How do you engage your employees in good times and bad?

For Better or For Worse

Pictures of presenters

Chloe Lemelle, M.S. Shrayashi Jariwala Browne, M.B.A.

The purpose of this webinar is to exposeorganizations to the engagement levels of theiremployees. It is something that often fliesunder the radar, but really needs to beaddressed.

In order to capitalize and maximize the skillsand productivity that your team has to offer,you need to figure out how to best engagethem in their work. As the picture describes,you don’t want employees who are employedbut not engaged, because these are the typesthat may leave you at the altar or pursue otherjob opportunities.

When the economic situation we are currentlyin improves, don’t lose your best talent to yourcompetitors. Keep them engaged andcommitted.

I want to turn now to a connection that will bediscussed throughout the presentation thatreally analogizes job relationships to romanticrelationships.

When you sit back and think about it, jobdynamics and personal relationships are a lotalike and they both operate in similar phases…

Phase One: The Search

…You start out in the searching phase where you let it be known that you are looking for that specialsomeone. Just like dating, job seekers market themselves in some way. They clean up their resume;tout their knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics; and peruse websites and job postingslooking for that ideal job. They have certain qualifications in mind for what they are willing to acceptand some key characteristics they are looking for in a potential employer.

So, both dating and job hunting involve putting yourself out there, marketing yourself, and showinginterest at the sign of a potential prospect.

Phase Two: Prospects

With prospects, in both dating and job seeking, individuals try to present themselves in a favorablelight. They put their best foot forward, try to minimize imperfections, and try to find common groundto spark the interests of their prospect. The goal is to impress.

Sometimes your efforts are fruitful and produce strong possibilities for sustained success…

…And other times, your efforts are futile and end up being a waste of time at best or a disaster atworst!

In both cases, some people are impulsive with these decisions, pick a bad fit, and end up beingunhappy because they do not feel fulfilled. Other times, people are unlucky with their prospectsand end up with bad apples. They likely feel forced to settle with whatever decent opportunitycomes their way.

However, the hope is that with time, proper understanding, patience, and mutual understanding;a strong connection is formed.

Phase Three: Time to Get SeriousOnce you emerge victorious through the initialphases, you then enter into the next phase –the one that solidifies your relationship intosomething more official (the one where youare given the option to move forward in therelationship or pursue more options).

Do you say “yes” and accept the job?

You know that once you accept, it is a seriouscommitment. Are you willing to accept whatthe organization has to offer, or do you feelthere is a better candidate out there?

Once you accept the commitment, you thenenter into a marriage-like state with your placeof employment. You sign the papers, and it’sofficial!

Phase Four: The Honeymoon Period

Next you enter the honeymoon period. There is a sense of bliss, excitement of what’s to come,and peace about finding a stable job. You are meeting new people, soaking everything in, andbasking in the fact that you are no longer unemployed.

We all know why it is called “the honeymoon period” – because it is short-lived. You slowly startto realize that everything isn’t sunshine and roses and some negative tendencies start to emerge.

Phase Five: The Novelty Wears Off

When the novelty wears off, youslowly start to notice things aboutyour employer that get under yourskin.

Like in marriage, many couples argueover the toilet seat issue. Some areeven driven to divorce by this verytopic.

In organizations, you are exposed tonew policies, procedures, and issueswith which you may not agree.

It is no longer everythingthat you once made it outto be or rationalized inyour mind that it wouldbe. You may start to feelneglected at work orunderappreciated. Youmay not fit in as well inthe team as you thoughtyou would. Now, all of asudden, your organizationdoesn’t seem like theplace you once fell headover heels for.

What is the point of this analogy?

The point is to really illustrate the processes and thoughts at play in work relationships.Organizations need to be exposed to these tendencies to best understand how to motivate andsustain there people. Just like some marriages are successful and more auspicious, so are certainwork relationships. You have employees who have been with the same company for decades anddecades and have risen up the ranks.

On the other hand and, more often than not, relationships tend to end on a less favorable note.Let’s turn now to some statistics…

Divorce60%

Stay Together

40%

Couples between the ages of 20 - 25

Divorce Rates

Data provided by the National Center for Health Statistics

Average Voluntary Turnover Rates

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

All Industries Accommodation & Food Services

Leisure & Hospitality

Turnover Percentage

23.4%

56.4%52.2%

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2006, the average voluntary turnover ratewas 23.4% - the highest being in the Accommodation and Food Services Sector (56.4%) andthe Leisure and Hospitality sector (52.2%).

