IABC, San Diego
June 24, 2009
Employee
EngagementMore Important than ever
…harder to develop than ever
Paul M. Sanchez ABC, APR
CSF Consulting
pms718@aol.com
858 750 2404
Overview
We will cover:
n From satisfaction to engagement
n Defining employee engagement
n The rise of engagement studies
n Engagement measurement
n Stages of engagement
n Why pay attention to engagement
n Engagement planning implications
Session guidelines …according to Andrea
n
n
n
To explore the topic of employee engagement – and
have three “take-aways”
To have three “give-aways”
Share a real-life “Engagement” success story along
the way…Southwest Airlines
From Satisfaction to Engagement
From Satisfaction to Engagement
Over the last couple decades, employers’ focus has moved
beyond just “satisfied” or “committed” employees, to
employees who are “engaged”

1980s
1990s
Satisfaction
Commitment
Satisfied with pay,
benefits,
supervisor,
working
conditions, etc.

+
Not considering
leaving the
organization
2007?
Engagement

+
Willing to go
the “extra mile”
Defining Employee Engagement
Defining Employee Engagement
T-A
n
Engagement is the result of how
employees feel about the work
experience–about their employer, its
leaders, the work and the environment
n
Employee engagement drives discretionary
behaviors:
– To be advocate for the organization
– Willingness to go the extra mile
– Motivation to perform to the highest standards
– Creative energy applied to their work
– Mutual and vested interest in the company’s success as
well as one’s team and self
T
Employment Value Chain
From Strategy to Performance Results
Business
Environment
Company
Strategy
Brand
values
Human Capital &
Communication
Strategy
Employee
Perceptions &
Behaviors
Business
Performance
- Customer Satisfaction
- Performance
- Quality Metrics
- Employee Retention
8
From Satisfaction to Engagement
Research1 has established that work environment and
resulting perceptions drive behaviors that bear on
performance outcomes
Satisfaction, Commitment
and Engagement
1

Productivity

Customer Satisfaction

Safety Behavior

Employee Retention
See, for example, Harter, J.K., Schmidt, F.L., & Hayes, T.L. (2002). Business-unit-level
Relationship Between Employee Satisfaction, Employee Engagement, and Business
Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 268-279.
Organization
Performance
A Winning Employee Experience
Drives Key Business Outcome T-A
Research demonstrates that high levels of engagement (typically 60%
or more) create positive employee outcomes which, in turn, drive business
results
Highly Engaged
Companies
44% higher
Retention
29% higher in
Revenue
70% more
Productive
Engaged
employees:
56% higher
Customer
Loyalty
50% higher in
Customer Loyalty
34% higher
Customer
Satisfaction
increased
performance of up
to 20 percentile
points
50% higher
Safety
44% higher in
Profitability
30% more
Productive
80% fewer
Union Grievances
are 87% less likely
to leave an
organization
33% more
Profitable
National Research Forum
(2004)
Izzo & Withers (2000)
Vance (2006)
Corporate Leadership Council
(2004)
10
Falling Levels of Engagement
n
In the past six to nine months– at least four major
consulting firms issued reports about Engagement
and related topics
–
–
–
–
–
n
Buck/IABC/RF
Towers
Watson Wyatt
Mercer
Studies report similar elements
First hand reports of the toll on the workforce
–
–
–
–
–
Happy to have a job,
Distrustful of management,
Will do the what it takes—just
Head down
Concerned about extra workload
Employee Engagement Index and Drivers of
Engagement
Engagement and Drivers
Employee Engagement Index generally are comprised
of five items:
Employee Engagement
Index
1. I feel a strong sense of commitment to this
company.
2. I am proud to work for this company.
3. I would recommend my organization to others as a
good place to work.
4. I am not considering leaving this company in the
next 12 months.
5. I am willing to go “above and beyond” in my job to
help this company be successful.
Drivers of Engagement
Once indexed, need to know what drives
engagement?
The experience of:
Strategy
Structure
Processes
…and other People
Identified and analyzed
Six factors
Twelve + dimension
Fifty to sixty “items”
How is an engaged workforce visible?
What would employees say when asked:
“What’s it like to work here?”
• Employees act like
owners
• We want to have a
sense of fun in our
work
• Employees are also
important customers
• When we take care of
employees they take
care of customers
• Quality and customer
service are first in our
minds
Whatever you do,
do it at Microsoft.
• We’re the best and brightest
• We’re different from everyone else
• We may be geeks, but we’re rich
• We’re a place where
innovation is valued
• We care about
rewarding people for
creativity in the work
place
15
Engagement Stages
From Satisfaction to Engagement
Employee Engagement Model©
with four phases or facets:
Engagement Model
Committed
Advocate
Motivated
Satisfied
Disengaged
Satisfied
Satisfied
n
n
n
n
n
n
Enjoys job
Is not dissatisfied with terms and
conditions
Content to work alone
Does not go “above and beyond”
Not necessarily a team player
Often focused outside of work
Motivated
Motivated
n
n
n
n
n
Contributes energetically
Strives to achieve personal goals
Values achieving personal goals
more than team/organizational
goals
Focused individual contributor
More loyal to personal
professional goals rather than
organization
Committed
Committed
n
n
n
n
n
n
Loyal to organization,
optimistic for the future
Sees the bigger picture with
a sense of how job fits in
Collaborates to achieve team
goals
Openly ambitious for self,
team and company
Believes the organization will
enable his/her good performance
Has a sense of belonging to
organization–feels valued and
involved at work
Advocate
Advocate
n
n
n
n
n
n
Contributes discretionary effort
Proactively seeks opportunities to
serve the mission of the
organization
Speaks positively about the
organization’s products, services
and people
Recommends organization as an
employer
Is willing to withhold criticism
and/or be constructively critical for
the good of the organization
Resilient to short-term
dissatisfiers
Why do organizations need to pay attention
to engagement now?
n
n
n
n
n
General uncertainty in the economy
Employees face worry at work and at home—can
lead to reduced job focus
Customers/clients cut back, actual environment
grows more competitive
Employees are oriented, trained, and motivated
through a spectrum of experiences that ultimately
shape how customers/clients are treated
Failure to win the hearts and minds of employees put
all customer/client interactions at risk
26
Core Engagement Elements and
Implications and Possible Action Points
Leadership




