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Employee Engagement (A course developed by John Toomey)

Background:

Life in Australia has undergone the most rapid change perhaps since first settlement by Governor Arthur Phillip in 1788.

Let us look back just 50 years. In 1957, very few homes had television. But certainly, it was the advent of television that heralded the most meteoric rise in consumerism.

Most people considered their immediate community to be the street they lived in and the close neighborhood. Hotels closed at 6:00pm and families gathered. Often families spread down the street and small communities of people gathered to share stories of the day, to support each other through challenges and to laugh about life.

Sometimes a child was not present at dinner, but no-one seemed to care because it was accepted that the child was probably eating with another family in the street.

When someone went to visit a neighbor, the front door was seldom used. It was more of a “knock as you enter through the back door”.

And if a young couple were to marry, there was a strong chance that they would purchase a home within walking distance of one or both parents, which meant there was strong family support when children arrived.

The aim of this document is not to lament the past, but to observe change and its impact.

When it came to employment, many were employed in smaller firms and many stayed in the one job for life. Friendships flourished in the workplace.

Further, there was enough challenge in the average person’s life to stimulate growth. Spiritual practice was common and local priests and ministers acted as guides for a better life.

Times Have Changed:

Every day, advertisers remind people of what they have not got and what they could have if they really wanted it.

Perceived danger from rising crime levels has stimulated a boom in the home security market. Homes have elaborate security systems, high fences and state of the art entertainment systems.

People rarely go visiting at night. Many people don’t even know their neighbor’s name. Certainly the modern citizen would never just “drop in on someone unannounced.”

With limited or no community near home, people are seeking alternate sources of the rewards and fulfillment that a community offers.

One of a human being’s basic needs is to feel part of a community of people with whom they can share their life. This group allows the exchange of friendship and love, support, laughter and fun, and meaningful service.

People need a community. People also need to feel that they are a making a meaningful contribution to the prosperity and stability of that community.

Wikipedia Definition of Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is a concept that is generally viewed as managing discretionary effort, that is, when employees have choices, they will act in a way that furthers their organization's interests. Engaged employees feel a strong emotional bond to the organization that employs them. (Robinson) This is associated with people demonstrating a willingness to recommend the organization to others and commit time and effort to help the organization succeed. (Harter) It suggests that people are motivated by intrinsic factors (e.g. personal growth, working to a common purpose, being part of a larger process) rather than simply focusing on extrinsic factors (e.g. pay / reward). (Ryan) The concept has gained popularity as various studies have demonstrated links with productivity. It is often linked to the notion of employee voice and empowerment. (Wilkinson 2004 et al,Wilkinson 1998)

Research:

In 1999, The Gallup Organization published research that showed that engaged employees are more productive, more profitable, more customer-focused, safer, and less likely to leave their employer. The review stated that “engagement with employees within a firm has shown to motivate the employee to work beyond personal factors and work more for the success of the firm.” (Harter) Watson Wyatt found that high-commitment organizations (one with loyal and dedicated employees) out-performed those with low commitment by 47% in the 2000 study and by 200% in the 2002 study. (Wyatt) In a study of professional service firms, the Hay Group found that offices with engaged employees were up to 43% more productive, based on a comparison of revenue generation. (Hay Group)

Recent research has focused on developing a better understanding of how variables such as quality of work relationships and values of the organization interact and their link to important work outcomes. (Hulme) From the perspective of the employee, “outcomes” range from strong commitment to the isolation of oneself from the organization. (Seijts)

The study done by the Gallup Management Journal has shown that only 29 percent of employees are actively engaged in their jobs. Those “engaged” employees work with passion and feel a strong connection to their company. Moreover, 54 percent of employees are not engaged meaning that they go through each workday putting time but no passion into their work. Also, Seventeen percent of employees are actively disengaged, meaning that they are busy acting out of their own personal unhappiness, which undermines what their engaged co-workers are trying to accomplish. (Seijts)

But where this all falls down is that many so-called “experts” in this area try to turn employee engagement into a science. Psychological Models are being developed as reference points for future measurement and analysis. But sometimes, I get the feelt aht this is more to do with benefiting the program provider than the client.

I argue that this is not a science. It is survival. No matter how accepted or researched, every science is a tightly collated set of beliefs. Constructing a new set of tightly collated beliefs around employee engagement, leadership and people management, will simply add to greater levels of dogma and indoctrination, and potentially further remove management personnel from their capacity to connect with and inspire people. It seems to me that it has been all of the modern management theories that have created this problem in the first instance.

The Service-Profit Chain

For many, the employee engagement story begins in 1994 when James Heskett and his colleagues at the Harvard Business School published their seminal paper Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work.

The Service-Profit Chain model they had created could hardly be more intuitive: Employee Satisfaction drives Employee Retention drives Employee Productivity drives Service Value drives Customer Satisfaction drives Customer Loyalty drives Profitability and Growth.

In short: Engaged Employees create Loyal Customers who in turn create Bigger Profits.

A Program for Managers:

The Employee Engagement program is for managers and leaders of people. It is a program that teaches managers and leaders how to effectively get an employee’s buy in, full commitment and maximum focus of attention on the task and the organizational goals.

