Commoditizing employee engagement

There was a time when putting “employee engagement” into your browser brought forth pages of information relating to employee surveys.

“Looking to increase engagement? You must have a survey”, t’internet suggested.

No doubt all those survey providers were investing in SEO to bring their particular platform or product to the fore.

Nowadays, we’re seeing more and more links to technology.

“Looking to increase engagement? You need our product or tool”, those clever SEO types are now suggesting.

Have we really reached that level? When the field of employee engagement, with its broad spectrum of factors and component elements, is being commoditized in this way? So that SEO leads the uninitiated to equate engagement with the latest online tool or platform?

Of course, enlightened organisations committed to engagement as a method of business improvement – what David MacLeod used to call “transformational engagement” – ignore all this and get on with what they know matters. But I do worry that those new to the field: it can be amorphous, given its broad expanse, and I would hate to think that anyone does see new technology as a shortcut to success and then become disillusioned when it inevitably fails to meet expectations.

We’ve probably all seen people dazzled by the latest technology – what I’ve previously described as “shiny new toy syndrome” – rather than analysing what they’re trying to achieve and why, before identifying the best method(s). There is a danger of that becoming more prevalent: a risk that the proliferation of new platforms somehow becomes the story of engagement, rather than a tool that aids success.

I urge anyone exploring employee engagement for the first time to be aware of – and guard against – that risk!

A fresh perspective for 2016

The end of the year often brings relief and reflection in equal measure. We look back at what’s gone well and vow to change what hasn’t. But when we’re back at our desks in the New Year, this commitment often wanes and we slip back into the way we’ve always done things (with predictable results).

In the world more widely, surveys often proclaim employee engagement to be a priority for leaders in the following year. But time passes, and little changes. And the same surveys will be saying the same thing the next time round.

But what if, this year, we really do keep our resolutions? What if we have a fresh look at employee engagement and change what we do, if only in small ways, to help us succeed?

With this in mind, we offer some thoughts on how to make more of engagement in 2016.

1. Be smart about goals

Obvious, but often overlooked. We’ve all got to understand where our organisations are heading (whether we’re in them or consulting for them) so we can define how better engagement can help. We’ve got to be ever more informed to help us interpret opportunities and deliver the value that our organisations want and deserve from us.

2. Understand interaction

Please let’s stop talking about audiences. The ‘fourth wall’ in organisations has well and truly crumbled: we’re all swimming in a sea of interaction with each other and the outside world. Let’s explore and understand what this really means and take action to nurture the type of culture that makes best use of a world in which we’re all connected, all of the time.

3. Be an activist

Let’s make this the year in which we become real activists within our organisations. People who question, challenge and critique the world around us, acting as advocates for employees and the litmus test for our leaders. Let’s be more proactive, and frankly more of a nuisance, than we’ve ever been before. If we do it well, we’ll add increasing value to those we work with and build our own credibility as a result.

4. Make more of managers

We all know that managers are the missing link in employee engagement: we can have the most inspirational leaders but their efforts will fall flat if managers lack the spirit and skills to spark and sustain engagement with their teams. We know this is a major issue, but we’ve still not managed to crack it. So let’s put in the effort required to resolve it and increase both competence and confidence among managers.

5. Let’s be creative

Creativity isn’t all about campaigns (although we’d all love to see more exciting activity, rather than the same old ‘stuff’). There are many different ways of being creative in the aim of achieving engagement, from the way we plan programmes to the tactics we use. It’s about a mindset, rather than money or team size. Let’s challenge ourselves to think differently in 2016.

6. Prioritise the personal

We all know the personal touch goes a long way. Where possible, face-to-face communication remains the most valued and credible way of striking and sustaining engagement. But when it’s not possible to do this physically, there are many different ways of doing so virtually. They’re increasingly easy and cheap, but sometimes neglected. There’s really no reason for ignoring them, not matter how big and complex an organisation is, so we hope they are harnessed more and more in 2016.

