Will the Metric of Employee Engagement Survive?

Engagement is the new buzz word in Human Resources today and like other professions our terms and definitions are changing as our profession evolves.  Terms like compensation have morphed into total rewards, personnel has changed to human resources and now human capital management, and empowerment to engagement.  What is happening is that our profession is establishing newer and better metrics to evaluate company performance and employee successes.

The question is will the concept of employee engagement remain with us or will it go the way of TQM, Visioning and other programs?  My guess is that engagement is here to stay.  Given the research today engagement has a direct correlation to the success of companies.  Top-performing organizations understand that employee engagement with the business is a key driver of business success. Satisfied and engaged employees are productive and customer focused.  Engaged employees care about the future of the company and are willing to invest time, energy and effort to support the strategic direction and vision of the organization.  Engaged employees produce results, are more productive and lower turnover is the result.

Current research suggests that companies that score high levels of employee engagement are successful and have a dynamic leadership team.  They also have a clearly defined operational succession plan, and a supportive administrative infrastructure and programs to support and enhanced productivity.  As a result, organizations where there are high levels of engagement are more likely to be financially successful.

Engagement can also be quantified and companies can compare and contrast their engagement indices with other companies that subscribe to the same metric.  Engagement and the values that are the result are also perceived as valuable to executives as they have the ability to rank their successes by their engagement index.  High levels of engagement also can support high performer’s perceptions of themselves.  High levels of engagement are key indicators – good leaders make good business decisions.

While it’s true we have our own constantly changing vocabulary in the HR profession, that’s no different than any other profession. Our terms and definitions need to evolve and the programs that are created need to have terms that all employees and our business partners can understand.

What Is Purpose-Driven Leadership?

People strive to be engaged in meaningful work and most of us seek out experiences that help us grow professionally. Companies that recognize and support this basic human goal are on the path to become employers of choice.

After basic needs are fulfilled, an employee searches for meaning and a sense of purpose in a job.  People want to believe that they are providing a good or service that will help others.  If, in your role as a leader, you aren’t articulating what you care about and how you plan to make a difference, then you will need to make changes in your approach in order to inspire your employees to ensure their full engagement.  Many leaders have a wrong idea of what constitutes true engagement as it is not attained through self-gratification but through developing a sense of purpose to support the broader good.  Once company leaders have identified and clearly articulated what they stand for, it’s up to the leadership team supported by Human Resources to build a bridge between the business’ purpose and the values of the employees.  When leaders communicate their ideas and values, listeners filter the message and decide whether to trust their management team. When the values and purpose resonate with your employees, they will be a partner in the company’s success.

Leaders are the stewards of organizational energy as their purpose is to ensure organizational performance, direct talent and focus and invest energy from all the individual contributors in the service of the corporate mission. A purpose-driven leadership team ensures that the energy of each individual contributor is aligned with the organizational purpose.

Do I Need a Succession Plan?

Today companies are at a critical juncture with respect to ensuring that the core values of the organization are maintained.  As the boomers transition to retirement succession planning and the management of the process between the individual’s aspirations and the company’s future needs is a very important HR function.

Succession plans that are well developed and communicated to key executives will increase retention in the c-suite.  Because high-potentials recognize that time; attention and skill development is being invested in them these potential leaders are less likely to seek opportunities outside of the organization.

Succession plans and the development of leadership talent is an investment that requires time.  A working succession plan may result in having more than one skilled executive available for a key job.  HR’s role is to provide choices, options and a plan that is performance based.

What Needs to Happen in 2012 to Make Your Company Successful?

One of management’s key duties and responsibilities is challenging, motivating and retaining staff.  Three metrics of employee engagement need to be implemented in the near term for progressive organizations to remain competitive in the future:

• Align employees work with the strategic vision and company goals as outlined by the leadership team.  This can be accomplished by ensuring that the corporate goals are communicated, and incorporated into each employee’s performance plan. Research has shown that employees that buy into the vision, values and strategic vision of the company will support the company in the future.

• Hold employees accountable by constantly demonstrating through management’s actions that employees will be treated fairly and honestly along with the consistent application of the prevailing policies.  To determine if policies are consistently being applied evaluate your compensation practices to determine if those employees that are demonstrating excellence receive the larger merit increase.  Evaluate promotions and transfers to determine if only those employees that are excelling in their jobs are receiving new job opportunities.  Finally, evaluate the learning opportunities made available to the staff to ensure that all employees are eligible for external training and development and not only those that are performing at a peak level.

