Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment PDF

Employee Engagement The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Supplemental Self-Study Presentation Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Overview Emp...

Employee Engagement The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Supplemental Self-Study Presentation Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Overview Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Introduction Towers Watson conducted a Global Workforce Study and found that only about a third of the global workforce is highly engaged, leaving the remaining two-thirds less engaged or not engaged.i This is important because highly engaged employees are emotionally committed to their organization’s goals and use their discretionary effort to go the extra mile on behalf of their organization. In addition, the stock prices of organizations that are part of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” rose an average of 14% over a period of seven years, compared to 5% for the overall market.ii In other words, doing well for your employees results in doing well for your stockholders. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Introduction Part 2 What do employees who are not highly engaged do? They might look for work elsewhere—or perhaps even worse, stay and do the bare minimum to remain employed. There are many studies that investigate why good employees leave their jobs.iii These studies have consistently discovered the following reasons for employee departure: Lack of meaningful work Lack of trust and respect Lack of support from direct supervisors and management Lack of appreciation Constantly shifting priorities and reorganization Feeling ignored or micromanaged Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Introduction Part 3 Know, Show, Grow, and Crow Employee Engagement will address shortcomings, like those described on the previous slide, and provide you with strategies to ensure your best employees remain with the organization. These strategies are divided into four categories. We’ll examine each of these categories in detail. Know—know your employees as individuals and know what their unique strengths are. Show—show your employees you support them by giving them the resources they need to do their jobs well and by removing obstacles that hinder their ability to do so. Grow—give your employees the right amount of attention and feedback to help them develop their skills and feel their work is meaningful. Crow—share information and give your employees the recognition and appreciation they deserve for their contributions to the organization. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment What is Your Level of Engagement Highly engaged employees are likely to hold the following perspectives regarding their work and organization: “I feel a sense of purpose and know that my work has meaning.” “I feel trusted and respected by my manager and colleagues.” “My manager provides me with the resources I need to do my job.” “I feel appreciated by my manager and senior leadership.” “My organization’s vision and priorities are clear to all employees.” “My manager gives me feedback about how I’m doing without micromanaging me.” “I enjoy coming to work every day.” “I’m willing to make an extra effort to ensure my organization is successful.” “Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.” —Stephen R. Covey Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Module 1: Know Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Who Are Your Employees? The Towers Perrin Global Workforce Study revealed that the number-one item that drove employee engagement around the world was senior management’s sincere interest in employees’ well-being.iv You are managing people, not robots. People are unique, and your relationship with each person should be unique. At a minimum, you should: Greet each employee using their name every day. Track and acknowledge their birthdays and employment anniversaries. Be polite and respectful at all times. Show concern (but don’t pry into employees’ personal lives). Spend individual time with each employee. Find out what their goals are, what’s important to them, and what they like to do in their free time. Get to know employees’ individual work styles. How do they interact with you? With their colleagues? What stresses them out? How do they personalize their work space? Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Who Are Your Employees? Part 2 Conduct a “Stay” Interview Meet with your current staff at least once a year and ask them questions to determine their current level of engagement and desire to use discretionary effort at work. Use the following questions to guide the conversation. This will prevent any big surprises in exit interviews—and ideally, prevent many exit interviews from occurring in the first place. Why did you come to work here? Why have you stayed? What do you like best about working here? What do you like least about working here? What would make you leave? What would you like to change or improve? If you could tell the CEO/owner/leader anything you “Nobody cares how much you want, what would it be? know, until they know how much you care.” —Theodore Roosevelt Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Let Employees Know You Care Besides knowing your employees as individuals, there are many actions you can take to show that you are putting them ahead of your own self-interest. Laugh with your employees. Let them know you’re human, just like you recognize that they’re human. Volunteer to help with last-minute projects. Provide lunch for your staff—and eat with them. Provide an ice cream sundae bar and take care of everything from scooping the ice cream to cleaning up! Whenever a customer praises an employee, give him or her a reward. For instance, allow the employee to leave work early or provide a gift certificate to a local restaurant. Bring in a massage therapist and offer 15-minute chair massages during or after a particularly intense time at work. Have senior management wash the cars (or windshields) of the rest of the staff. