MANAGING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT DURING MAJOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Monthly Webinar Series
September 24, 2015
2Topic Agenda
Item Time (min)
Introduction/Why the Topic? 5
What Happens to Engagement During (poorly managed) Organizational Change?
10
Why do so few get it right? 10
Some Key Success Factors 10
Q&A 5
Norm Baillie-David SVP Engagement - TalentMap
Monica HelgothVP Engagement - Western Region
Agenda
3
15 years in business7,000+ employee engagement surveys since inception1,000,000+ employees surveyed500+ employee engagement surveys annually
Only 1 Focus
TalentMap by the Numbers
4Sample Clients & Benchmark
Award Programs Technology & Engineering Not-for-Profit & Association
Financial Services
Health Sciences
Other
Why the Topic?
“You know, I need to give you some context here. We’re probably a different case, because we (insert one of these)
• have just gone through• are going through• are going to go through
a significant (insert here):• Restructuring• Transformation• Change
So, we’re probably (insert one):• Not like your other clients• Different• A special case
and engagement will be a challenge” (or something like it)
A Typical TalentMap Client
My Favorite Client Quote:
6
7
What Happens to Engagement During (poorly managed) Organizational Change?
ENGAGEMENT SCORES GO DOWN, OF COURSE! 9
+/- CLIENT2013*
+/- TM Benchmark
Data is rounded to the nearest whole number
* Number indicates % Favourable score
-12 -9
+2 -7
-12 -23
+1 -4
+2 -4
+1 -6
-4 -14
Overall Engagement
I am proud to tell others I work for my organization.
I am optimistic about the future of my organization.
My organization inspires me to do my best work.
I would recommend my organization to a friend as a great place to work.
My job provides me with a sense of personal accomplishment.
I can see a clear link between my work and my organization's long-term objectives.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
16
10
22
13
15
13
21
25
19
30
25
23
21
32
60
72
48
62
63
66
48
Unfavourable Neutral Favourable
% Frequency
Note: I am optimistic about the future of my organization is compared to the 2013 statement I am hopeful about the future of my organization
Engagement sinks, and is often below benchmark/average
ENGAGEMENT SCORES GO DOWN, OF COURSE! 10
+/- CLIENT2013*
+/- TM Benchmark
Data is rounded to the nearest whole number
* Number indicates % Favourable score
-12 -9
+2 -7
-12 -23
+1 -4
+2 -4
+1 -6
-4 -14
Overall Engagement
I am proud to tell others I work for my organization.
I am optimistic about the future of my organization.
My organization inspires me to do my best work.
I would recommend my organization to a friend as a great place to work.
My job provides me with a sense of personal accomplishment.
I can see a clear link between my work and my organization's long-term objectives.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
16
10
22
13
15
13
21
25
19
30
25
23
21
32
60
72
48
62
63
66
48
Unfavourable Neutral Favourable
% Frequency
Note: I am optimistic about the future of my organization is compared to the 2013 statement I am hopeful about the future of my organization
Optimism in the future decreases dramatically
ENGAGEMENT SCORES GO DOWN, OF COURSE! 11
+/- CLIENT2013*
+/- TM Benchmark
Data is rounded to the nearest whole number
* Number indicates % Favourable score
-12 -9
+2 -7
-12 -23
+1 -4
+2 -4
+1 -6
-4 -14
Overall Engagement
I am proud to tell others I work for my organization.
I am optimistic about the future of my organization.
My organization inspires me to do my best work.
I would recommend my organization to a friend as a great place to work.
My job provides me with a sense of personal accomplishment.
I can see a clear link between my work and my organization's long-term objectives.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
16
10
22
13
15
13
21
25
19
30
25
23
21
32
60
72
48
62
63
66
48
Unfavourable Neutral Favourable
% Frequency
Note: I am optimistic about the future of my organization is compared to the 2013 statement I am hopeful about the future of my organization
Most of all, employees lose their “sense of place”, because they don’t know what the change will bring. UNCERTAINTY!
12
CLIENT 2013
CLIENT 2015
Benchmark
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
39%
48%
24%
% Frequency
Are you looking for or thinking of accepting a job with another employer (% Yes)?
(THREAT OF ) ATTRITION CAN REACH DANGEROUS LEVELS
!
MANAGING THE CHANGE ITSELF DRIVES ENGAGEMENT
13
Hypothesized Drivers
CompensationWork Environment
Performance FeedbackProfessional GrowthWork/Life Balance
Information and Communication
TeamworkInnovation
Customer FocusImmediate Manager
Senior Leadership
Canadian Leadership Team
Organizational Vision
Change Management
Diversity
#2 Change Management
Change Management
#1 Professional Growth
Professional Growth
#3 Organizational Vision
Diversity
EmployeeEngagementMultiple
Linear Regression
Previous period drivers highlighted in grey.
Why do so few get it right?
14
+/- CLIENT Canada2012*
+/- TM Benchmark
Overall Change Management
I understand why change is needed at the CLIENT.
