employee engagement when senior leadership is the problem
TRANSCRIPT
IMPROVING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT WHEN SENIOR LEADERSHIP IS THE PROBLEM
Monthly Webinar Series
April 30, 2015
2Topic Agenda
Item Time(min)
Introduction 2
The Importance of Senior Leadership in Engaging Employees
5
What do the Best Leadership Teams do Better?
15
Tips on Breaking the News 10
Q&A 5Norm 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
The Importance of Senior Leadership in Engaging Employees
6
From the foreword to The Pogo Papers, Copyright 1952‐53
Compensation
Work Environment
Performance Feedback
Professional Growth
Work/Life Balance
Information and Communication
Teamwork
Innovation
Investor FocusImmediate Management
Senior Leadership
Organizational Vision
Strong Engagement
Driver
Weak Engagement
Driver
Worse Than Benchmark
Better Than Benchmark
The Engaged Organization
7
11
2
9
9
9
20
16
89
98
91
91
91
80
84
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Overall Engagement
I am proud to tell others I workfor my organization.
I am optimistic about the futureof my organization.
My organization inspires me todo my best work.
I would recommend myorganization to a friend as a
great place to work.My job provides me with a
sense of personalaccomplishment.
I can see a clear link betweenmy work and my organization's
long-term objectives.
% Frequency
Unfavourable NeutralFavourable
Work EnvironmentPerformance
Feedback
Professional Growth
Work/Life Balance
Information and Communication
TeamworkInnovation
Client Focus
Immediate Supervisor
Organizational Leadership
Organizational Vision
Strong Engagement DriverWeak
Engagement Driver
Worse Than Benchmark
Better Than Benchmark
The Engagement Challenged Organization
8
13
4
20
10
18
10
14
18
10
22
22
26
6
24
69
86
58
68
56
84
62
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Overall Engagement
I am proud to tell others I work formy organization.
I am optimistic about the future ofmy organization.
My organization inspires me to domy best work.
I would recommend myorganization to a friend as a great
place to work.
My job provides me with a senseof personal accomplishment.
I can see a clear link between mywork and my organization's long-
term objectives.
% Frequency
Unfavourable Neutral Favourable
Engaged....
9
3
2
4
2
4
97
98
96
98
96
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Overall Senior Leadership
Sets ambitious, but realistic goals.
Clearly communicates their goals.
Acts consistently; they do as theysay.
I have trust and confidence in theirability to achieve our organization's
goals.
% Frequency
Unfavourable Neutral Favourable
26
34
23
23
25
32
30
38
27
33
42
36
40
50
42
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Overall Organizational Leadership
Sets ambitious, but realistic goals.
Clearly communicates their goals.
Acts consistently; they do as theysay.
I have trust and confidence in theirability to achieve our organization's
goals.
% Frequency
Unfavourable Neutral Favourable
Not so much
45%
60%
26%
Client 2013
Client 2014
Benchmark
10….guess which one has issues with senior leadership?Are you looking for or thinking of accepting a job with another employer (% Yes)?
6%
7%
24%
What do the best leadership teams do better?
11
Among employees providing positive comments:
“Overall I am very satisfied with the company culture and think this is a great place to work. The company has fostered a team environment and is supportive of its employees.”
“COMPANY is a great place to work. Strong communication of the firm vision is what drives and motivates employees to continue performing their best.“
“Stay transparent with the organization's objectives and developments. “
“The Executive group is a large reason why I am still employed with COMPANY. I feel they walk the walk and are supportive in most everything we do.”
“The culture at COMPANY is unlike anywhere else I have ever worked. It really is like one big family.”