Pertaining to the restaurant industry, People Report showed that the average annual hourlyturnover was more than 107 percent (2006) and that management turnover was close to29 percent (2006).

Employee Commitment

• Normative – obligatory commitment

• Continuance – commitment by necessity

• Affective – commitment by liking

Normative Commitment

Normative commitment represents feelings of obligation to the workplace. There is a sense of moralobligation, loyalty, and duty.Societal pressures may impart to you that it is wrong to leave a job and that you should just stick itout. You create a psychological contract with your employer that binds you in a sense. In essence,you commit to avoid being psychologically scolded.

Continuance Commitment

Continuance commitment involves a lack of alternatives and the determination that the costs toleaving your current job outweigh the benefits of taking a new job.Maybe you’ve made close friends that you don’t want to lose, maybe you worry about a loss ofpension benefits, maybe you are vested in an organization or eligible for promotion, or maybe theeconomy is in a recession, and you are afraid to leave your current employer, so you remain“committed.”

Affective Commitment

Affective commitment is often what people think of when they think of commitment. Thisrepresents the emotional attachment, identification, and involvement that an employee has withits organization and the organization’s goals. Here you are committed because you want to be,because you enjoy what you do, and you appreciate your organization and what it stands for.

Unlike the other two, where you stay with a company because you feel you have to, affectivelycommitted employees stay because they want to.

Employee EngagementMore than commitment and job satisfaction

Now that you understandcommitment, it is easier torecognize the driving forcesbehind engagement.

Employees that areaffectively committed aremore likely to be engaged.

Engaged employees aretypically more productive,more enthusiastic abouttheir work, and more likelyto act in ways that furtherthe organization’s interests.

Employee Engagement

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Engaged Not Engaged Actively Disengaged

Engagement Levels

Data provided by The Gallup Organization (2009)

33%

49%

18%

Conducted in August of 2009, Based on 42,000 randomly selected individuals

• Engaged = passionate about work, feel connected, want to move the organization forward• Not engaged = no passion or excitement, work just serves a purpose, no energy to go aboveand beyond• Actively disengaged = very unhappy, likely pursuing other job opportunities, looking for ways toundermine the organization

Organization Individual

It’s All About Connection

If you aren’t measuring engagement, it is really important as an organization to do a pulsecheck to feel where your employees are in terms of engagement levels. Engagement isabout finding a connection to the individual. You want to figure out what initiatives orprocesses can drive and motivate people to perform. A lot of this can be accomplished byusing organizational surveys.

It is not just the organization’sresponsibility to engageemployees, individuals needto bring something to thetable as well.

The organization can help youup the ladder, but you stillhave pull your own weight.

bring to the table?Engageability – It’s in your DNA,

not everyone is predisposed

So what does the employee bring to the

table? An enormous amount of time and money is being

spent by companies to engage their employees

and access more discretionary effort.

However, a more fundamental question exists – do you have an engageable workforce?A few years ago, BHI introduced a concept called Engageability.

Not everyone is predisposed, what’s in their makeup, or their DNA makes a difference in how engageable they are. Some individuals do not have the capacity to be engaged, as they do not possess the internal motivation, positive attitude, and willingness to expend discretionary effort necessary to achieve engagement.

What exactly is Engageability?

Confidence

Think about your individual talent…do theyexude confidence?

Are they able to move forward with tasksand challenges because they believe theycan succeed or do they not even try for fearof failure?

Locus of Control Locus of control refers to theextent to which individualsbelieve that they can controlevents that affect them.

Individuals with a high internallocus of control believe thatevents result primarily fromtheir own behavior and actions.

They have better control oftheir behavior and are morelikely to assume that theirefforts will be successful. Theyare more active in seekinginformation and knowledgeconcerning their situation.

Are your employees in thedriver’s seat?

Locus of Control

Or do they let others drive for them?

Those with lack an internal locus ofcontrol believe that powerful others,fate, or chance primarily determineevents. No matter what they do, it’sall about luck or what someone else isdoing to them.

Do they make things happened or dothings happen to them?

Emotional Stability

When faced with challenges, do your employees face them with a calm and composed demeanor?

Are they able to manage challenges and setbacks with an even head?

Emotional Stability

Do they lose composure and shut down?

Or worse, do they become extremely upset and agitated, and take it out on co-workers and customers?

Internal DriveAnother trait that drives

Engageability is internal driveand motivation.

Are the employees you hire justthere for the paycheck, are theyclock-watchers? Or do theycome in to work everydaywanting to do a great job andcontribute to their own successand that of the company?

Self Efficacy

Which leads us into self-efficacy – do they believe in themselves, are they determined and do they feel capable?

