What are the Three Pillars of Employee Success?

Over the years technology has profoundly shaped the Human Resources profession.  Today, with the internet the collection of timely and accurate survey data is not only available to large companies but also too small to mid-size organizations that want to evaluate and assess the pulse of their organization.  With this new technology there are several reasons to survey employees and if clients use the three pillars of employee success to shape their human capital program success will be on the horizon.  The three pillars are importance, satisfaction and engagement.  Each of these three pillars is discussed in detail below.

Importance

Employee surveys assist management in determining the importance of the programs and policies at the company and support by the employees for these established programs and policies.  Surveys provide the data that will determine how important or unimportant they are to the staff.  A misalignment can lead to programs that are not targeted, value-added or desired by the staff.  Evaluating the importance of these programs will help ensure  that the alignment of these polices compliment the core values of the company.

Satisfaction

General satisfaction and high levels of morale determine how fulfilled, happy and content employees are.  Typically, satisfied employees are more successful in meeting their professional needs at work and the goals of the company.  Furthermore, high levels of employee success in achieving the agreed upon goals and objectives will lead to higher-performing organizations.  Satisfied employees are more productive and customer focused whereas low levels of satisfaction can lead to less productivity and dysfunction among work teams.

Engagement

Engaged employees are more productive, customer focused and have a heightened connection to their job.  They also care about the future of the company and are willing to invest time, energy and effort to support the strategic direction, vision and mission of the company.  Engaged employees will also tend to produce greater results and will remain with the company longer.  Organizations possessing high levels of engagement are also more likely to be financially successful.   Employee engagement with the business is a key driver of business success.  Disengaged employees require more of your time to coach, manage, counsel and hold them accountable.

What makes a company successful in today’s work environment can be summarized by following the three pillars to employee success.  Employees want managers who are good listeners and support effective employee management relations.  They also want opportunities for advancement that will lead to a compensation program that recognizes excellence on the job and finally, they want to work for a company that functions effectively where employees play a key role in the decision making process and are respected by their community.