How the most successful organizations keep their people on side
By: Bill Zolis
Employee engagement is absolutely essential to the success of any organization. When employees are truly engaged – which is to say that they buy into the mission – anything is possible. Engaged workers are more productive, more creative, more flexible and more satisfied with their jobs.
Most of the people I talk to agree that “engagement” and “the engaged work force” are key goals in building the well workplace – as we have discussed previously in this blog. But what exactly is engagement?
The simplest definition, and the one that most of us understand immediately, is that you are an engaged worker if you are really into it. Here are some of the key elements of “being into it” that I find most of the experts seem to find agree on.
– You feel that the mission of the organization you work for is important, relevant and useful.
– You feel that your job, and the work you do, makes a significant contribution to that mission.
– You feel that your boss and the management of the organization believe in the mission, too.
– You trust that your co-workers are also “into it” and you share with them a sense of working together to achieve goals you all believe in.
– You want to do a good job and you find the work is a source of satisfaction in your life.
I think a lot of us look at all this and think, “Well, that’s all fine and well if you’re working on a cure for cancer, but less so in my particular job.”
But then I think back to a story I once saw in a documentary about the Apollo Space Program. A TV crew stopped to talk to a man sweeping the floor and asked him, “What do you do here?” The man replied, “I’m helping to put a man on the moon.”
I’ve seen some of the same kind of engagement at many of the companies and organizations we work with – and the fact that we work in benefits management certainly doesn’t hurt when it comes to having a clear mission that we can believe in.
But it doesn’t have to be about putting a man on the moon, or even arranging for the financial security of a benefits plan member struck down by a serious illness or injury. I’ve seen the same kind of “into it” team spirit standing at the counter of a fast food restaurant, watching the young people in the kitchen working together, full of energy and good humour, like the proverbial well-oiled machine.
So what can we do to improve employee engagement, to build on all the things we’re doing now, and to focus on bringing everyone on board with the goal of a truly engaged work force? From what I’ve seen and read, and what I hear from clients, there are some strategies that come up again and again.
- The first and, indeed, indispensable element in building an engaged work force is quite simply to be engaged yourself, and to let your engagement – your sense of shared mission – drive every other aspect of what you do and how you do it.
- Communicate the mission. And not just the overall mission statement – the day to day of what we are trying to accomplish, what we need to do today to move us forward, and what each person’s role is in getting there.
- Encourage, seek out and listen to feedback from every level of the organization. Your managers, your employees, all of the people out doing the job every day are the nerve endings of the organization. What they see and feel and experience in their jobs are the data you need to stay in touch and to stay on course.
- Encourage, recognize and reward superior performance. It can be promotion or financial rewards for consistent superior performance. Or it can be as simple as saying “Good job!” or “Nicely done!” And remember, critique performance in private, but praise performance in public.
- Train your managers, and provide regular reinforcement, in the importance of engagement, communication, encouraging feedback and recognizing superior performance.
- Teach your managers and supervisors that a big part of their job is to provide their people with the tools they need to do their jobs, to remove obstacles from their way, and to create the conditions for the success of each person in the organization.
- Make sure all employees have a clear job description, that they understand exactly what their roles are, and that they know what is – and what is not – expected of them.
- Provide opportunities for advancement and personal development. This may consist of in-house training, professional development courses, career counseling services and opportunities to advance within the organization.
- Provide and encourage opportunities for employees to participate in social and community activities that go beyond the work place. This can be corporate events and outings, clubs, opportunities for study, volunteer activities, charity drives – anything that your people are inspired to take on.
- Show your employees that engagement is a two-way street, and that the organization is doing everything it can do to build the well workplace. As I discussed in a previous blog, a comprehensive benefits plan is a key part of employee recruitment, retention and long-term satisfaction.
When I talk to clients and colleagues about organizational culture – which is what this is really all about – we often come to the pitfalls of driving change and progress. The big one here, I think, is the risk of creating the outward signs of change, of moving toward greater engagement, without truly capturing the hearts and minds of the people we want to engage.
But let me go out on a limb here. If we start the process of better engaging other people in the mission by finding a way to be engaged ourselves, we are not going to go very far wrong.
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Ontario Employers, Take Note if you use Temporary Help Agencies and Recruiters
(From Mainstay Insurance Brokerage)
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I really appreciate comments, ideas, suggestions or just observations about the blog or any other topics in benefits management. I always look forward to hearing from readers. If there’s anything you want to share, please email me at bill@penmorebenefits.com.
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