Thoughts on Employee Engagement

I had the opportunity this week to engage with Tracy Stanley, a doctoral candidate at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. Ms. Stanley is working on her doctoral thesis on investigating how work environments foster creative behaviors and influence employee engagement. She is also writing a book on Employee Engagement, which I'm very much looking forward to reading.

Ms. Stanley asked me to answer some questions about my thoughts about employee engagement for her research from my perspective as a Human Resources executive. I thought it would be worthwhile to share her questions and my answers. My answers were strictly coming straight from my head through the keyboard in one sitting, with no research or polishing, so please forgive any rough edges.

TS: What do you understand employee engagement to mean?

BW: For me engagement signifies to what extent employees’ hearts and minds are dedicated to the work they are doing, and to the organization they are doing it for. 

TS: From your experience, what factors most contribute to employee engagement in the workplace?

BW: This is a tough question, as I think there are multiple, dynamic factors that work in balance and harmony (or not) with each other. I think for different people different factors take on greater meaning. Also, I think engagement factors shift as we age and mature. All this means that one size does not fit all. That said, I believe these are some of the key factors:

• Meaningful work – Is it something I enjoy? Am I making a meaningful difference? Is there a tangible mission/purpose that resonates with me?
• Appreciation – Do I believe that my organization, and in particular my bosses, appreciate my efforts and my contribution?
• Development – Am I gaining experience, knowledge, education and/or exposure that helps me grow towards my career/life aspiration(s)?
• Environment – Do I enjoy the people I work with? Do I like my boss? Am I inspired by my workplace (people, environment, etc.)? Is there a “cool” factor (I find this to be especially more relevant for younger workers, but also more so for older workers than we sometimes realize)?
• Winning – Is my organization successful? And if not, do I believe it can be?

TS: What are the biggest drivers of disengagement at work?

BW: For starters, the opposite of everything above. But it usually all starts with the direct supervisor. I think positive engagement can be a combination of so many successful elements, but often (probably usually in my opinion) disengagement has everything to do with the boss. I believe the old adage is true: “people join organizations, but they leave bosses”. But leaving doesn’t necessarily mean resigning; disengaging is a form of leaving.

TS: If you were involved in running a large engagement program, what were the biggest obstacles to increasing employee engagement (if any)?

BW: Consistency of leadership. Leaders have such a huge influence, positively or negatively. It’s interesting to see in a large organization, where everything else is equal (the environment, type of work, development programs, etc.), how some departments are off the charts in both directions. That almost always has everything to do with the leaders of those departments. 

TS: What support or resources, if any, were critical for success?

BW: The ability to measure quickly and easily is important, meaning having the right systems and enough manpower to gather, analyze and react to data. However, for me it’s more important to have senior leader understanding, alignment, support, and ownership for engagement. If leaders are aligned and supportive, then it’s possible to successfully work through the number 1 challenge: consistency of leadership throughout the organization.

TS: If you had to do it (it being a large engagement program) again – what would you do differently?

BW: Engagement programs have tended to focus on the action of running a survey. I think surveys are important in the sense that, if actually statistically valid, they give us important data to work with. But one common mistake I’ve seen (and participated in) is to spend so much energy on running the survey, then forget to actually communicate and follow-up with employees. What I mean by that is that engagement revolves around running an annual event, rather than actually doing the things that help drive engagement. Running a survey allows employees to have a voice, but if they don’t trust the process, or perceive that management isn’t doing anything with the feedback, or worse, feel like it’s used against them, the program has the opposite of its intended consequence.

So with that in mind, I would find simpler and nimbler ways to survey, trust the principle of statistical validity (meaning that I don’t necessarily need 100% participation – something that I’ve seen used often as a misguided metric). Then I would focus most energy on:

1)   Segmenting and analyzing the data. This requires some analytical capability that would need to be either hired or outsourced. With segmentation an organization can understand where supporters and detractors are, and what factors are driving that. I believe that, with limited resources (and isn’t that true for all of us), focusing on the extremes is the best strategy.

2)  Communicating, teaching and supporting managers on how to listen to and respond to employee feedback. Part of this includes helping them understand that a survey is only one data point, but that they should engage in many different types feedback gathering, including town halls, one-on-one meetings, etc. Good leaders have a way to keep their ear to the ground and knowing what’s going on, with the ability to intervene and correct issues before they grow out of control. Bad leaders are usually deaf to this and then in denial about their own failure in leadership.

3)  Most importantly, does the organization have the courage to move out managers/leaders that don’t have what it takes. This can sometimes mean moving a leader out who is getting results (in the short-term), despite his employees feeling disengaged. I truly believe that as executive leaders (and otherwise) we are judged by who we hire, fire and promote.

TS: What three things most influence your own engagement within an organsiation?

BW: In my case I’m engaged by feeling like I have high trust with my boss, peers and subordinates. This trust is built through transparent communication. I also love working with people from various cultures, and doing transformational work.