Acts in accord with the expressed values of the
organization
Allocates resources in ways that support
strategy
Visible & transparent involvement with the
customers and employees
Making the connections between strategy and
process that will aid employees in seeing the
big picture
Recognition and Rewards





Reward practices that are perceived as fair
and competitive
Total compensation approach (bringing it all
together)
Benefits components integrated with the total
reward package
Employees recognized in tangible and
immediate ways
Exploration of non-cash recognition for
outstanding performance
The Work Itself





Treated with respect
Work valued for overall contribution
Opportunity to grow in job and laterally
Work aligned with the success of the enterprise
Participating in developmental opportunities
Communication





Organization culture that is built on a two-way
exchange of information
Communication that is planned
Supervisors are active participants in the
cascade of information
Full mix of media to reach all levels of the
organization
Communication training for supervisors
Engaged Employee Experience System
typical drivers
Common Operating
Drivers*
n
Confidence and trust in CEO/leadership
n
Leadership visibility and communication
n
Line of sight between individual
performance
and company performance
n
Career growth and development
opportunities
n
Communication’s program
n
Relationship with supervisor
n
Recognition and rewards
Employee
Engagement
*Based on Mercer HR study
28
Why employers fail to build engagement
programs
Importance “Too
not clear
difficult”
Satisfaction
surveys and
customer research
often did not
emphasize
importance
employee’s role
Responsibility for
engagement is seen
as too diffuse to
assign, manage or
measure
“Too
Remedy
expensive” not clear
Building an
engaged workforce
may be seen as a
luxury the
company cannot
afford
Improving
employee
engagement
means
understanding the
specific and unique
drivers of
engagement
29
Winning employee support
Employees Employees Employees Employees
unaware
hostile
not
not able
motivated
Provide
information and
training to build
knowledge of
touch-points and
positioning
Provide
information and
training about the
mutual interests
between org.
employees and
clients/customers
Institute
recognition &
reward programs
that support quality
and service goals
Develop skills and
processes to design
and deliver
winning
customer/client
service
Communications & HR Programming
Attitudes
Behaviors
30
The Employee Experience:
what employees report
Source “What’s Working” Mercer Global Report on
Engagement 2007
Company Pride
% Favorable
Organization has good
reputation for “customer”
service
Feedback from customers used
to improve products and
services
70
59
32
Commitment
% Favorable
I feel a strong sense of
commitment to my organization
I would recommend my
organization to others as a
good place to work
62
59
33
Starting with vision and values
Regarding values
% Favorable
Vision and values have been
clearly communicated
62
Values provide direction for
employees
Management behavior is
consistent with the
organization’s values
53
45
34
Communication and leadership
% Favorable
Communication about the future
direction of organization
Trust in management
communication
52
39
35
Upward Communication
% Favorable
My manager encourages open,
honest two-way communication
I feel encouraged to come up
with new and better ways of
doing things
67
51
36
The Employee Experience:
what employers can do
Employee Engagement process
Research
Planning
Testing
 Review and
 Development of
 Test concepts with
analyze key data
cross-functional
employee groups
points – employee
team (Coms, HR,
from Customer
surveys, workforce
Operations)
Service, Mfg. IT,
analytics,
Retail Sales and
 Confirm and refine
competencies,
Business Sales
working
demographics,
assumptions
 Adjust elements
external brand
based on testing
research, etc.
 Identify key
employee groups
 Review and adjust
 Analyze data for
for testing
further with
preliminary
Discovery Team
“working” plan
 Identify preliminary
sub-group
areas of alignment
and misalignment
(sample plan)
Implementation
 Align with HR, Mktg
and Ops. marketing
action plans to begin
the process of
developing a more
engaged workforce
 Gain leadership
support
 Confirm metrics for
success/ROI
38
Translating Engagement to Communications
Messages
Communication
Stakeholders
n What is happening and why?
n Future vision?
Senior
executives
n Why are we doing this now?
Most valued
employee
Managers
n How will I be affected?
n What do I need to do to help?
Culture
and
employer
brand
HR,
Comms,
Marketing
n What do I need to do differently?
n How will I be measured?
n What training/career development
Supervisors
opportunities are there?
External
centres of
influence
n What support/resources will I have?
n How will I be rewarded?
n What am I worth to the company?
39
If You Work on Engagement, Will It Payoff?
n
n
n
Collective problem solving
Improved performance/customer/client service,
hence customer loyalty, profitability and (ultimately)
share price
Internal brand recognition/third party attention
– new hire interviews
– positive press mentions,
– best employer lists
n
n
Employee innovation, enthusiasm and willingness to
go that extra-mile
Ability to hold critical skills; and reduction in early
attrition and later turnover
40
Conclusion (Action Areas)
Critical success factors:
n How the mission is framed and internalized for
employees
n How values are lived (made apparent) by leaders
and managers
n How customer input information is used
n How employees are treated
– Two-way communication environment
– Recognition
– Rewards
– cash, benefits, development, affiliation
– Career paths
41
IABC, San Diego
June 24, 2009
Employee
EngagementMore Important than ever
…harder to develop than ever
Paul M. Sanchez ABC, APR
CSF Consulting
pms718@aol.com
858 750 2404