Keeping Employees Engaged in Difficult Times

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Keeping Employees Engaged in Difficult Times

• Lori M. Smith, Capstone Coaching Consulting,
  Inc.
• Nikki Novotney Rieck, Strategic Programs, Inc.

2
Session Overview

• A Few Basics About Engagement
• What Are We Seeing In The Workplace Right Now?
• Ways To Re-engage Dis-engaged Employees
• The OD Network Future Focus

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Starting Close to Home

• What does it mean to be engaged in your work?
  What helps keep you engaged?

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What is Engagement?

• Engaged Employees
• consistently speak positively about the
  organization to coworkers, potential employees,
  and customers
• have an intense desire to be a member of the
  organization despite opportunities to work
  elsewhere
• exerts extra time, effort, and initiative to
  contribute to business success

Employee engagement is about translating
employee potential into employee performance
and business success. Melcrum Report
Source Employee Engagement, How to build a
high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing,
2005.
5
Why is Engagement Important to Your Organization?

• Multiple studies show a correlation between
  levels of engagement and business performance
• (Gallup, Towers Perrin, Great Places to
  Work, International Survey Research)
• Engagement studies reveal companies with higher
  percentages of highly engaged employees also
  have
• Strong customer-focused organizations
• Increased retention, decreased absenteeism and
  staff turnover
• Better financial performance
• (Revenue growth (Towers Perrin), Operating
  Margin And Net Profit Margin (1999, 2001 ISR),
  Total Shareholder Return (2003, Hewitt), Stock
  Market Performance (2002, The Frank Russell
  company)

Source Employee Engagement, How to build a
high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing,
2005.
6
Engagement Measures a Composite

• The words and actions of senior management
• The words and actions of direct supervisors
• Informal recognition of work well done
• Clarity around ones roles and responsibilities
• An equitable basic workplace environment
• Clear and regular communication
• The opportunity to develop skills and talents
• Belief in the future of the company
• Formal reward and recognition

Source Employee Engagement, How to build a
high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing,
2005.
7
Top 6 Drivers Of Employee Engagement

• Actions of Senior leadership
• Actions of Direct supervisors
• Opportunities for career advancement
• Belief in vision, values and strategy
• Fostering of people culture
• Compensation and benefits

Source Employee Engagement, How to build a
high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing,
2005. p. 59, North America.
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Employee Engagement Cycle
Fully Engaged
Passive
Commitment
Productivity
Active
Disengagement
Evaluation
Engagement
Complete
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Impact of Loss of Engagement Turnover

• Financial
• Organizational performance
• Customer dissatisfaction
• Loss of competitive edge
• Reduced safety
• Decreased quality

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72 of companies have reduced their workforce in
response to the recession (Towers Perrin) The
number of actively disengaged workers has gone
from 3 to 24 in organizations who have laid off
workers (Gallup)
What Are We Seeing Right Now? Reactions to the
Recession
In your organizations?
Source Re-Engage Disengaged Employees, Alison
Davis, SHRM website
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47 of high performers are looking to leave their
jobs when the economy picks up
Reactions to the Recession

• Only 18 of low performers want to leave

Source Leadership IQ.com
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Different People, Different Reasons

• Baby Boomers burned out, looking forward to
  retirement and not able to retire because of
  economy
• Some Gen Xers stuck in the middleunable to
  move up because boomers are still there
• Millennials not focused on longevity in one job
  or with one company

Source Re-Engage Disengaged Employees, Alison
Davis, SHRM website
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Engagement Factors
Source Research by Strategic Programs, Inc.
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Importance vs. Performance
Source Research by Strategic Programs, Inc.
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Top 6 Drivers Of Employee Engagement

• Listed in order of impact
• Actions of Senior leadership
• Actions of Direct supervisors
• Opportunities for career advancement
• Belief in vision, values and strategy
• Fostering of people culture
• Compensation and benefits

Source Employee Engagement, How to build a
high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing,
2005. p. 59, North America.
16
Ways to Re-engage
Dis-engaged Employees

• Your thoughts

• Ask team members (customers) what engages them
  and then take meaningful action 1 on 1
• Talk with your team membersask them what they
  need to be successful? what drives them crazy?
  Determine what is actionable and then follow
  through
• Create ownership for the work and for success
• Help team members see how their work contributes
  to the overall success of the business and to the
  customer
• Find meaning in your work how does it
  contribute to the overall good?