7. Don’t be dazzled by technology

Embrace new technology but use it wisely. In the rush to embrace what’s possible, what’s really relevant sometimes gets missed. Any technology, however clever it is, only helps if it fulfils a defined role. Too many times, we see technology retro-fitted to support a strategy, rather than being seen as the right solution for an identified need. Start with the need, not the kit, and go from there.

8. Evaluate every day

Finally, the thorny topic of evaluation. Only we think it’s more straightforward than others make it seem. Our industry still sees measurement as an end-point exercise, rather than a day-today process. We think assessing progress little-by-little, rather than focusing all effort on an annual evaluation jamboree, provides more insight on what’s happening and more chance to address issues. As the reliance on set-piece surveys ebbs away make this the year when measurement becomes part of ‘business as usual’.

In the end…

That’s it. They are simple steps to help bring a fresh perspective – and maybe new vigour – to employee engagement in the year ahead. It’s not an exhaustive list, we know that: we could probably all keep adding to it until this time next year. But we hope it’s some food for thought, and maybe a prompt, as you seek to spark and sustain effective engagement in 2016. Good luck!

If you could do with a fresh pair of eyes on employee engagement, if only for a chat over coffee, then do get in touch. We’re specialists, we have extensive experience, and we can help.

Five steps to improve employee surveys

One of the reasons employee surveys have been getting a kicking recently (just check out other commentary for evidence) is a lingering perception that organisations won’t act on them. This is unfair – I don’t think anyone spends money on such surveys with the aim of ignoring them – but employers could get far more from them by involving their people in the process. Rather than treating them purely as passive recipients of a questionnaire, organisations should seek ideas and feedback from employees to inspire enthusiasm and advocacy for the exercise. I offer the following suggestions of steps to success.

1.      Involve employees in design – every organisation will have core questions that are repeated every time a survey is run. But don’t stick purely to these questions if they ignore current, pressing issues on which employees want a say. Explore whether there are other areas that you need to cover. Involve an employee panel if you have one, or regular focus groups if you run them. Take soundings from managers or employee representatives. It might identify other issues on which employee views would be valuable and on which questions would inspire them to take part.  

2.     Involve employees in communication – some organisations still follow a ‘hit and hope’ approach to survey implementation, sending out questionnaires supported by generic communication materials. But we’d never do this in any other campaign: we know we need diverse methods to connect and communicate with different employee groups, who prefer to engage with the company in different ways. So ask people in different parts of the organisation how you can best communicate with them and their colleagues regarding the survey. Then shape your communication plan and the tactics involved accordingly.

 

3.     Involve employees as champions – in many other initiatives, it is accepted good practice to seek employee ‘champions’ who can spread the word to colleagues. Yet it’s comparatively rare in connection with employee surveys, despite the benefits it could bring. Why not identify ’influencers’ for your different employee groups and connect with them to explain the aims of the survey. Emphasise that employee feedback can help shape the company, and that the survey is not being done for ‘show’. Ask them to encourage colleagues to take part, because the more voices you hear, the more compelling the evidence will be.

4.     Involve employees in analysis – not in the data crunching itself, but in interpretation of what the numbers really tell you about your organisation. It’s easy to draw conclusions from the centre, or based on a provider’s comparison with other companies, but discussing hypotheses and testing interpretations with employees can be a powerful way of rooting interpretation in the specific circumstances and culture of your particular company.

5.    Involve employees in action planning – finally, keep involving employees as you consider how to address the themes raised by your survey. After all, they have raised the issues: let them help shape the solutions. Creating working parties for different parts of the business, with a cross-section of employees in each, is a good way of spreading ownership of the process and inspiring collective commitment to action.

These are simple steps that would help to establish surveys as an effective part of continuous improvement for everyone in the company, not “yet another initiative” from the centre. As with so many things in the world of engagement, involving employees holds the key.

Avoid engagement akin to a house built on sand

The Global Benefits Attitudes Survey from Towers Watson puts a spotlight on the link between stress and engagement – but risks sending us the wrong way for potential solutions.

