Peter Barron Stark Companies Helping CEOs, Managers & HR Professionals

Invest in Employee Engagement: it will prove worth your while

The buzz word most associated with employee satisfaction these days is “engagement.” As recently as two years ago we were writing about the impending talent drain, as boomers would be leaving the workplace in masses for retirement. We stressed the importance of creating a workplace where employees would feel motivated, enthused and most importantly, “engaged.”

That was two years ago. Today the whole business landscape has changed. As of December 2009, California’s unemployment rate is 12.1%. Massive layoffs have had a profound impact on not only the way we do business, but on the employees who are left shell-shocked after layoffs, wondering if and when the axe may fall on them. We’re not hearing the word “engaged” much these days as it relates to employees. In fact, some leaders have been so bold as to say, “I really don’t care what employees think and how they feel. They have a job and should be grateful to have survived the last round of cuts.”

So… does employee engagement still matter?

Watson Wyatt’s 2008/2009 WorkUSA Report, Driving Business Results Through Continuous Engagement, reports that when employees are highly engaged, their companies drive 26% higher productivity, have lower turnover, and are more likely to attract top talent. More impressively, companies of highly engaged employees earned 13% greater total returns for shareholders during the past five years. Clearly, engaged employees positively impact the bottom line.

Many of us today are working with fewer employees and are tasking those remaining employees with doing more than ever before. Times are tough, and now more than ever, employees need strong leaders. The outcomes of an engaged workforce: productivity, high levels of morale and customer satisfaction are absolutely critical to your organization’s survival in this economic downturn.

Here are six tips to Engage! your workforce:

1. Stay Positive
   Your team is looking to you for hope, support and confidence. For your success, and the morale of your team, it is important that you keep a positive vision and remain upbeat by using strategies like these:
   
   • Choose your words carefully. Use positive language.
   • Learn something new. Teach someone else.
   • Set new professional goals . . . for the week, month and year.
   • Spend time with positive people.
   • Show support for senior leadership’s strategic goals and direction.
   • Forbid whining and gossip.
   • Do something you love each day.
   • Be grateful for what you have!

2. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
   During these troubled times, communicate more, not less. Employees are hungry for information, even when the news is not good. Plus, if you don’t keep employees updated, they will keep themselves updated, with gossip, which is always richer than reality.
3. Set New Goals
   Today it’s business as “unusual.” Your work may have slowed down and project priorities may have shifted. There is a tendency to just hunker down and wait out the recession, hoping for mere survival. Unfortunately, hanging out and waiting for something to happen, is demoralizing. Now’s the time to set clearly defined goals, identify measurements of success and then hold people accountable for accomplishing the goals. To energize your team, get your employees involved in setting new goals. Give people a reason to come to work. Having clearly defined goals and measures of success helps people believe in the importance of their team and the work they do individually to contribute to the team/company’s success. Get enthused and be a role model of commitment to successfully achieving the goals.
4. Hold People Accountable
   It’s hard for employees on the team to be fully engaged when they feel they are carrying a “slacker.” Coach the employee who isn’t pulling his/her fair share. If the coaching isn’t effective, work with HR to help move that employee on/out so they can strategically undermine the success of one of your competitors. Working short-handed is much better than being held hostage by an under-performing employee. Effectively dealing with performance issues raises team morale and clearly shows that you are serious about your expectations.
5. Recognize Success & Find Reasons to Celebrate
   Look for opportunities to celebrate team success, even small successes. Ask your team for their ideas about how to celebrate. Go beyond the typical “great job” and find out what motivates that particular employee. To keep people engaged, get to know your employees’ career aspirations and help them achieve their goals.
6. Ensure Everyone Learns and Grows
   So many things have changed in the business world where we now reside. In this new environment, there is an opportunity to unlearn some old, less effective behaviors and learn new ones. When people are learning and contributing, they feel positive and motivated, knowing that they are making a contribution. Expect learning and recognize employees who demonstrate growth.

Being a leader today is tough. Putting these six tips into practice will help you not only survive, but thrive in these trying times. You will be leading a motivated, engaged workforce and will have positioned yourself for success.

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