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Ways to Re-engage
Dis-engaged Employees

• Use the Swiffer Strategy find ways to look at
  the same ole problems from a new perspective
  ask those closest to the work
• Focus on using team members strengths and
  leveraging strengths of the whole team to get the
  work done
• Get team members more information and deliver
  it face-to-face and in small doses, more often
• Use Skypeor other ways to add faces to virtual
  meetings
• Use social media to help employees connect across
  the organization Best Buy Blue Shirt Nation

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Ways to Re-engage
Dis-engaged Employees

• Take a personal approach -- get to know one
  another
• Use f2f recognition, at least once a week within
  your team
• Increase ownership for the results
• Expect team members to contribute
• Invest in your people if you dont have ,
  invest time
• Find humor appropriately of course
• Uncover the collective genius of your team
  members they just might surprise you

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The Role of Senior Leaders in Building Engagement

• The top six most important actions for senior
• leaders to build employee engagement
• Communicate a clear vision 70
• Build trust in the organization 46
• Involve employees in decision making that 40
• will affect them
• 4. Demonstrate commitment to the companys
  values 39
• 5. Being seen to respond to feedback 33
• 6. Demonstrate genuine commitment to 28
• employees well being

Source Employee Engagement, How to build a
high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing,
2005.
20
How Organizations Measure the Impact of
Engagement Efforts

• By evaluating fluctuations in our employee survey
  scores 55
• By evaluating anecdotal feedback from employees
  through 49
• focus groups, online forums, etc
• By observing employees willingness to
  participate in 32
• company programs
• By observing increases in employees
  receptiveness to change 29
• By analyzing other data in the business,
  29
• i.e. profitability, retention, etc..)
• Through other means 4
• We do not formally measure the impact of our
  engagement 32
• endeavors at this time

Source Employee Engagement, How to build a
high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing,
2005.
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Board Planning Retreat

• Held in mid-September
• Included past, present and future board
  membership
• Used several sources for planning
• Historical context of who we are
• Vision
• Purpose
• Results of Member Survey
• SOAR Analysis
• Goal Setting

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Where Omaha OD Network is Going Our Focus for
2010-2015

• Four Key Areas in Five Years
• Create multiple avenues to help members explore,
  learn and apply OD methods, tools and techniques.
• To be the preferred source for our members by
  providing education about leading edge topics
  incorporated into programs and professional
  development.
• Create a 5-year plan for creating a more robust
  website.
• Create increased awareness with senior leaders in
  the business community about how OD can help them
  achieve business results.

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In 2010

• Create Multiple Avenues
• Use round table discussions to create intentional
  connections between membersdeepen knowledge
  networking
• Provide three additional program opportunities
  for professional development outside the monthly
  programs
• Leading Edge Topics
• Identify two leading-edge, OD-related topics to
  incorporate into 2010 programming

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In 2010

• More Robust Website
• Create a plan for website development that will
  include the features most in demand from members,
  as indicated in 2009 (and future) member survey
• Increased Awareness with Senior Leaders
• Target one event per year to invite and target
  the interests of a broader audience, including
  business leaders

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How Can You Make a Difference?

• Stake a claim in the success of Omaha OD Network
• Were striving to move from less than 10 members
  actively involved, contributing to the
  organization beyond monthly meetings, to 20
  members actively involved in 2010.
• Use your strengths to contribute to our cause
• Program and Professional Development Committees
  Need People Who
• have ideas or who
• know people who would be good resources or who
• Like to organize or people who
• Get smarter or people who
• Like to network or people who
• Just want to make this a stronger, more vibrant
  and exciting chapter
• Contact Nikki Novotney Rieck (303-596-3357) or
  Pam Nienaber (402-481-5693) -- Program Committee
  or Todd Conkright (777-3925) for Professional
  Development
• Communications Committee Needs a Few People who
  are Interested in Working with our Website
  Strategy and Vendor,
• Contact Dani Evans (361-7471)

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• "I dwell in possibility."
• Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)American poet
• "We do not describe the world we see, we see the
  world we describe. "
• by Joseph Jaworksi,
• Synchronicity the Inner Path of Leadership