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Identify and Leverage Employees’ Strengths Identifying and leveraging employees’ strengths increases not only their performance, but also their engagement and commitment. Sometimes it’s as simple as asking, “What are you good at?” But more often it requires observation and insight on your part and self-reflection on theirs. Here’s how you can start. Identify Strengths What does the employee do exceptionally well? What does the employee learn with ease and/or speed? What knowledge and skills does the employee possess that others don’t? What activities or tasks does the employee love to do? When does the employee get the most excited about work? Find out why they like what they do—this will help you to strategically match the employee with the next project that suits him or her. What accomplishments is the employee most proud of? Ask them to share the process they used to reach those accomplishments so you can understand the thinking that led to their success. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Identify and Leverage Employees’ Strengths Part 2 Identify Your Weakness to Find Your Strength Sometimes the best way to identify your strength is to find your weakness and do the opposite. For example, a team member was given the responsibility of analyzing team processes, tracking statistics, and organizing the information into a detailed report. She struggled and felt frustrated dealing with all the data points and realized she was much better at looking at the big picture and how the team fit into the organization’s overall vision. So she switched roles with another team member, allowing her to be happier and more successful in her contributions to the team. Work Backwards to Find Your Own Strength Think of a time when you were given a task or served in a role in which you felt uncomfortable or disconnected. What skills were required, and what are the opposite skills? Do these opposite skills feel like a better fit? Encourage your employees to complete this same activity for a week. Then meet with them and discuss the results. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Identify and Leverage Employees’ Strengths Part 3 Apply Strengths After you and the employee identify the employee’s strengths, it is equally important to leverage them—that is, figure out how to use them effectively. Ask employees, “How can your strengths support the organization’s goals?” Make a plan to use employees’ own strengths as much as possible by having them answer the following questions: – What responsibilities do I have that align with my strengths? – What do I need to do less of or stop doing if possible? – What am I not doing now that I could start doing? – How did I use my strengths today? Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Identify and Leverage Employees’ Strengths Part 4 Apply Strengths (continued) Help employees further develop their strengths through training, shadowing an expert, having a mentor, etc. Encourage employees to stretch their strengths by using them for a more complex or challenging project, or by finding new ways or situations to use them. Allow employees to “test drive” a new role or new use for their strengths. For example, set up a mini-internship program that allows them to try something new with the help of an experienced colleague. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Test Your Knowledge Read the question, then click on the answer. Which of the following is the best way to show employees you care about them as individuals? A. Treat all employees exactly the same so they know you are fair. B. Spend individual time with them and get to know their work style and preferences. C. Pry into employees’ personal lives so they know you are interested. D. Ignore employees because that means you trust them. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Treating every employee exactly the same indicates a lack of awareness of individual needs and concerns. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Correct! This strategy shows you have taken the time to understand individual needs and concerns. Click to Continue Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Showing an interest in family and activities is appropriate; prying isn’t. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Nobody likes to be ignored; you can show trust in other ways such as giving them more responsibility or making sure you don’t micromanage projects. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Module 2: Show Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Recognizing Signs of Diminishing Engagement “Undercover Boss” is a TV show on CBS that follows CEOs as they disguise themselves and work in various aspects of their organization’s operations. The CEOs inevitably discover superstar employees, as well as those who are less committed. They also find problems or obstacles in their systems that prevent employees from working effectively. You don’t have to put on a disguise to gain the kinds of insights that CEOs on “Undercover Boss” do. You can get the same results by being attentive to employees. It not only shows you care, but also allows you to find ways to improve systems and strategies for making your organization the best it can be. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Recognizing Signs of Diminishing Engagement Part 2 Gauge where your employees need the most support by observing where they are least engaged. Here are some signs to look for. Obvious Signs Absenteeism Tardiness Sloppy, careless work and no effort to correct mistakes Negativity and constant complaining Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Recognizing Signs of Diminishing Engagement Part 3 Subtle Signs In addition to obvious signs of a lack of engagement, there are also more subtle signs. Sensitive or crucial conversations aren’t happening because employees are afraid to speak up for fear of being politically incorrect or offending others. The language used throughout the organization is detached and impersonal and doesn’t get anyone fired up. Feedback doesn’t translate into meaningful action or improvement. Employees focus on tasks rather than goals and outcomes. Employees aren’t looking for the next challenge. Recruiters view your organization as a prime source of candidates for jobs in other organizations. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Remove Obstacles A study by Harvard Business School professor Teresa Amabile found that making progress rated first on a list of factors that made employees feel most engaged at work.v Workers felt most engaged when they made headway or received support to overcome obstacles in their jobs. They felt least engaged when they ran into brick walls at work. Reduce and Overcome the Threat of Obstacles Set smaller interim goals and recognize achievements. Adopt this philosophy from Seth Godin: “I work for you (my employees). What’s next on my agenda to support you and help you make your numbers go up?”vi Ask employees what is getting in the way of doing their jobs. Don’t assume you can’t fix it; it might be something simple. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Remove Obstacles Part 2 Common Obstacles to Be Aware Of Emphasis on busyness instead of results, outcomes, or productivity Shortcomings in the work environment; keep in mind, this will be different for every person. – Overly noisy (or quiet) – Frequent interruptions – Lack of privacy – Ergonomic issues: does the working environment allow for comfort, efficiency, and safety? Scheduling too many meetings Leaving employees out of the loop: lack of information and communication Inadequate resources: time, money, equipment, technology, etc. Lack of flexibility: in working schedules, processes, etc. Bad management: lack of a clear vision, micromanaging or abdicating responsibility, etc. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Are You an Obstacle? Numerous studies point to a “bad boss” as a primary reason employees leave their jobs.vii This is another way of describing some of the specific behaviors noted in the Introduction that cause employees to leave: lack of trust and respect, lack of support from direct supervisors, lack of appreciation, and feeling ignored or micromanaged. Examining your own behavior is important to make sure you are not a reason that good employees want to leave your organization. An additional concern: Research by Leigh Thompson and Cameron Anderson, professors at Northwestern University and University of California, Berkeley, found that “If the person in charge is high energy, aggressive, mean, the classic bully type, then over time, that’s the way the No. 2 person begins to act.”viii In other words, if you have a bad boss, his or her behaviors may rub off on you. And if you are a bad boss, your behaviors may rub off on others. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Are You an Obstacle? Part 2 How Do You Treat Others? The comments below are meant to be tongue-in-cheek—obviously, you don’t want to display any of these behaviors, but many people do! Sometimes you can’t help but chew people out—after all, they deserved it. You point out others’ mistakes—how can they improve if you don’t? You joke around and make sarcastic comments—it’s just a joke after all; they should be able to take it. You interrupt others—they are running on and on! You don’t have good relationships with people outside your immediate area—those people are probably out to get you or out-perform your area. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Are You an Obstacle? Part 3 How Do People React to You? An employee’s engagement is often reflected in how their behavior changes in your presence. If they engage in any of the following behaviors, you may need to reevaluate your own behavior as their supervisor. Warning signs an employee feels a lack of trust, respect, or appreciation: They seem nervous when they talk to you. They avoid making eye contact with you. They seem hesitant to deliver bad news to you. They seem to get serious when you approach. They show offense to some of your emails. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Are You an Obstacle? Part 4 What Conversations Do You Need to Have? When considering which employee relationship to focus on improving, think about the following questions: Who deserves praise and recognition? Who deserves an apology? Who can teach me something? Whom can I teach something? Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Are You an Obstacle? Part 5 Bosses who need to examine and improve their behavior will likely exhibit the following behaviors: Acting above the rules (e.g., arriving late, leaving early, spending excessive time online). Criticizing and blaming others, especially in public. Taking all the credit when things go right. Showing favoritism. Showing disrespect for employees’ personal time and commitments. Bullying others by yelling, intimidating, or threatening them. Withholding information. Using sarcasm; condescending, demeaning, or embarrassing others. Acting superior and making others feel stupid. Micromanaging. Lying. Gossiping or backstabbing. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Test Your Knowledge Read the question, then click on the answer. Which of the following is a subtle sign that employees are disengaged? A. Employees are focused more on goals and outcomes than on individual tasks. B. Employees speak up without fear of being considered politically incorrect. C. Employees aren’t looking for the next challenge. D. Outside recruiters don’t view your organization as a prime source of candidates. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Engaged employees are focused on goals and outcomes while disengaged employees are more focused on tasks. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Engaged employees are not afraid to speak up on issues important to them even if they’re considered sensitive or politically incorrect. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Correct! Disengaged employees tend to not challenge themselves or consider how to grow. Click to Continue Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Recruiters look for employees who are disengaged at their current place of employment. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Module 3: Grow Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Give Employees Attention The highest-performing employees generally seek constant challenges to keep them fresh and growing. They need and want your attention—but not too much! Finding the appropriate balance between ignoring and micromanaging your employees takes finesse, but the benefits are worth it. You will be helping your employees grow and become even more valuable to the organization. Review the signs on the next slides to see whether your natural tendency is to ignore or micromanage employees. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Give Employees Attention Part 2 Signs You Ignore Your Employees Having little or no understanding of what employees are working on Delegating without providing enough information for the employee to successfully carry out or complete the project Giving short yes or no answers without explaining the reasoning behind them Showing up late or skipping meetings Avoiding dealing with a problem until it becomes a “fire” Canceling meetings with employees because you have “fires” to put out or other “higher priority” tasks Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Give Employees Attention Part 3 Signs You Micromanage On the flip side, too much attention results in micromanaging your employees. Paying excessive attention to minor details of a project that you have given to an employee to oversee Constantly questioning employees about aspects of a project in a way that undermines their confidence Making numerous unwarranted changes to a project Bottom line: Managing the process more than managing the outcome Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Give Employees Attention Part 4 How to Overcome an Imbalance Clearly articulate expectations. Spell out the results you are looking for. Set clear parameters. Give employees autonomy to make decisions—and tell them what decisions they cannot make on their own. Establish guidelines for problems. Together, decide when employees should involve you in solving a problem and when they should work on it on their own. Set up regular check-in times. If you tend to ignore employees, the established times will compel you to meet (don’t cancel!), and if you tend to micromanage, they will encourage you to back off until the regularly scheduled meeting time. If you have a tendency to micromanage, be careful to focus on the big picture and let employees handle the details. Give employees credit for success. But don’t throw them under the bus if something goes wrong. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Offer Feedback and Coaching A study by Andrew Miner when he was at the University of Minnesota found that employees reacted to a negative interaction with their boss six times more strongly than they reacted to a positive interaction.ix The inference is that negative interactions stick with employees much more than positive ones. Therefore, managers should show restraint when criticizing employees. This doesn’t mean you should never share negative information, but do it as constructively as possible. How to Offer Constructive Criticism Deliver it in private. Deliver it in person. Never send negative feedback via email. Be specific and concise. Offer feedback non-judgmentally by focusing on behavior and not personality traits. For example, instead of saying, “You’re sloppy and careless,” say, “You turned in the spreadsheet a day late, and I noticed at least three math errors and factual mistakes.” Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Offer Feedback and Coaching Part 2 How to Offer Constructive Criticism (continued) Get the employee’s perspective on the situation by asking questions that encourage self-reflection. For example, ask, “What do you think would improve the result?” or “What would you do differently?” Tell the employee the kind of behavior you would like to see him or her practice rather than dwelling solely on past mistakes. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Offer Feedback and Coaching Part 3 Provide Future-Focused Coaching Feedback (constructive criticism) and coaching are two sides of the same coin. In general, feedback relates to past behaviors while coaching focuses on future behaviors. To effectively coach your employees: Meet the prerequisites: – Make sure your relationship with your employee is solid and based on trust and respect. – Offer frequent praise and appreciation for the behaviors you seek, e.g., quality work, supporting colleagues, showing initiative, etc. Focus on one issue or behavior at a time. Remember, this isn’t necessarily something the employee is doing wrong; it’s an area where the employee could improve to become a top performer. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Offer Feedback and Coaching Part 4 Provide Future-Focused Coaching (continued) Benchmark star performers to identify the best practices of your best employees. Share this information with the employee and determine ways the employee can adopt those strategies and improve his or her own performance. Get agreement about specific behaviors the employee will focus on. Provide support and resources (e.g., training) to enable the employee to make the improvement. Agree on a date to follow-up and review progress. “I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities.” —Bob Nardelli, former CEO of The Home Depot and Chrysler Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Create a Career Path and Meaningful Work Help employees begin to view their roles from a broader perspective. Together, answer the following questions: What outcomes do you achieve that contribute to the success of the organization? Answers should focus on goals and accomplishments. How are you impacting the organization, making it a better place to work? Answers should focus on behavior. How do your personal values align with the organization’s values? How are you enhancing our customers’ experience? Note: Share positive feedback from customers with employees. A 2011 PeopleMetrics report found that 55% of employees who receive customer recognition are engaged, versus 12% of employees who don’t receive customer recognition.x Answering these questions requires a shift in focus away from tasks and processes and toward outcomes. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Create a Career Path and Meaningful Work Part 2 Pursue Employee Engagement Another way to help employees grow is to actually pursue their engagement. Actively seek their involvement. Find ways to involve them in aspects of the business outside their specific job responsibilities. Ask for their opinions, and act on them (or tell them why you can’t act on them). Appoint them to serve on organization-wide committees, cross-functional projects, community outreach initiatives, etc. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Create a Career Path and Meaningful Work Part 3 Aspects of Fulfillment Autonomy and authenticity: Freedom to decide how to accomplish your work without compromising your values, which involves: – Empowerment: you are delegated responsibility to make decisions – Trust: no one is looking over your shoulder (micromanaging) Challenge: A sense that you are accomplishing something every day and that your work is on track and moving in the right direction, which involves: – Setting and meeting personal standards of excellence – Security: you do not have to worry about being punished for making an honest mistake – Acknowledging and celebrating milestones Opportunity: Being appreciated for your potential, which involves: – Resources and support to acquire new skills and knowledge (training, coaching, mentoring) Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Create a Career Path and Meaningful Work Part 4 Mapping the Future For each of the employees you manage, work with them to answer the following questions. These questions are designed to help you and your employee find meaning in your work by connecting personal values and work goals. My biggest accomplishment in the past year was... My top three priorities over the next three months are... My top three priorities over the next 12 months are... I hope that my biggest accomplishment in the next year will be... If I had no constraints (time, money, etc.) the thing I would most like to do at work is... Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Test Your Knowledge Read the question, then click on the answer. What is the best way to provide future-focused coaching? A. Offer feedback on several issues so the employee has a chance to improve in a variety of ways. B. Focus only on what the employee is doing wrong so they can see immediate improvement. C. Let the employee figure out what resources and support they need—that will build their autonomy skills. D. Benchmark star performers to identify best practices, and then share that information with the employee you are coaching. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Coaching works best when you focus on one issue at a time. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Coaching isn’t simply correcting what the employee is doing wrong; it’s focusing on ways the employee can increase their skills to become a star performer. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Your job as a manager is to provide support and resources; not make employees figure it out on their own. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Correct! Determine ways the employee can adopt these best practices to improve their own performance. Click to Continue Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Module 4: Crow Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Communicating for Engagement Researcher William Kahn describes an “open environment” as one where meaningful interactions occur regularly and where information is shared without fear of repercussions. Kahn found that an open environment in the workplace results in employees being more willing to devote extra effort to their work.xi A subsequent study by Watson Wyattxii found that employees who were highly engaged received far more communication from their supervisors and senior management than employees who were less engaged. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Communicating for Engagement Part 2 What: Principles of Communication You can’t over-communicate! People like to be in the loop and they hate to be out of the loop. In the absence of information, people tend to overreact to the information they have. Communication from senior management has a great deal of influence in how engaged employees feel. Talk is cheap—how supervisors and senior managers behave, is as important as what they say. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Communicating for Engagement Part 3 Keep in mind, however, that while people like to be in the loop, they dislike being CCed on emails that are unnecessary or irrelevant, so communication must be strategic. How: Strategies for Communication Talk individually and in groups. Regularly share the organization’s and/or department’s priorities. Share context—explain why the information you’re sharing matters to your employees. Use plain language rather than buzzwords and obfuscations. For instance, calling layoffs “right-sizing” or “consolidating leadership” is an example of obfuscation. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Communicating for Engagement Part 4 How: Strategies for Communication (continued) Pay special attention to how you communicate in emails, as they are usually impersonal and open to misinterpretation. Try to speak in person whenever possible. Uncover rumors and address negative information directly. One sign of an open environment is the willingness of employees to share negative or sensitive information and the willingness of managers to address it. Hold regular Q&A sessions to provide an open forum for employees to ask anything that’s on their minds. Discuss the behaviors that will make a difference, e.g., spotting new business opportunities, finding ways to improve processes, making an extra effort with a customer, etc. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Show Appreciation and Recognition Think about a recent recognition you received from your manager. What was it? Did it make you feel more positive and productive? Did it change anything about how you do your job? Now, think about the best or most memorable recognition you have ever received. What was it and why was it memorable? Did it make you feel more positive and productive? Did it change anything about how you do your job? What was the difference between these two approaches to recognition? According to a Gallup poll of 10,000 workgroups, individualized recognition is the key to making employees feel appreciated.xiii In other words, if you recognize employees but always use the same approach or reward, employees will still feel underappreciated. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Show Appreciation and Recognition Part 2 Ask Questions to Tailor Recognition Consider asking your employees the following questions to help you develop individualized approaches to offering recognition. What type of recognition means the most to you—public, private, written, verbal, etc.? From whom do you most like to receive recognition or praise? What do you like to be recognized for—individual achievement, helping others, innovating, etc.? What kinds of rewards motivate you—gift certificates, framed commendations, email distributed to a group, time off, etc.? Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Show Appreciation and Recognition Part 3 Use Praise to Engage Employees Praise is free, and everyone appreciates a “thank you” for their efforts. Follow these tips to make it meaningful to your employees. Your praise should be: Spontaneous—Don’t wait for a formal occasion. Offer praise frequently for all the great things your employees are doing. Specific—“Keep up the good work” is less effective than “I loved the graphics on your presentation—they added humor without distracting from your main point.” Sincere—Employees know by your tone of voice and body language whether or not you mean it. Spread—Look for opportunities to praise all of your employees, not just your favorites or superstars. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Show Appreciation and Recognition Part 4 One Final “O”: Dough Many managers and employees assume that money is an important motivator, if not the most important motivator at work. The results of an analysis of 92 studies show that the connection between salary and job satisfaction is weak.xiv An additional study by Gallup found no significant difference in the degree of employee engagement by pay level—in other words, higher paid employees weren’t necessarily more engaged. The bottom line: money doesn’t buy engaged employees. Despite this statistically validated study, you will find some employees are highly motivated by money, so don’t discount it completely. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Develop an Appreciation Bank Here are some ideas to show appreciation. See if you can think of even more. Freedom: Flextime, telecommuting, casual dress Fun: Pizza party, bowling, mini golf, movie outing Opportunity: Work on a new project, work with a particular colleague, take some training, visit a client or competitor Stuff: Gift certificates, plaques or trophies, equipment/gear/tools to do their job better or make it more pleasant such as an individual coffee maker Time: Time off, time to work on pet projects (a work-related activity the employee is particularly interested in) or time to volunteer “Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free and worth a fortune.” —Sam Walton Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Test Your Knowledge Read the question, then click on the answer. Which of the following is the most effective strategy for improving communication? A. Share context so employees understand why the information matters to them. B. Use an indirect approach to soften the blow when delivering bad news. C. Use email so everyone receives the same information at the same time. D. Share only what employees need to know so they don’t feel overwhelmed. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Correct! Employees are more engaged when they understand why the information is important to them. Click to Continue Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect It’s always best to use plain language and direct communication to avoid misunderstandings. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Email can be efficient, but is usually seen as impersonal and is often open to misinterpretation. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Incorrect Rumors flourish in the absence of solid information. Choose to share more, rather than less, information. Click to Try Again Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Review  Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment CASE STUDY—Apply What You’ve Learned Read the case study and answer the questions that follow in order to put your skills into practice. Organization: The commercial lending department of a large regional bank. People: Jenny and Mike, supervisors. Elaine, their boss. Adam and Kayla, employees who report to Jenny. Situation: Jenny approaches Mike for advice. Jenny: “Mike, can you help me with something? I don’t want to talk to Elaine—at least not yet—because I don’t want her to think I’m a bad manager or can’t solve my own people problems.” Mike: “Sure, what’s up?”  Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment CASE STUDY—Apply What You’ve Learned Part 2 Jenny: “A couple of my employees seem like they’re about to leave. Adam told me he’s being recruited by another bank and Kayla is hardly ever at her desk. She’s often talking to a coworker or just not around. It sure looks suspicious. And if they leave at the same time, doesn’t that make me look bad? I’m starting to wonder, is it me? Am I doing something wrong?” Mike: “I’m not sure what to tell you about Adam, but have you talked to Kayla about her behavior? Maybe there’s something going on in her personal life.” Jenny: “Well, no. I didn’t want to look like I didn’t trust her or that I was prying.” Mike: “Listen, you can accomplish two things—you can get to know what’s going on with her, and let her know that her current behavior is unacceptable.”  Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment CASE STUDY—Apply What You’ve Learned Part 3 Jenny agrees that’s a good idea and schedules a meeting with Kayla. Jenny: “Thanks for meeting with me.” Kayla: “Is something wrong?” Jenny: “Why would you ask that?” Kayla: “You don’t usually meet to share good news.” Jenny: “I wanted to check in with you and see if everything is all right. Here’s the deal—when I come looking for you, I frequently find that you’re not at your desk. If I go searching around, I find you talking to a coworker, or just not around.” Kayla: “What are you saying?” Jenny: “I’m just saying lots of times I don’t know where you are and I’m wondering if there’s anything you want to tell me.” Kayla: “Nope.” Jenny: “That’s it? Then you need to be at your desk or tell me where you are at all times.”  Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment CASE STUDY—Apply What You’ve Learned Part 4 They both leave the meeting feeling frustrated. Jenny decides to focus her attention on Adam. Jenny: “What can I do to keep you? How much money has the other company offered you?” Adam: “It’s not just about the money. I don’t feel like I have a voice in what goes on here. I’m a hard worker and I’ve tried to make improvements in my area, they’ve gone unnoticed. I don’t feel like there’s a future here. Jenny: “Adam, I feel terrible. You’re a valuable employee and I don’t want to lose you. I just get so busy that I forget to stop and thank you for doing your job. I really appreciate you.” Adam: “Thanks, but I’m afraid that’s too little, too late.”  Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment CASE STUDY—Questions to Consider 1. What signs of engagement or disengagement are present? 2. When Jenny talked with Kayla, how well did she follow the guidelines for offering constructive criticism? 3. When Jenny talked to Adam, how well did she create a career path and meaningful work for Adam? If not well, what did she do wrong? 4. What could Jenny do to turn around the lack of engagement? Review the ideas and suggested answers provided on the following slides.  Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment CASE STUDY—Suggested Answers 1. What signs of engagement or disengagement are present? There is clear disengagement shown in the fact that Adam is being recruited by another organization, Kayla’s frequently absent from her desk, and Jenny’s lack of knowledge about what is going on with Kayla. Additionally, Jenny’s reluctance to talk to her own boss indicates a less-than-open environment. 2. When Jenny talked with Kayla, how well did she follow the guidelines for offering constructive criticism? She followed some of the guidelines, but there is room for improvement. She talked to Kayla in private and in person which is good, but she was more open-ended than specific and concise when addressing the issue; she also asked Kayla questions, but they weren’t directed at self-reflection so much as simply getting an answer; she told Kayla the behavior she wanted to see, but it was in very harsh terms. Perhaps the biggest problem with the conversation was that Jenny and Kayla clearly weren’t on solid ground with their relationship—Kayla appeared not to trust Jenny very much, and Jenny had made no (or very little) effort to get to know Kayla as an individual.  Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment CASE STUDY—Suggested Answers Part 2 3. When Jenny talked to Adam, how well did she create a career path and meaningful work for Adam? If not well, what did she do wrong? It appeared as though Jenny made no effort to work with Adam to develop a career path and meaningful work. She assumed that money was his chief motivator and justified her lack of interaction with her employees—in particular, the lack of praise—by focusing on how busy she is. That’s typical of many supervisors, but as Jenny found out, it usually results in a lack of employee engagement. 4. What could Jenny do to turn around the lack of engagement? Jenny is out of touch with her employees. She needs to spend time with them individually, to get to know them on a personal level. In addition, she needs to communicate more with them as a group, and individually. Finally, she should work with each employee to map out a career path and make sure that every employee has a sense of meaningfulness, choice, competence, and progress in their work. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Congratulations! By now you should be able to: Recognize the importance of knowing every employee as a unique individual. Identify each employee’s strengths and how to leverage them in the workplace. Show your support by minimizing obstacles that frustrate employees—including yourself! Create a career path and meaningful work for each employee. Foster an environment where employees feel free to ask and say anything. Show appreciation and recognition in a way that is meaningful to each employee. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment Appendix Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment References Clark, Timothy R. The Employee Engagement Mindset: The Six Drivers for Tapping into the Hidden Potential of Everyone in Your Company. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Holbeche, Linda and Geoffrey Matthews. Engaged: Unleashing Your Organization’s Potential through Employee Engagement. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2012. Kaye, Beverly and Sharon Jordan-Evans. Love ‘em or Lose ‘em: Getting Good People to Stay. 4th ed. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2008. Kelleher, Bob. Louder than Words: 10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps that Drive Results. Portland, OR: BLKB Publishing, 2010. Kruse, Kevin. Employee Engagement for Everyone: 4 Keys to Happiness and Fulfillment at Work. Philadelphia, PA: The Center for Wholehearted Leadership, 2013. Rice, Christopher, and Fraser Marlow, and Mary Ann Masarech. The Engagement Equation: Leadership Strategies for an Inspired Workforce. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012. i http://www.towerswatson.com/en/Insights/IC-Types/Survey-Research-Results/2012/07/2012-Towers- Watson-Global-Workforce-Study. ii http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevecooper/2012/07/30/make-more-money-by-making-your-employees- happy/. iii http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/EUArticle.cfm?ItemNumber=11514 ;and http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2011/12/14/top-ten-reasons-why-large-companies-fail-to-keep- their-best-talent/. iv Gebauer Julie, and Don Lowman. Closing the Engagement Gap: How Great Companies Unlock Employee Potential for Superior Results. New York: Penguin Group, 2008. v http://www.shrm.org/Publications/hrmagazine/EditorialContent/2010/0510/Pages/0510fox.aspx. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment References Part 2 vi http://hr.toolbox.com/blogs/strategic-employee-recognition/become-the-hired-help-to-get-the-results- you-want-39921#comments. vii http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/whatsnew/package.jsp?name=fte/quitjobs/quitjobs. viii http://inthesetimes.com/article/2901/. ix http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/03/the_delicate_art_of_giving_fee.html. x http://www.peoplemetrics.com/blog/employee-engagement-helping-employees-find-meaning-on-the- job/. xi Kahn, William A. “Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work.” Academy of Management Journal 33, no. 4 (1990): 692-724. xii https://est05.esalestrack.com/eSalesTrack/Content/Content.ashx?file=cd7b5626-fc22-4400-913d- 0b522e07ec3c.pdf. xiii http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/13888/best-ways-recognize-employees.aspx. xiv http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/04/does_money_really_affect_motiv.html. Employee Engagement: The Supervisor’s Guide to Gaining and Sustaining Commitment © 2014 HRDQ. All rights reserved. Published by HRDQ. HRDQ and the HRDQ logo are registered trademarks of Organization Design and Development, Inc. This publication is distributed under the terms and conditions of the Reproducible Content End User License Agreement (EULA). For specific details, visit www.hrdq.com/legal. For more information about this publication or to order additional copies, please contact the HRDQ Customer Service Team by phone at 610-279-2002 or by email at [email protected]. For more information about HRDQ products, visit www.hrdq.com. ISBN 978-1-58854-771-2 Title slide image: Dragon Images/Shutterstock.com. Images used under license from Shutterstock.com. Microsoft®, Word®, PowerPoint®, and Outlook® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 2750E1ENGE EN-01-NV-18