We all know that high levels of stress can be destructive and I’m not sure this survey offers any revelations when suggesting it affects engagement.  Both absenteeism and presenteeism are known phenomena in this context and we have seen the effects explored in many studies in the past.

But what do we do about it? Rebekah Haymes from Towers Watson suggests employers could educate staff on “the benefits of more sleep, physical activity, good nutrition and work-life balance”.

Really? Surely the high levels of stress explored in the survey can lead to lack of sleep and a poor work-life balance in the first place. I’d be pretty peeved if the manager whose excessive demands were placing me under massive pressure and ripping the heart out of my home life started telling me I should go to bed early. 

Ms Haymes is on firmer ground when she hints that effective communication and feedback structures have an important role to play. Reviewing and strengthening processes for sharing information and building dialogue can help to shape the type of open, collaborative culture that enhances engagement and helps reduce stress.

Employers need to consider a range of factors here. These include the way leaders set out and involve people in where the organisation is going (and why). How information on company plans and progress is shared. How teams and individuals are prepared for (and supported in) their roles. How managers seek and respond to questions, ideas and concerns.

Assessing such areas – and taking action where required – can help to create a more involving, engaging and productive culture for employees and leaders alike. It’s not a quick fix, nor a simple solution. Anyone with experience of trying to nurture cultural change will tell you that. But it’s far more likely to have a successful (and sustainable) impact for an organisation - and the people within it – than seeking to educate stressed employees on sleep patterns. Such initiatives may have their place, but only when more fundamental issues have been addressed. In any other context, they will be like a house built on sand.  

Survey seems to be the hardest word

The knives are out for employee engagement surveys. Detractors are speaking out ever-more strongly, criticising the value such surveys deliver and attacking the cottage industry that has sprung up around them. I have been at events where such objections have been strident and impassioned. But are they really fair?

Let me get this straight, I am no apologist for employee engagement surveys. I do think they can be overly complex and, in my view, too many research houses roll out a set methodology to everyone, rather than identifying and pursuing the type of research that best suits a particular organisation and its goals.

But I feel they may be getting a raw deal here.

Surely, the fact that we have research dedicated to employee engagement is a step forward. We now have employers who recognise the importance of the topic, see the difference that it can make to their organisations and want to understand what they can do better. In the days when employee engagement or internal communication were dismissed as distractions from core business, that was never the case. But now, we have research exploring the environment from many different angles, rather than – at most – a few vague questions in a much broader survey.

The large research houses have clearly invested in developing robust methodologies, as is their wont, having seen a commercial opportunity to extend their research expertise into this area. You can’t blame them for that. As highlighted above, I do have concerns over ‘one size fits all’ methodologies, but at least there is now a ready-made range of options for those organisations who want to take action. And I know some have derived useful insights from them.

Of more immediate concern, I think, are the organisations who go ahead and conduct research but then do nothing with it. You know the situation: an organisation launches a survey – with or without a research partner – and tells people it’s a chance to ‘have your say’. People give their time and views – but nothing ever happens. At the very least, as someone who takes part in research, you expect some sort of acknowledgement and feedback, if only to know why certain suggestions won’t be followed up. You’re probably hoping for change in some areas. Instead, you hear nothing as the research findings get filed in the proverbial drawer and left to gather dust.

There may be many reasons behind this this lack of action. Insights might be complex. Actions might be unclear. Resources might be tight. But all of these can be overcome.

Analyse the findings in more depth to crystallise the most powerful insights. Share findings for functions or departments with the leaders there, and get them to create action plans with their people. Identify volunteers to help you make progress on ‘quick wins’. There are many different ways of using the research itself as a catalyst for action, rather than it becoming a roadblock to progress.

In these situations, research really is killing engagement rather than helping it. That’s why, to me, lack of action is the most immediate issue to address. If research is more routinely seen as a launch pad for progress, rather than a self-contained exercise, we’ll see surveys as a practical tool to improve engagement and value them more highly as a result. If research is not approached in this context, it can be more destructive to engagement than not doing anything at all.