a rough guide to employee engagement

A r o u g h g u i d e t o

Employee Engagemen

t

S o , w h a t i s

Employee Engagement?

What is Employee Engagement?

It can be seen as a combination of commitment to the organisation & its values plus a willingness to help out colleagues (organisational citizenship)It goes beyond job satisfaction & is not simply motivationEngagement is something that the employee has to offer and cannot be ‘required’ as part of the employment contract. Simply put, it is…

The extent to which people feel personally involved in the success of a business…

Dis-engagement? We know it when we see it!

Transactional to transformational

Transactional engagementAct on feedback from surveySet of activities and targetsReactive engagementIs an add on, separate activityNot integral to businessSet of transactions

Transformational engagement;A way of doing businessEmployees are integral

Pro-activeInsight regularly sought, harnessed and acted on

Integrated

“Employee engagement is the difference that makes the difference – and could make all of the difference” MacLeod review

W h a t c a n

Employee Engagement achieve?

The business case

Happy Employees

There are proven benefits to both the business and the employee

Happy Customers

Less Absenteeism

Customer Loyalty

Employee Loyalty Greater Productivity Ability to attract high quality staff

Ability to win new customers

Sears employee customer profit chain

5 pt. Increase in employee attitude

1.3 Increase in customer satisfaction

0.5 Increase in revenue growth

Does it matter?

Glassdoor – ignore it at your perilStarbucks Barista in Falls Church, VA:   (Past Employee - 2009) “Good First Job”Pros - Fun environment, cool people, get to meet and talk with a lot of regular customers, never boredCons - tiring, at times stressful, not paid enough for work that they doAdvice to Senior Management: Need to pay employees more

Company rating 3.4 / 5 based on 788 ratings

Employee Engagement delivers Return on Investment

A reduction in call centre attrition from 41% to 22% in just one year, saving over £370,000Increased cross-sales contribution of over £6 millionA reduction in absence saving over £250,00087% of staff making a voluntary commitment to take a 10% pay cut to ensure their business survived these tough timesA movement from -14 to +28 net promoter score (customer advocacy) in one year,An increase in engagement survey response rates from 50% to 94%Improved survey scores e.g. recommend this as a good place to work 24% to 89% in 12 months

Some questions for you…

What is your definition of employee engagement?

Why are you focusing on it?

For what purpose?

So what are your goals and outcomes?

Employee Engagement – how do you do it?

Engage For Success EnablersStrategic narrative – a clear, compelling narrative of where the organisation is going and whyLine Management – employees know what is expected of them, feel appreciated, are given autonomy and receive trainingEmployee Voice – the employee voice is offered and heard up and down the organisation, people feel their voice countsIntegrity– most organisations espouse values, all have behavioural norms. Any gap results in is distrust and trust is at the heart of employee engagement

People Lab Engagement Elements

CHANGE

DIALOGUEINVOLVELEAD

SUSTAIN

Does this sound familiar?

The results?Dwindling response ratesLack of buy-inCynicism, low trustNo real change achievedLow ROI

survey black holeaction plan

Is it time for a change?

Time for a new approach – but what does this look like?

• 17

What can we learn from

positive psychology?

Focus on the (positive) psychology of engagement

The current paradigm:

Work harder

More Success

Win/ happier

But this formula is scientifically broken

1. Every time we have a success the goalposts change. We reach our sales targets, we get set higher targets

2. So we’re continually pushing happiness over our cognitive horizon

3. And in fact…. The opposite is true – positive brains perform significantly better than negative, neutral or stressed brains

4. So if we focus on creating happy, positive brains we are more successful

5. Research shows increases in intelligence, creativity and energy

6. This translates into business outcomes

Positive thinking

Lyobomirsky 2005 found:

– 31% increase in productivity

– Improved resilience

– Less burnout

– Less employee turnover

– Increased sales -37%

– When your brain is in a positive state it performs better

then in a neutral, negative or stressed state

Why is this?

The formula is the wrong way round

Work harder

More Success

Happier/ +ve

• Being in a positive brain state releases Dopamine

• This makes you feel happier

• But it also turns on all your learning centers in your

brain

Creating a positive lasting change

You can rewire your brain by doing the following everyday for

21 days:

– 3 gratitude's each day

– Journaling

– Exercise

– Meditation

– Random acts of kindness

This will help train your brain to scan for the positive rather

than the negative

Discovery“the best of

what is”Appreciating

Destiny“How will we

get there”Sustaining

Design“What should

be”Co-constructing

Dream “What could

be”Envisioning

Definition“what frames our inquiry”

Framing

Affirmative topic choice

Appreciative Inquiry “5-D” Cycle

SEE THE DIFFERENCE

BE THE DIFFERENCE

SHAPE THE DIFFERENCE

IMAGINE THE DIFFERENCE

CHANGE

The employee engagement toolkit

Bringing it to life – Everest case study

Low survey participation Lack of trust

Need to reduce costs

Challenging trading

conditions

the situation at Everest

the change?to transform Everest into a great place to work

Action workshop

with champions

Leaders action

workshops

All employee action

workshops

• Quick wins• Activity happening immediately • Employees making it happen

Involving employees in creating a great place to work

Did it work?

87% of employees voluntarily signed a consent form to reduce salaries if required –potential £1.2 million savingSurvey response rates increased from 50% to 94%Improved engagement scores across the boardContribution towards £2.5 million reduction in operating costs Volume of local activity focusing on reducing costs and increasing salesAn example of best practice, finalist CIPR Pride awards and Personnel Today awards

Engaged, positive, happy people! O u r e x p e r i e n c e h a s s h o w n u s t h a t h a p p y p e o p l e m a ke w o r k p l a c e s b e t t e r f o r E V E RYO N E - e m p l o y e e s , c u s t o m e r s , b u s i n e s s e s & s o c i e t y.

The only question is…

Why wouldn’t you take engagement seriously?

THANK YOU!

Fancy a chat?

Call Emma on 07595465515, or send your emails to info@peoplelab.co.uk.