The program is not just for executives. It is for people leaders at all levels, right down to the leading hands. It should also be provided for this base level employees who play some sort of leadership role in the community, like sports coaches and the like.

This program is about understanding people, their needs and the power of true leadership, engagement, community and dedication to a better workplace.

Leadership versus Management:

Steven Covey, author of the best selling book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” stated that the difference between Leadership and Management is quite simple.

“Management,” he says, “is climbing the ladder of success.”

“Leadership, is placing the ladder against the correct wall.”

If we look at sport over the years, success stories will tell us that the successful coaches are not so often the best strategists, but the best at inspiring their players to follow the strategy.

How much time do you, as a leader, keep going back to your strategy, refining it, adjusting it; perhaps even changing it, in order to enhance your results. Perhaps the problem is more associated with how effectively and passionately your people adhere to and support the strategy.

Human Needs:

Human beings, according to Maslowe and other researchers, are simple beings. Theyhave needs and if these needs are being met, then they will find peace and contentment. If these needs are not being met, they experience stress, worry and poor health.

Laying the simple concepts associated with meeting human needs over the top of management theory makes it clear that developing strong workplace communities is a significant factor in developing strong and positive employee engagement.

The Power of Clear Vision:

Are your employees inspired? Do they feel excited about where the company is going? Are they ready to roll up their sleeves and do whatever it takes to get your plan working?

The magic is in your power to communicate your vision and your own inspiration. If you can do this effectively, your people will want to jump on board. But, it is crucial that once you have laid down the vision, that you include the whole team in the measurement of progress. Knowledge of results is a key feedback mechanism that keeps the power of the inspiration alive.

Strength in Numbers – the Magic of Inclusion:

When people feel included, they are more likely to pull together as a team. We know that as we add to the number of people in a team, the output multiplies at a far more significant rate than the rate of increasing people.

When people feel included, we gain an additional incentive. Not only is the person working to do their job, they are also working to support their team mate.

Understanding Human Consciousness – The Key to Inspiration:

Understanding how human consciousness works is a crucial factor in developing a powerful people engagement strategy. One of the great downfalls of modern psychology is an apparent ignorance of the true functioning of consciousness.

Put simply, when a parent is stressed and filled with fear and dread, and their thought processes are dominated by negative outcomes and crisis, the child will play out the scenario.

What goes on in the mind of the parent will be played out by the child.

So, how do we translate that across to management and employees? This is a rewarding and enlightening area of study. Your judgments are crucial. Your virtuous actions are priceless.

Clear and Effective Communication:

Your people need to know what is going on. They certainly need to hear and understand news before the market does. Keeping people in the dark is akin to telling them that they are stupid, unimportant and untrustworthy. Keeping them up-to-date is a powerful tool for helping them to feel that they are an integral and important part of your team.

Leading from the Front:

This is not rocket science. Do you have the capacity and the tools to: 

§         Communicate your vision to your people.

§         Inspire them to buy into your vision.

§         Keep communicating with them, informing them of progress.

§         Get to know all of your people and understand them.

§         Be a genuinely empathetic and compassionate leader

§         Inspire by being an inspiring person.

Knowing Your People:

Research reveals that the key concerns of employees in the workplace, relating to performance, are:

§         Perception of Job importance

§         Clarity of Job Expectations and availability of resources

§         Career advancement opportunities

§         Regular feedback and dialogue with superiors

§         Quality working relationship with peers

§         Level of Inspiration felt from the values and mission of the organisation

However, when I look at this information, it feels as though the final judgments have been made by a researcher who has their major focus on shorter term economic outcomes.

Hence, a number of critical factors have been left off this list. And these factors relate to the level of personal connection between employees and superiors.

The development of this personal connection is a powerful key to inspiring people to “jump on board” and fight the good fight.

The Workplace Community:

An old Greek saying goes, “A Fish Stinks from the Head down!” If we can turn you and your lieutenants into inspiring and compassionate leaders your workplace will become a loving, safe and productive community.

A Big Happy Family:

A happy and engaged workforce will become like a big happy family.

The Program:

This is a 9 step program to developing a strong, inspiring and effective team of leaders in your organisation. The sessions are run as a face-to-face workshops and are designed to create realisation and develop tools that can be used to build an inspired and engaged workforce. Detailed descriptions follow at the end of the document.

1.       Understanding People: Needs, Wants and Living Happily

2.       Understanding Human Consciousness Part 1: The Basics

3.       Understanding Human Consciousness Part 1: Your End of It

4.       Getting to the Heart of Connection: Placing your Attention on people

5.       Virtue Centered Leadership – Do you really care?

6.       Inspirational Leadership – Switch on the light and invoke the passion?

7.       Knowing your People – Engagement from your end

8.       Clear and Effective Communication – Keeping your people in the loop

9.       Putting it all Together

All sessions will be accompanied by workbooks. The sessions will also include pre-reading and homework.

Sessions will be delivered weekly by Webcast. Students will be given two telephone coaching sessions with John Toomey during the course.

 Course Price:                                $2,600:00 plus GST

Send mail to john@lifebalance.com.au with questions or comments about this web site.

Site Last Modified: Wednesday June 9th, 2004