How Can I Keep Employees Engaged at Work - Five Ideas for You to Consider?

It’s not a mystery that employee engagement continues to decline. The Gallup organization indicates that nearly 70 percent of employees are actively disengaged. With  less than 30% of workers in the United States engaged with their current job it is important for the HR professional, working with the leadership team to implement programs and a culture that encourages engagement.  As a manger, you want hard-working employees who are actively engaged with the work they do. This will make your job easier and more rewarding for both you and your team.  The following five ideas can assist you in adopting a culture of engagement.  If you implement these strategic concepts you can create a culture of engagement:

Focus On Employee Development

There are many reasons job applicants accept a new position such as additional compensation or a better benefits program, a more progressive management or a new industry; however, many applicants accept a new position because they want to advance their career.  One Gallup poll found that 87% of millennials (and 69% of non-millennials) view employee development as important in their position.  Employees want to enhance their skills and continue to be challenged by new tasks.  As an HR professional you can focus on employee development in several ways such as adding new duties to the employee’s position to prevent boredom, allow room for growth in the position, or offer a job rotation program so employees can expand their skills and knowledge.

Share the Company Goals with All

To run a successful company, you need a business plan with a list of goals you want to accomplish. To engage employees, you need to involve them in reaching business goals.  You should set annual, semi-annual, quarterly, and monthly goals so employees have something to work toward. Reaching specific goals is something that encourages employee engagement.  Employees want to know how their position fits in with the other positions in the company and they want to learn how their work affects the business as a whole. You can set general company goals as well as goals within each department. That way, each employee knows how their work is impacting the departmental and overall success of the business.

Create a Culture of Development

If an employee doesn’t have a clear understanding of their duties and responsibilities, they won’t be as engaged as you would like them to be. Instead, they’ll be frustrated and not be as productive which can lead to disengagement.  Employees who can master their workload typically take more pride in what they do. Workers who are eager to meet their goals are engaged with the company. Providing technical and management development training to both new and seasoned employees is one of the most important steps you as an HR professional can promote to ensure employees are engaged at work. With a successful training program, employees will learn how to effectively do their job and be as productive as possible. For many employees, training is also the time when they bond with co-workers and develop a connection to the company. Studies have also shown that the more friends employees have at work, the more engaged they are at work.  A study by TINYpulse, Inc. found that only 28% of employees with no work friends were engaged, versus 69% with 25 or more friends. Training encourages relationships among employees which in turn improves engagement and productivity.

Acknowledge and Recognize Employees

Employees don’t automatically become engaged when you give them more praise, thanks, or any other types of acknowledgment; however, employees can quickly become disengaged if they feel like they’re invisible.  It is important for employees to know their co-workers and develop friendships with them. But it’s also important to develop relationships that value respect and professionalism between employer and employee.  Whe the employee puts in extra effort, acknowledge them.  Management should acknowledge employees for their hard work and according to Gallup, Inc. those employees who aren’t recognized are twice as likely to quit.

Let Employees Do Their Job - Don’t Micro-manage Them

If employees are told exactly what to do and how to do it, they won’t improve and their ability to perform on the job will suffer.  Managers that micromanaging staff can be damaging to your company. According to Forbes, Inc. micromanaging resulted in 68% of employees saying their morale was dampened and 55% said that it led to a decrease in productivity. Low morale leads to actively disengaged workers.  Progressive managers allow their employees to be creative, develop new ways of approaching a task and come up with their own ideas. 

To learn more about keeping employees engaged at work along with the survey process please go to our website at www.innoviative-hrsolutions.com.

What are the Six Steps for a Successful Employee Survey Process?

Employee engagement surveys are a very useful tool in an HR professionals toolkit.  If used properly it can be an excellent source of information, enhance employee engagement and improve the support for the vision and mission of the organization.  As business partners, Human Resources professionals play an important role by facilitating a successful employee survey by following this six step process.