I am convinced the change we are undergoing at the CLIENT is necessary to achieve the desired goals.
I am confident that the CLIENT can execute change successfully to achieve the desired goals.
I feel motivated to adapt the way I work to support change in the CLIENT.
I am provided with the coaching, tools and training necessary to meet the requirements of change.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
12
3
11
14
8
25
22
9
20
31
19
33
65
88
69
55
73
42
Unfavourable Neutral Favourable
% Frequency
Data is rounded to the nearest whole number
* Number indicates % Favourable score
-13 n/a
-4 n/a
-16 n/a
-20 n/a
-11 n/a
-13 n/a
Change Management (Key Driver #2) 15
16
The “Inside” Perspective “Recognizing that we all cannot be privy to all decisions, I would like to feel
that change is not always something I have to accept, but rather something I can also input to.”
“Communicate change and reasons for change well before the change is made. For example - dissolving field services without telling area offices.”
“Opportunity to have training and coaching one particular areas once the implementation plans are communicate and we have a better sense of our upcoming role.”
“There needs to be some clear direction on where the company is going so that I can better understand my place in it.”
“With two layoffs in 2014, it's hard to trust in the senior leadership. Even if the top people have changed, a lot of the upper management is still the same, and these are the people who got us into the current non-profitable state that we find ourselves in.”
Unwilling to “lose face” by communicating uncertainty (i.e. not knowing all the answers).
• Result: if we can’t say everything, say nothing.
Thrill of being “in the know” Fear of the rumour mill
Many execs assume that the reasons for change are self-evident, so they focus communications on what is changing, as opposed to “why it’s changing”.
Most Execs/Leadership Teams Manage Change through Secrecy
17
Unfortunately, we don’t see enough Bill Richardsons
18
Do you or your leaders: spend more time in
meetings with each other than with their teams?
tend to be less and less visible or accessible?
avoid answering questions about impending restructuring, layoffs, strategy shifts, or worse, use talking points?
Get a “thrill” by being “ in the know”?
The “Boardroom Bunker”
19
The most common reasons for lower engagement during change are: Employees don’t understand the reasons for the
change (burning platform) Employees don’t understand the “end state”, i.e.
what will we look like after the change. Employees haven’t had/don’t have the opportunity
to influence the change, especially with regards to their expertise.
Leaders are less visible and less communicative precisely when employees crave communications the most.
In a phrase: Uncertainty kills engagement.
In Summary
20
Some Key Success Factors
21
The Burning Platform: An extremely urgent or compelling business case to convey, in the strongest terms, the need for change
CLEARLY COMMUNICATE THE “BURNING PLATFORM” – THE “WHY”
22
Diversity
Immediate Manager
Work Environment
Organizational Vision
Senior Leadership (in your province)
Performance Feedback
Professional Growth
Teamwork
Change Management
Donor Focus
Innovation
Canadian Leadership Team
Work/Life Balance
Information and Communication
Compensation
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
68131012151516
12161616
313030
1110
1218
21171820
22222327
202122
8381
75726868676665626157
504948
Unfavourable Neutral Favourable
% Frequency
23
+2 n/a2 8-4 -21 12-5 +81 7-1 -2-2 9
-13 n/a6 -3-5 -4-11 -3-4 -6-9 -1-4 -5
Data is rounded to the nearest whole number
* Number indicates % Favourable score+/- CLIENT
Canada2012*
+/- TM Benchmark
Overall scores include standard TalentMap questions only.
MIDDLE MANAGERS ARE YOUR “ACE IN THE HOLE”
Get them onboard!Include them early!Get their input, especially on how to manage change in their areas!Most of all, BE TRANSPARENT with them
“Employees watch their supervisors intently, skeptical of management’s commitment to change”
Middle managers operationalize change, while managing employees’ emotions (e.g. anxiety, defensiveness)
Grounded Change Model During of Organizational Schema EmpowermentG Labianca, B Gray, DJ BrassOrganization 11 (2), 235-257
RESEARCH SHOWS MIDDLE MANAGERS ARE THE KEY!
24
Employees need a clear picture of the desired, or end, state.
“What will we look like after the change?”
• It’s fiction. There is no “after” the change.
• It’s aspirational. Like the brass ring – we strive for but never will attain. But we strive anyway!
CLEARLY ARTICULATE AND RE-COMMUNICATE THE “END-STATE”
25
Leaders’ role: • Evangelize the change • Demonstrate, by walking the talk.• Be the first to live with the temporary
inconvenience• Share the vulnerability.• Include subordinates in continuous
improvement. Managers’ role:
• Operationalize.• Problem-solve.• Share the vulnerability (up and down)• Include subordinates in continuous
improvement.
LEADERS: GET OUT OF THE BUNKER!
26
Employees’ role:• Embrace the idea, but question the modality.• Share ideas for continuous improvement• Have an open mind.• Don’t expect all the answers.
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THANK YOU!QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
28
Monica HelgothVP Engagement – TalentMap [email protected], x515
Norm Baillie-DavidSVP [email protected], x504