Effective Engagement
Employee
Engagement/Satisfaction surveys are becoming more common. They’re designed to provide management with a
one-off snapshot of the relationship between management and employees in an
organisation. Hopefully, this highlights
potential disasters which can be averted or, at the very least, areas where
improvements (not always obvious) can be made.
The problem with a number of the surveys that go out is that
they define “engagement” in their own terms, usually along the lines of:
- Approachability of management
- Ability of management to listen
- Interest of management in employees (career, etc)
- Rewarding/interesting/challenging work
- Compensation
- Commitment to employees
- Colleagues
- Environment
- Trust in management
…and other dimensions relating to involvement, commitment
and productivity that may/may not actually be relevant to the business and
industry in question.
In theory, employees who are more “engaged” should perform
better and be less likely to leave than those who aren’t. Studies have shown this to be the case,
although one questions whether higher engagement is the cause of higher productivity or merely a correlation with it.
From a personal point of view, if I’m “happy” in my job,
I’ll generally enjoy it more and be more productive as I don't notice that I’m
“working”. Taking this further, I know
what I look for in an organisation in order to enjoy being there but my needs,
whilst in many respects similar to my colleagues', will also differ wildly in
others. This can be due to:
- Personal values
- Education
- Family values
- Societal values
I wonder how many bank employees feel truly “engaged”, given
the hammering that banks have been (and still are, in some cases) taking at the
hands of politicians and the press.
So what does one do to “engage” employees? To start with, treat them as human beings rather than “human
resources”. How often have we read in
some organisation’s literature that its “most valuable resource is our people”
only to see that these are just words. Yes,
you can’t treat everyone exactly the
way they want to be treated, but just treating them as human beings would be a
start. Taking the view of “We pay them a
salary” simply doesn’t work. Other
employers pay salaries as well - some pay better than you do…
Next, remember that your employees are capable of boosting
business not just through training, pay and targets, but in the way they treat
customers and each other. A “great”
organisation can be seen from the way it handles the people around it.
Then extend your “engagement” to your suppliers, customers,
legal advisers, accountants and anyone else with whom you have contact (e.g.
government inspectors). Find out what they need from you to make their job (and, by extension, yours) easier.
Creating this culture needs a particular mind set that is
prepared to be open, honest and willing to accept criticism. This can only come from the very top.
Labels: Customer Care, Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 11:34
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