EXAMPLE POSITIVE COMMENTS
Visibility, Connectedness and Empathy“Need more confidence that the organizational leadership is truly listening and doing everything within their power to support us”“They make decisions in a vacuum. They have no idea what’s going on on the front‐lines. We never see them”
Set, Communicate and Follow‐up Clear and Realistic Goals:“Ambitious goals; perhaps not realistic ‐ involve staff when establishing goals that impact practice rather than deciding and telling them”
Decisiveness on Clear Priorities“Improve priority setting, as it seems everything is a priority.”“I would like to see more decisiveness. Projects are being delayed because either a decision is not made or work is being completed by the wrong person.”
Articulate and Communicate a Clear and Compelling Vision“I can't say that leaders of the organization have painted a picture of the future of our agency. Most of their actions seem to be reactive to issues/funding changes that come up. It doesn't seem like there's a proactive approach to planning the future of the organization from my perspective.”
EXAMPLE COMMENTS: REQUIRE IMPROVEMENT
LEADERSHIP PRACTICES THAT ENGAGE
14
Building trust and honest communication• Transparency, especially in difficult times
• Frequent and forthright – answer employee questions
• Admit when you don’t know
• Senior Leaders take ownership of the people agenda (as opposed to it being “HR’s” problem)
• People priorities are clearly embedded in business strategy
• People take precedence, sometimes over short-term gain
• Talent is more built than bought (75% internal, 25% external)
Effectively communicate the organization’s goals and objectives Consistently demonstrate the organization’s values in all
behaviours and actions (“they walk the talk”) Appropriately balance employee interests with those of the
organizationConsistently demonstrate empathy and caring for
employeesEnsure presence and visibility – in person or virtually
Connected with Employees
15
Effectively communicate goals and objectives
Ensure goals and objectives are aggressive, yet attainable
Empower managers and employees and instil a culture of accountability
Performance Focused
16
Fill employees with excitement for the future of the organization Ensure employees understand how they contribute to the
organization as a whole Consults widely, but decides quickly. Inclusive decision-
making
Genuinely future and development oriented
17
Tips on “Breaking the News” to Senior Leadership
18
UNDERSTAND STAGES OF RESULT ACCEPTANCE
19
Meet with CEO alone first (if possible). Discuss how to broach the subject with the executive team.
Sometimes, leaving them the report and having them come to their own conclusion is most effective.
Avoid any comparison/contrast between VP areas of responsibility. Position it as a common issue – not isolated to certain executives only.
Are you the best placed to deliver the message? Your survey provider can help ensure no loss of face.
Avoid inclination for “told you so” or vindication.
Understand that many execs are probably not aware of how they are truly perceived.
Some Practical Tips
20
Allow the leadership (as a group) to come to the acceptance stage. Facilitate conversations if possible. Allow for introspection.
Focus on helping them identify specific behaviours.
Bring forward other experiences/best practices (e.g. this presentation). What have other senior leadership teams done? What do they do that we don’t?
Objective: commitment to behaviour change and accountability.
Moving to Action
21
Trust, confidence and positive perception of senior leadership is crucial for high levels of engagement.
Behaviour change will yield a positive ROI.
Anticipate stages of result acceptance, particularly denial and rationalization.
When ready, facilitate the move to action. Focus on emulating positive behaviours.
Final Thoughts
22
Event Format Topic DateConference Board“Engagement 2015”
Calgary NEW Research: 10 Years On – What Do We Really Know?
May 25th
TalentMap Specialty Webinar
Live Webinar Employee Engagement: Maintaining Momentum – Part 2
May 28th 12:00pm EDT
TalentMap Monthly Webinar Series
Live Webinar with special guest
How Edmonton International Airport Improved Employee Engagement – from Survey to Implementation and Beyond
June 25th12:00pm EDT
TalentMap Monthly Webinar Series
Live Webinar Engaging your Employees through a Compelling Organizational Vision
July 30th12:00pm EDT
Upcoming TalentMap Learning Sessions
THANK YOU!QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
24
Monica HelgothVP Engagement – TalentMap [email protected]‐888‐641‐1113, x515
Norm Baillie‐DavidSVP Engagementnbaillie‐[email protected]‐888‐641‐1113, x504