1.    Establish the goals of your survey project through interviews with the leadership team.

2.    Create your employee survey by identifying the issues you wish to survey.

3.    Determine your sample (all employees, or selected demographics)

4.    Promote the survey through a coordinated communication plan.

5.    Analyze and evaluate the survey data.

6.    Create four to six action items and share the survey results and action plans with the employees.

This article discusses these six areas of survey design which can have a positive impact on the organization and are as follows:

Establish the Goals of the Project

Knowing what your leadership team wants in an employee survey is a key factor to the surveys success.  As a result, the first step in any survey is deciding what you want to learn.  The goals of the project must be clear, measurable and actionable.  If your goals are unclear, the results will lack clarity and the project will not be as successful.

Create the Survey

Identifying key areas to obtain data will assist the organization in taking the necessary changes to identify challenges and successes.  The survey statements should be concise, targeted and phrased in a positive format.  This will assist in creating a consistent methodology and process to the survey tool  It is important to only survey those areas where management is willing to act.  If the company is not in a position to change its benefit plans or increase compensation, then the survey statements should not focus on these areas.  Employee surveys can create an expectation that if the question is asked management will act.  Human Resources should only survey those areas where the leadership team is supportive and where action can be taken.

Who is Going to be Surveyed

There are two main decisions that need to be made in determining who you will survey.  The first is deciding how many employees do you want to survey.  Researchers will often call this group the target population.  The next decision is to determine if you will survey all employees or a statistical sample.  Researches will often call this the sample size.  Most employers will decide to survey all eligible employees; however, some company’s due to their size may want to survey a smaller sample of the total employee population.  Organizations today will often decide how many employees to survey based upon their budget and the necessary degree of precision.  If a statistical sample is utilized Human Resources will need to make every effort to avoid a biased sample.

Promote the Survey

A successful surveys starts with communicating the reason behind the initiative, the process and the timing of the survey.  Human Resources should also let employees know if an incentive to participate will be as part of the process.  Survey participation is very important to secure employee buy-in for the tool and support for the outcomes following the closure of the survey.  Failure to promote the survey will impact participation and the credibility of the survey results.

Analyze the Survey Results

Successful change starts with data analysis and providing the leadership team with reports that are meaningful and provide a path to process improvements.  Human Resources plays a very important role by determining what reports are generated and the interpretation of the data.  Sharing the facts with the leadership team will empower them to be more effective leaders.

Share the Results

Successfully identifying the challenges and successes following an employee survey is very important to the process and the continued engagement of the employees.   It is important for HR to share the results in a consistent, factual and non-biased approach.  Key to the sharing of the survey results is the commitment of the leadership team to follow-thru on commitments made to the staff.

To learn more about the survey process please go to our website at: www.innovative-hrsolutions.com.

What is required to Manage Organization Change Effectively?

In order to meet the demands of a dynamic business environment Human Resources professionals are expected to be a key partner in managing change and assisting the leaders of the company by supporting changes to the organization.  As business partners, Human Resources professionals play an important role by assisting leadership in four key areas:

1.     Identify, evaluate and assess the rewards and risks associated with organizational change.

2.   Evaluate the current talent mix and organizational structure to determine if the current skills that the employees possess will meet the organization’s needs in the future.

3.     Educate the employee’s so that they understand what changes are needed along with communicating the timeframe and the potential outcomes.

4.  Administer an employee engagement survey to determine the success of the changes implemented and evaluate the alignment between the business, culture and the staff.

This article discusses these four areas of organizational change which can have a positive impact on the organization and its workforce or if not managed properly can be very detrimental to the organization.

Rewards and Risks

Successful transformation initiatives begin when the leaders examine the market place to determine what changes in their business may result in new challenges for their organization.  These challenges include new technology, changes in social patterns, shifts in tax policy or demographic re-alignments.  The leaders need to evaluate the risks and rewards associated with the proposed changes to the business model and develop a strategy to adapt to the new realities. 

Current Talent Mix

Successful change takes time, which can be disruptive to the organization.   Often the current talent mix is not in alignment in order to execute this new strategy.  Human Resource professional need to evaluate the employees existing skills to determine if their skills and knowledge will meet the future needs of the organization.  Until the existing staff have the necessary skills the organization will remain vulnerable.  It is important to evaluate the staff and create a performance and learning plan to ensure that all employees have a road map to success.  It is also important that HR hold all people accountable to ensure that these milestones for improvement are met and that employee development coupled with a consistent approach to learning is implemented.  If done properly the current talent mix will be aligned with the new strategy.

