Hot Topic - Employee Engagement

The good news is that, according to the latest Gallup survey at the end of 2014, employee engagement in the US is at its highest level since 2000 but it still isn’t good.  Here’s what they found:

31.5% of employees are engaged

51% are not engaged

17.5% are actively disengaged

It is estimated that disengaged workers cost the US economy approximately $300 billion in lost productivity annually.  Employee engagement corresponds to the level of the staff members’ commitment and connection to the organization they support.  High levels of engagement translate to increases in customer satisfaction, employee retention and productivity.

 One way organizations can gauge whether or not their employees are engaged is by doing employee surveys or by holding focus groups to ask questions around how employees are feeling about the work, the organization, and its leadership.  Leaders and managers who listen carefully to their employees in meetings or in one on one situations have a much better chance of having engaged employees than those who aren’t good listeners. 

The Big Book of HR (available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble) has an entire chapter on employee engagement.  Included is a sample engagement survey that you may find useful as you attempt to understand your current employee population and what’s important to then.

One of the things that fuels employee engagement is when people are proud of where they work.  Being a good corporate citizen in whatever community the organization is in is hugely impactful on employee engagement.  This doesn’t mean you have to be a household name—just that you actively support your local community or pick a charity to sponsor—employees love getting behind a good cause and making a difference.

Another way to build engagement and also give back to the community is to volunteer for causes that matter to your employees.  Some organizations ask employees to nominate a favorite charity and select that group to sponsor for a year. Others select organizations where not only are you giving back to the community but you are building teams such as volunteering for Habitat for Humanity.  The organization makes a donation to the organization and then employees work on a build site for a day and in the process, get to know each other while supporting a good cause.

Of course, we know that to have engaged workers, you have to pay them fairly so it is important to participate in salary and benefits surveys in your market to be sure you are competitive.  Pay and benefits are only part of what is now called “Total Rewards Programs” which, in addition to pay and benefits, also include recognition programs and flexible work schedules.  Employees want to be recognized for the good work they do and, now more than ever, having flexible work arrangements have a hugely positive impact.  (See the Total Rewards chapter in The Big Book of HR).

Investing in your employees by showing genuine interest in them as individuals and in their well-being will go a long way toward having a more engaged workforce. 

Technology and Stress at Work

Our comfort level with the technology we use at work will depend on when we entered the workforce. For Baby Boomers, technology like switchboards and IBM Selectric Typewriters are words not even in the vocabulary of Millennials. Technological advances forever changed the way we work – are all of those changes good?

Technology today involves Iphones, e-mail and text messaging, not to mention social media. It is estimated that in 2015 U.S. workers will receive 22 percent and send more that 24 percent business e-mails than they did three years ago.  This has a negative impact on workers because

·      E-mail is addictive. People can get a rush with every new message and experience withdrawal when they are away from their inbox. The same can be said for text messages.

·      E-mail impedes focus when people shift their attention between two activities (responding to e-mail and finishing another task).

·      E-mail wastes time when workers have to recover their train of thoughts after e-mail interruptions (Now where was I?).

All of this new technology have blurred the boundary between work and personal time. Lack of boundaries contributes not only to stress but to workplace conflict.  Managers are able to reach workers 24/7 and employees are feeling the stress. Success at work is often measured by goals, quotas and objectives that may require more than the standard eight-hour workday.  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines job stress as “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.”

What’s an organization to do?

·      Encourage employees to go through e-mail at scheduled times, turn off distracting alerts and reply only when necessary. It will help break the addiction.

·      Use group discussions or employee surveys to collect information about what contributes to employees’ stress.

·      Give employees opportunities to participate in decisions affecting their jobs.

·      Make sure managers are clear about communicating expectations and prioritizing tasks so that employees know which are most important and which can wait.

·      Set reasonable deadlines.

·      Provide resources such as management training and employee assistance programs.

·      If feasible for the organization, implement telework.

A New Book - A New Look

We are very pleased to announce that we have a new book coming out very soon. Last fall the publisher of The Big Book of HR, Career Press approached us with the idea for a new book, The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook. We spent the winter and early spring writing it and are excited   that the publication date is September 21, 2015. (You can also visit Amazon.com now and pre-order it!)

Now we have two exciting books to publicize and we will be doing radio interviews, print interviews, as well as contributing to magazines and ezines to get the word out about our books.  We’ve learned a lot about the world of book publishing and publicity which we know will help us market our books going forward.

In addition to The Big Book of HR’s website (www.bigbookofhr.com), we will have a website for the new book (essentialworkplaceconflict.com).  Both websites will feature our blogs and information on speaking engagements, book reviews, and interviews and media coverage.  We will continue to tweet @bigbookofhr and on @gotworkconflict

We are also changing the title of our blog and our Constant Contact newsletter to Making People Matter—you will see this title as it arrives in your inbox every month and we hope you will read and comment on our postings.

You can continue to follow what we’re doing and the exciting changes to come. You can sign up to receive our blog every week. It’s posted at makingpeoplematter.blogspot.com. Follow us on Twitter and Google+ where we’ll keep you up-to-date on events and relevant items of interest. Look for our LinkedIn updates. Most importantly, look for the release of The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook in September.

We appreciate the interest and support of all our readers, friends and colleagues. Thanks for being part of these adventures with us.

Feedback – An Essential Management Competency

What’s the most important part of performance management? Hint, it’s not filling out the annual performance appraisal form. It’s the feedback, timely, effective feedback. Yet feedback is something that managers try to avoid because they associate feedback with negativity. All employees want to know “How am I doing?” This is especially true for the Millennial Generation. The following are quick pointers for managers and team leaders:

·      Reinforcement is the most effective form of feedback.

·      Conversely, criticism is the most ineffective form. It overpowers all other forms.

·      The difference between criticism and advice is a difference in timing. Most criticism can be given as advice.

·      Praise accomplishments!

·      When feedback is mixed, the impact is diluted. Be clear and concise. Let the employee know what they are doing well and what they need to do differently.

·      State specifically what you’ve observed – both positive and negatives. Remember the what, when, where. Give examples that support your points.

·      Concentrate on observable behaviors and results and not the person. Express observations calmly and factually.

·      Describe specifically what you want to reinforce and/or correct and explain why it’s important.

·      Describe the consequences of not correcting negative behavior or performance.

When providing feedback, remember that differences matter. Not everyone sees the world through the same set of lenses. Revise your mental model, get rid of the noise, acknowledge and respect differences, and recognize barriers to communication.  Ask yourself:

·     Are my words escalating a negative situation?

·     Am I communicating clearly?

·     Am I getting all the information I need?

·     Is it possible that my words and actions are being misinterpreted?

·     Are my assumptions creating barriers?

Consider how one employee described her manager’s approach to providing positive feedback, stating that it goes a long way.

·      He addresses people directly and privately.

·      He appreciates your diligence to get the work completed in a correct and timely fashion.

·      He compliments you on the work you are assigned to do as well as when you go above and beyond what is expected.

·      He shows appreciation.

·      He recognizes the unique nature of the job.

·      He makes you feel recognized and valued.

·      He treats everyone with dignity and respect.

Delivering effective feedback is a skill that managers and leaders can perfect. Make sure the feedback is timely (when the behavior or performance occurs) and do it often. Even if the feedback is around negative issues, employees will welcome it and feel respected. Don’t assume your “superstars” automatically know they are doing a great job. They want to hear it and they want to hear how they can do even better.