•  Evaluate the decision making processes to ensure that all employees share in decision making process.  Typically, the employees that “do the work” are those that should be recommending ideas to improve work-flow.  Employees should feel comfortable recommending changes to the existing processes.  At times, failure will be the result but with failure comes knowledge and success.  Employees are more likely to accept and carry out decisions if they're involved in the process.

Using these three metrics will assist you as you start to establish metrics for the New Year.

Why Is Aligning the Business with a Corporate Human Capital Strategy Important?

Today, businesses that are successful have a strategic direction that is aligned with the employees to create a synergy between the business and talent.  Along with the effective execution of the business plan and strategy there are four key models that make a company successful.  These conditions, if met can put a company on the path to success.

Company Culture

Companies that are successful have a strong culture that is inclusive, collaborative, challenging and respectful.  A culture that encompasses these attributes will result in employees that are engaged, motivated, demonstrate high levels of performance and productivity.

Executive Leadership

Successful leaders are dependent upon a team approach that is communicative, supportive, engaged and holds their direct reports accountable for their decisions.  Leaders need to be developed and constantly challenged to ensure that the company continually innovates.  The leaders of the company also need to maintain the highest ethical standards as they set the tone for the organization and represent the company to the community.

Employee Talent Management

With technology changing the potential for a gap between the skill set and the new requirements of the job can develop into a talent management gap.  Employees need to be continually developed, mentored and given the opportunity to enrich one’s job is very important to the success of the company.

Corporate Structure

A corporate structure and understood by all employees is often more productive and responsive to the customer.  A structure that groups the business based upon client and customer relationships will often produce the best results by meeting the customer’s needs quickly and efficiently.

In conclusion, developing a strategy that aligns the leadership team with the employees, a culture that supports progressive talent development and a culture and structure that is understood by all supports a progressive business model.

What Can Employers Do Today to Manage Expectations and Improve Employee Satisfaction?

According to a recent survey of U.S. households by The Conference Board (2010), job dissatisfaction is widespread among workers of all ages across all income brackets in the United States. The study found that "only 45 percent of those surveyed say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from 61.1 percent in 1987, the first year in which the survey was conducted."  As employers today what can we do to turn around employee dissatisfaction on the job?  First, it is important to know that there are two different kinds of employee satisfaction.  Satisfaction with the daily tasks and the work that is considered to be the essential functions of the job and satisfaction relating to the working conditions such as employee and management relations, pay, teamwork and the people.

These two types of satisfaction are very different, and it helps for HR professionals to evaluate from both points of view.

For example, if your employees are dissatisfied with their current job, ask them for ways to enrich their job.  If the working conditions are unsatisfactory ask your employees to provide feedback on how to improve their work environment and personal interactions.

Finally, you will want to recognize that job satisfaction is influenced by your employee’s expectations.  What people look for or require from a job such as compensation, job security, autonomy, professional growth or independence varies and you can’t meet all of your employee expectations all of the time. 

What is Open Enrollment?

Each January company’s go through the annual process of implementing the benefit programs that their employees have become to rely on to protect themselves and their families. Key to the success of any benefit plans enhancement and rollout is the planning and associated communication of the new programs.

To assist the HR professional with the process of a successful plan is a 5 step program. These steps are:

1. Evaluate the employee needs either through a focus group or employee survey. This process will ensure that the benefit enhancements that you are considering are aligned with your employee needs.

2. Establish a budget that has been approved by the leaders of the organization for the benefit programs. Consider using percent of payroll as the method for determining the benefit budget.

3. Working with your benefit broker have them provide you with alternatives to plan design, employer subsidized programs and plan paid for in total by the employees. Choice is very important to employees and alternatives to meet the unique needs of your staff should be considered at every stage of the process.

4. Interview those providers that have been identified and determine their qualifications and ability to meet your needs. Do your due diligence by asking those hard questions, ensure that performance and service guarantees are in place and check references.

5. Communicate the new or enhanced programs to the employees by way of health fairs, webinars, and employee newsletters and all-hands meetings. Where possible provide one-on-one service to the employees to assist them in the process of maximizing and utilizing the programs.

If these 5 steps are followed HR professionals will be in a position to successfully implement the benefit programs that are so important to the employees.