Educating the Employee

Frequently the decisions that are made about the organization are made at the c-suite level with the understanding  the middle management will share the changes with the rank-and-file staff.  Often time, this approach while well intended, is not communicated effectively or is unclear.  Poor communication about why the changes are being implemented and the strategy hinders the process.  To mitigate poor communication, Human Resources needs to play a key role in coaching and educating the employees and middle managers about what is changing, how it will impact their job, training opportunities to learn new skills and the eventual outcomes.

Determine Employee Engagement

Successful change starts with individuals, and failure will often occur because resistance to change is human nature.  Some managers are very skilled at change management; however, unfortunately, many managers are not adept at change management. The lack of change management skills among managers can make change initiatives difficult to achieve.  Human Resources plays a very important role by determining through an employee engagement survey where change is being embraced and where resistant is occurring.  HR can leverage those areas that are successful throughout the organization and where it is being resisted more resources and tools can be allocated to address these area’s needs.

Successfully identifying the rewards and risks association with organization change, evaluating the current talent to determine if the organization can meet the new strategy, communicating the rationale for the changes and conducting a survey to determine where there are pockets of success and/or resistance will help the Human Resources department manage organization change successfully.

To learn more about the survey process please go to our website at: www.innovative-hrsolutions.com.

Is the Employee Engagement Survey an HR Program or Company Responsibility?

As a result of our firm’s type of work we interact with clients across the country from many industries.  One common theme that we hear over-and-over again is how I can make the survey process not just an HR initiative but rather a program to enhance the employee’s engagement with the company?  If HR professionals adopt this six step approach following the survey the survey process will become more successful:

1.   Study the survey results and initiate dialogue between managers, supervisors, teams and individual contributors to review the findings and identify priorities.  Move as quickly as possible from dialogue to action planning, encouraging individual, team and collective ownership of the process at all levels.

2.   Determine three to five action items at a time. They should be achievable to provide early wins in the process. Attempting to do too much at once limits success.  Using the available reporting determine areas where satisfaction and engagement are low and identify challenges.  Excellent benchmarks include previous surveys, the overall company ratings and the “market”.  Use this tool to measure your success.

3.     Ensure transparency, be inclusive and maintain ongoing communication.  Provide feedback to managers and recognize that HR is there to support and facilitate the process and not fix the problems.

4.     Establish accountability for improvement efforts and results and keep checking on your business partner’s progress.  A key way to ensure that improvement is made by aligning the survey results with the performance management process

5.   Acknowledge and celebrate the improvements achieved as each goal or action item is brought to fruition.  Continue to stress that the achievements made are a result of good planning and the company’s commitment to make improvement.  

6.   Continue to follow-up and hold all people accountable for the success of the survey and the action   planning  process

To learn more about the survey process please go to our website at: www.innovative-hrsolutions.com.

How can we Make Processes at Work Simpler and More Efficient?

As we start to look forward to the New Year now maybe a good time to review the established processes at work to see if tasks can be modified or eliminated altogether.  Process improvement focuses on streamlining established procedures, reducing costs and improving efficiency.  There are typically four ways to improve the processes at your business.

Update Your Tools and Equipment

Examine the equipment used to conduct your business along with your vendors to ensure that your business is maximizing the capital investments made and relationships fostered over the years. This includes, but is not limited to, computers, telephone systems, trucks, vans and cars, manufacturing machinery, maintenance contracts, printers and software. Older equipment malfunctions occur more often and operate less efficiently which can reduce efficiency, production and work flow. Modernizing the equipment will help mitigate down-time of equipment.  Ensuring that your vendors understand how your business has evolved over the years will also allow you to be more competitive and better aligned in your marketplace. Investing in prudent capital expenditures and enhancing your partnership with your vendors will pay off if you are able to get your product to the customer more quickly at a reduced cost.