Despite obstacles and challenges, do they feel they can persevere?

Self Efficacy

Or do they simply bury their heads in the sand, or in this case shell, and wait for someone else to do it?

Optimism

Are they optimistic?

When they look at themselves in the mirror, do they say yes I can, or no, I really can’t? Are they optimistic about their future and that of the company? Do they believe good things will

happen for hard workers?

Optimism

Are they glass half full?

Optimism

Or glass half empty?

Optimism

No matter how they look at things, are the only two roads doom and gloom?

Or are they confident, optimistic individuals who believe in themselves, are passionate about their work, and come to work everyday with a positive attitude,

ready to tackle challenges, and move themselves to the next level?

How do you marry the two?

So we’ve talked about Engagement and Engageability, now how do you marry the two?

How do you marry the two?

ENGAGEMENT

Low

High

Low High

ENG

AG

EAB

ILIT

Y

Low EngagementLow Engageability

Low EngagementHigh Engageability

High EngagementLow Engageability

High EngagementHigh Engageability

BHI conducted a study with one of ourclients where we measured Engagementthrough an org survey. Engagement wasmeasured by 12 questions aroundemployees’ attitudes about theirrelationship with supervisor and co-workers, their understanding of their job,and whether or not they found their workmeaningful and challenging with theopportunity to advance themselves.

Engageability was measured through a setof items related to the concepts we justdiscussed. We analyzed the data and putgroups of employees into quadrants to putthe two together.

We will talk about each of thesequadrants and also best practices in tomanage each set of employees.

Low Engagement Low Engageability

These are people with low internal drive and also receiving minimal encouragement or inspiration toexcel.Not only are they not engageable, but they aren’t being engaged in any way. There is a lack ofcommitment and motivation from these employees, and they are apathetic about their work.Think about how these employees might be affecting others. Identify these employees andunderstand how they are affecting others. Are there any diamonds in the rough, that can be betterunderstood and motivated to perform on the job?

High Engagement / Low Engageability

This quadrant can be described as beingmanager driven.

While the individuals may not be all thatengageable, the managers and theenvironment are able to elicit energy andcommitment from these employees despitetheir inclination to have a lack ofcommitment.

The managers in this case are successful indetermining where the employees passionslie, and what it is they truly need in order toget the most out of them.

What can your learn from these managers?

How are these managers addressing lack ofmotivation in individuals?

How can you apply this to other manager-employee relationships?

Low Engagement / High Engageability

This quadrant had a strong presence of highpotential employees.

However, it’s lacking in the managerial effortrequired to leverage these value-adding teammembers.

So let’s think back to the economy, when theeconomy starts to recover, are theseemployees going to look elsewhere?

They will be looking for an environmentwhere they feel motivated and challenged,where they feel they are adding value andare being engaged in the company’s success.

How can you proactively manage theseemployees so that they are retained whenthere are other options available?

High Engagement

/ High Engageability

This quadrant is described as having team members with a strong internal drive to excel, coupled withmanagers who are able to encourage and inspire them to go above and beyond. As a result,employees who fall within this quadrant tend to consistently exceed expectations.

What are the managers doing to promote engagement?Fill you talent pipeline with these individuals.

Continue to recognize and reward these individuals and show them their hard work and commitment will pay off.

ENGAGEMENTLow

High

Low High

ENG

AG

EAB

ILIT

Y

Individual Counseling

Group Counseling

Divorce?

Renewal of the vows

So think about each quadrant

Low Engagement, low Engageability - Is it time to make the tough calls, and “get a divorce”?

Or do you have something in between, where it is time to get some counseling and understand where everyone is?

Or do you have highly engageable employees who are engaged that you want to “renew the vows” with and keep them?

Hiring for the Future

As the economy improves, will you be able to retain your top talent?

What are you doing right now to motivate and engage these people?

Hiring for the Future

Who will you hire in the future? Are you looking for the people who have the right fit for the characteristics of the job

Will you know what they are passionate about? Will you know what makes them tick?Will you know if they are engageable?

Do they have the predisposition and the characteristics you are looking for?

Hiring for the FutureHow will you find and identify these individuals?

Will you be leaving it up to chance?

So think back to your employeerelationships and what you wantto get out of them?

Do you want to be this couple?

Or this one?

Ways to Prepare for Economic Recovery

• Identify levels of engagement within your workforce through organizational surveys or focus groups

• Use Personality and Engageability Assessments to identify and create the right person/job fit.

• Identify managers who are best at engaging and getting results out of employees

• Employ best practices learned from these managers throughout organization