Is Employee Engagement Really a Scam?

Liz Ryan, CEO of Human Workplace, had a compelling essay on LinkedIn recently called "The Employee Engagement Scam". The article caught my attention for two reasons: (1) because I am a fan of Liz’s writing and, (2) because I’m CEO of a software company that sells an employee engagement platform - specifically one designed to handle employee suggestions and engage customers, partners and employees.

Needless to say, the headline “Employee Engagement is Scam” caught my attention. In the article, Liz dismisses the entire concept as a fad that “sounds idiotic” and says participants may have been “brainwashed.”

Excuse me, what?

First off, let me say I wholeheartedly agree with Liz on a couple of points, specifically those about the downfalls of HR surveys and her call for more humility in business operations. She's spot-on there.

But I disagree with Liz when she writes: “...measurement is an addiction for fearful business and institutional weenies. They can't stop measuring things because it makes them feel that they're in control.”

Woah, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. I’d argue the two can co-exist: good organizations and teams find a balance between humanity and data.

I discovered this during my years as a competitive cyclist. Having good teammates is important, but so is knowing a rider’s top-end (i.e., how fast someone can go) in a field sprint with 150 other guys going 70km per hour. Someone’s top-end speed is a raw measure of ability, and a necessary piece of data. It’s also true that when you want to improve performance, measure it. Every cyclist knows their personal best times and goes into every race with a goal of beating it. Knowing your score gives you information on how to improve it.

Just like in a large organization, using data to help leadership better understand where there's room for improvement, helps them focus their efforts and make better business decisions. By removing all data benchmarks, you run the risk of creating an unfocused team.

With this comes an important caveat - be careful what you measure. Creating phoney metrics like “Employee Engagement is at 35” is, obviously, bogus. Since it doesn’t measure anything in reality, it’s pointless. Liz and I agree there.

By overusing data, you lose humanity.

I consider my company to be in the “employee engagement” industry and Vocoli software does not rely on bogus metrics. As a digital employee suggestion system, our platform makes it easier for good ideas to be communicated up and down the organization.

Designed to replace the oft-broken suggestion box system, Vocoli ensures great ideas are communicated to management without getting lost (whether they be small operational improvements or large game changers). Employees can “like” and comment on other people’s ideas. Leaders can issue challenges and reward employees for good ideas.

We consider this real employee engagement. Employees being heard, challenged, and recognized by management and encouraged to help the organization, and themselves, get ahead.