Outsource Where Possible

Outsourcing has become synonymous with job loss for the internal staff; however, outsourcing means to transfer part of what is being done in-house to experts which in turn will free-up existing resources for other tasks being performed by your employees.  An example of out-sourcing Human Resource services includes such tasks as payroll management, short-term temporary staffing, employee survey design and analysis, company newsletters and professional development workshops.  Each of these tasks maybe performed more efficiently and be a less-expensive solution that if they were performed by an external solution.

Task Management

Tasks that are done efficiently once are often repeated because they work. This type of process inefficiency can gradually grow over time without being noticed. An illustration of this is a situation where each month reports are generated by Human Resources summarizing key staff information which is then delivered electronically to supervisors and managers in the company.  This time consuming process may not be necessary on a monthly basis but rather a quarterly or semi-annual frequency.  A better process would be to reach out to the supervisors and managers to find out what is appropriate and adjust accordingly.

Reduce Unnecessary Expenses

Cutting superfluous expenses are a proven way of maintaining efficiency. Unfortunately, when faced with a budget challenge, some small-business owners become overzealous in their cost reductions and risk sacrificing quality or good customer service. Reducing costs makes good business sense only if quality can be preserved, delivery time frames can be maintained, and customers remain satisfied.

To determine if conducting a process improvement initiative is appropriate for your business, ask yourself if a specific task needs to be modified, eliminated or could be performed more efficiently by investing in a better equipment or utilizing independent contractors or skilled vendors.

Is the Employee Engagement Survey an HR Program or a Shared Responsibility?

As a result of our firm’s type of work we interact with clients from across the country from many industries.  One common question that we hear over-and-over again is how I can make the survey process not just an HR initiative but rather a program to enhance the employee’s engagement with the company?  If HR professionals adopt this five-step approach following the survey process the engagement survey will become more successful for not only the department but the company as well:

1.   Study the survey results and initiate dialogue between managers, supervisors, teams and individual contributors to review the findings and identify priorities.  Move as quickly as possible from dialogue to action planning, encouraging individual, team and collective ownership of the process at all levels.

2.   Determine three to five action items at a time. They should be achievable to provide early wins in the process. Attempting to do too much at once limits success.  Using the available reporting determine areas where satisfaction and engagement are low and identify challenges.  Excellent benchmarks include previous surveys, the overall company ratings and the “market”.  Use this tool to measure your success.

3.    Ensure transparency, be inclusive and maintain ongoing communication.  Provide feedback to managers and recognize that HR is there to support and facilitate the process and not fix the problems.

4.     Establish accountability for improvement efforts and results and keep checking on your business partner’s progress.  A key way to ensure that improvement is made by aligning the survey results with the performance management process.

5.    Acknowledge and celebrate the improvements achieved as each goal or action item is brought to fruition.  Continue to stress that the achievements made are a result of good planning and the company’s commitment to make improvement.

To learn more about the survey process please go to our website at: www.innovative-hrsolutions.com.

What is on the Horizon for 2019 and Beyond - Employee Satisfaction?

As we begin to look to 2019 it is very important that we learn from the past so that the business decisions we make in the future are based upon facts and a coordinated strategy.  We all know that 2018 has been  a challenging year. Some of us experienced difficulty in finding quality talent to fill open positions, higher than expected turnover, a stronger focus on expense management and the reevaluation of organizational objectives all have led to greater stress on the job.  Preserving our company’s competitive edge by retaining our high performers along with the use of HR metrics will allow us to be better positioned for the future.

As a result of technology, the Human Resource profession is becoming more sophisticated by utilizing metrics to examine employee trends in order to better anticipate future challenges and opportunities.  When we use HR metrics and evaluate historical patterns we are better able to respond to business challenges.  Metrics are a common measurement across all professions and are used as a way to hold people accountable.  One key metric that is being used by thousands of HR professionals is the employee survey.  The analysis and subsequent data following a survey is a key tool in determining employee satisfaction, engagement and management effectiveness.  Understanding and responding to employees’ concerns and questions are important components in ensuring success. 

