BREAKERS)

29% of the workforce are engaged (BUILDERS)

CURRENT DEGREE OF USA EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT (GALLUP 2013)

PROFILE OF AN ENGAGED EMPLOYEE

Enthusiastic

Inspired

Empowered

Confident

EMOTIONAL DRIVERS OF ENGAGEMENT

THE STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

ENGAGEMENT’S EFFECT ON 9 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Engagement makes a difference to the bottom line -companies earned 13% greater total returns for shareholdersover a 5-year financial period

Companies with engaged employees perform 202% better thanthose without

$11 billion is lost annually due to employee turnover

Engagement has a greater impact on performance thancorporate policies and perks

KEY FINDINGS: GALLUP (2013)

Highly engaged employees are 26% more productive than disengagedemployees

Employees are not prepared to engage customers. Whenorganizations successfully engage their customers and theiremployees, they experience a 240% performance boost.

Managers and leaders play a critical role

90% of leaders think an engagement strategy will impact businesssuccess

Different types of workers need different engagement strategies

KEY FINDINGS: GALLUP (2013)

According to Gallup (2013), three (3) strategies to accelerateemployee engagement are:

Select the Right People and Managers

Develop employees’ strengths

Enhance employees’ well-being

STRATEGIES TO ACCELERATE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Through selecting the right managers and employees for any role,companies can strategically boost engagement.

Great managers have great talent for supporting, positioning,empowering, and engaging their staff.

A few key employees stand out for their ability to foster workplaceengagement. They energize and influence others with theircommitment to achieving organizational and team objectives.

Gallup developed the Engagement Creation Index (ECI) — aninnovative tool designed to identify and measure the talent forengaging others — to help organizations transform theirengagement dynamic by adjusting their hiring practices. ECI capturesa candidate’s ability to act as a catalyst to build engaged work teams.

SELECT THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND RIGHT MANAGERS

It is imperative for leaders to devise selection strategies with the goalof accelerating employee engagement. This starts with hiring andpromoting managers based on objective selection criteria to ensurethat companies hire/promote managers with the talent to lead andengage their workgroups.

With each new hire or promotion, employers have the opportunity tomaximize employee engagement in the workplace.

People want to feel supported, have a sense of belonging, andunderstand the contribution they can make toward organizationalgoals. Making sure that they get these things from their interactionswith managers and team members is key to driving theirengagement.

SELECT THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND RIGHT MANAGERS

Managers who focus on their employees’ strengths can practically eliminateactive disengagement and double the average of U.S. workers who areengaged nationwide.

Building employees’ strengths is a far more effective approach than tryingto improve weaknesses.

A strengths-based management approach is the best way to improve theemployee - manager relationship.

Increased productivity:

Gallup’s data show that simply learning their strengths makes employees 7.8%more productive.

Teams that focus on strengths every day have 12.5% greater productivity.

STRENGTHS-BASED LEADERSHIP APPROACH TO EMPLOYEE

ENGAGEMENT

Help employees align their greatest talents to the expectations andresponsibilities of their roles.

Incorporate strengths into performance conversations and reviews andhelp employees set goals based on their strengths.

Focusing on strengths improves employees’ lives and the organization’sbottom line – facilitates a win-win situation

STRENGTHS-BASED LEADERSHIP APPROACH TO EMPLOYEE

ENGAGEMENT

Great managers know that the whole person comes to work and that eachemployee’s well-being influences individual and organizational performance.

Employees who are engaged in their jobs are generally in better health and havehealthier habits than employees who are not engaged or are activelydisengaged.

Engaged and thriving employees are resilient and agile

Thriving employees have strong, progressive overall well-being; strugglingemployees have moderate or inconsistent overall well-being; and sufferingemployees have well-being that is at high risk.

Employees who are thriving in their lives overall are more than twice as likely asthose who are struggling to be engaged in their jobs.

Employees with high well-being have lower healthcare costs

ENHANCE EMPLOYEES’ WELL-BEING

Make well-being an organizational strategy — much like other organizationaloutcomes

Communicate a commitment to well-being consistently in all of the programsthe company offers.

Hold leaders accountable for well-being programs available to employees.

Consider how to embed activities to increase well-being in individualdevelopment plans and goals.

Set positive defaults for making healthy choices.

In vending machines and cafeterias, ensure that healthy snacks and drinks are the mostaccessible.

Offer plenty of opportunities to join physical or social activities throughout the day.

THE MANAGER’S ROLE IN IMPROVING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND WELL-BEING

According to Gallup (2013) research, the best organizationsdeeply integrate employee engagement into the following four(4) areas:

Strategy and Leadership Philosophy

Accountability and Performance

Communication and Knowledge Management

Development and on-going Learning Opportunities

BEST PRACTICE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

According to Gallup (2013), strategies to improve employee engagementare:

Use the right employee engagement survey

Focus on engagement at the enterprise and local levels

Select the right managers

Coach managers and hold them accountable for their employees’engagement

Define engagement goals in realistic, everyday terms

Find ways to connect with each employee

STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Organizations need to reinvent their engagement strategies.

Business leaders and managers play a pivotal role in enhancingemployee engagement levels.

Organizations need to shift from compliance-driven tocommitment-driven business practices

Business leaders need to adapt and customize employeeengagement processes to individual and team needs – adopt atargeted approach

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: “TAKE-AWAYS” –ENGAGEMENT

In order to accelerate employee engagement organizations should:

Select the Right People and Managers

Develop employees’ strengths

Enhance employees’ well-being

To capitalize on the 9 performance outcomes, organizations should:

Create a conducive culture, climate and work environment

Embed employee engagement in business strategy

Accountable and performance-directed business leadership practices

Development and empowerment-oriented business practices

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: “TAKE-AWAYS” – ENGAGEMENT

CHARLES COTTER

084 562 9446

charlescot@polka.co.za

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