Using normative data is important for our clients as this information serves as a benchmark which allows a company to compare their own mean scores with the client base.  Normative scores are updated continuously and, due to the size of our database, we can utilize an 99.9% confidence interval, resulting in a margin of error of + .01.  This means that our clients have a high level of confidence in the data they receive.  In the past, clients have often requested that we create norms that would provide a benchmark against their industry or region in the country. Today, however, we have begun to see a shift from benchmarking within one's own industry toward benchmarking against other “best places to work”. This is particularly true with regard to benchmarking in the areas of organizational climate, culture, engagement, management and leadership.  This review is based on data collected from over 85,000+ working individuals from organizations representing a broad cross-section of industries and regions of the country

For the purpose of this analysis below respondents completed an on-line survey consisting of questions about their jobs, executive leadership, staff development, core values, compensation and benefits and management at their organization.  The number of statements from each company ranges from 15 to over 150. The number of respondents from each company ranges from a minimum of 10 to 2,500 plus.  Our firm uses the Likert scale from 1.00 to 5.00.  The Likert Scale is a scale that equates a numerical value to a level of satisfaction.  The scale uses the following range: 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree.  For a complete review by functional area as it relates to satisfaction please see the chart below:

Areas of Employee Satisfaction

In general, employees are satisfied with their jobs.  Employees appreciate that management is operating the business efficiently, often under conditions of uncertainty and with limited resources.  Employees also believe that the work environment is safe.  Human Resources is doing an effective job at partnering with the leadership team in guiding managers and coaching them with respect to ensuring effective employee relations, supporting career progression and the values and vision of the company.

Employee Management Relations

With respect to employee management relations, employees gave this area a satisfaction rating of 3.89. The great majority of employees believe that their manager will listen to their point of view and assist them in growing professionally.   In addition, the survey results indicate that management treats and respects all individuals. Diversity is encouraged and has become a part of the corporate culture.

Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction was another highly-rated area achieving a satisfaction rating of 3.83.  A high percentage of employees enjoy the work they do, are challenged and feel a strong sense of accomplishment in their position.  They believe that they can make a contribution and want to be a part of making their company successful.

Career Opportunities

A majority of employees indicated that they feel they have a career with their organization and that they work well as a team.  They support their co-workers in their department by sharing information and offering advice. Career Opportunities received a 3.72 satisfaction rating.

Core Values

The survey responses focusing on the mission, vision and values of the organization received a 3.96.  The respondents understand the importance of supporting the strategic mission of their organization.

Opportunities for Improvement

It is anticipated that Human Resources will face tremendous challenges in three key areas in the future. These areas include compensating employees fairly, ensuring that communication flows freely throughout the organization and providing employees with the training necessary to ensure their competency in the future.

Fair Compensation

Employees rated fair compensation the lowest of all areas surveyed; this area received a satisfaction rating of 3.33.  Employees continue to feel the pressure of downsizing and at the same time they feel they are not compensated at a level commensurate with their additional duties and responsibilities. In the future employees will desire additional compensation and/or look for new opportunities.

Effective Communication

Communication is an issue for a majority of companies. Effective communication was rated low with a satisfaction rating of 3.42. Employees are requesting more information about the new products and services offered by their company as well as management’s clarification of the organization’s vision and prospects for growth.  Employees would also like to have more advance notice of activities occurring at their organization and receive information about changes and strategic decisions that affect them in a timelier manner.  Respondents very often do not believe that other departments are keeping them informed about key projects that are under consideration or have been approved.  This would suggest that improvement in communication is critical to ensure the success of a company.

Staff Development

Many respondents believe that the learning opportunities at their company have declined over the past several years.  A recommitment to learning, along with a more formal training program that will equip employees to successfully carry out the requirements of their present and future job roles will need to be a strong consideration for the future.  The survey data suggests that employees believe that as technology changes, and as new management techniques are required, organizations will need to offer additional support to help them meet these new challenges. This is an area of concern for progressive employers.

In conclusion, employers today face extraordinary challenges with respect to managing the business and at the same time meeting the needs of their employees.