A Magical Wake-up Call: Maximizing Employee Engagement
November 20, 2008
Has productivity been a bit sluggish lately? Here are five tips to boost engagement and turn "work time" into "magic time" for you and your employees (Edited by Stacy Straczynski)
By Charles and Susan Robinson
Just imagine: You're fully alive at work. Your job is exhilarating. You feel that you are a vital part of a community with a purpose that drives, and you drive your own performance, as well as the organization's growth. It almost sounds too good to be true. But that's what true engagement feels like—and it's the best time your employees will ever have at work. It's "magic time."
But you know from experience that this just doesn't happen by magic, nor by just the right congregation of circumstances and people. You create it—for yourself and your employees, and your company will harvest the fruits of this new breed of labor. But doing so requires managers to understand what it is that employees want. And that means recognizing that the mindset of today's workforce is unique.
Modern Culture, Basic Needs
Corporate America is in the midst of a work evolution that mirrors the changes in societal culture. The bottom line? People's expectations have changed. It's no longer good enough to just have a job, even with a decent income. People don't want to set their needs aside when they come to work; rather, they want fulfillment of those needs—the receptors, looking to engage.
Psychiatrist William Glaser, M.D. says there are five basic human needs: fun, power, freedom, belonging and survival. When these needs are unmet, too much individual and group energy is wasted. The behavior of disengaged employees is costly—massive studies and years of research prove it. Disengagement is reflected in high turnover, high absenteeism, employee theft, complaining, venting, griping and even employee litigation. Disengaged employees escape, avoid and get even, letting negativity fester in the work environment to create a contagious downward spiral.
Engaged employees, on the other hand, are riveted. They fuel company growth, improve share value, are more innovative, attract customers and do word-of-mouth recruiting. When employees are engaged, employees and executives both get what they want.
"Abracadabra"—It's Engagement
So how can executives create an environment where these needs are fulfilled at work? And how can the organizational goals be met while attending to employees' emotional needs?
The answer is in addressing the key things people want at work, better known as the "Five C's": Cultivation, Collaboration, Choice, Contribution and Commitment. Here's a look at each and some recommendations on how executives can make employee engagement a company lifestyle that turns "work time" into "magic time."
Want: Cultivation (to be nurtured by the organization and management)
Need met: Fun
Key Rivet-Makers: Novelty, Variety, Learning
Breakers: Boredom, Frustration
Without new challenges, employees become bored and create their own entertainment—not always to the company's benefit. Novelty and variety are engaging and vaporize boredom. But cultivating employees requires more than opportunities for job advancement. Your staff wants to learn and grow. Expanding skills and broadening understanding are the adult versions of play, and are one of the ways that we have fun. Make learning and growth an integral component of the work experience. Employees want challenges that require a stretch, uniquely matched to their individual skills.
But be careful: If the learning challenge is too great, all you cultivate is frustration. Assure that there are sufficient resources and support to create a bridge between the familiar and the unknown.
Want: Collaboration (to be invited to work together with peers, as well as leaders in the organization)
Needs met: Power, Belonging
Key Rivet-Makers: Relevance, Mutual Communication
Breakers: Rhetoric, Mismatched Agendas, Status
With the unparalleled access to information that is offered by the Internet, the exponential growth of social media and the impact of customer reviews, participation has become a right, and the expectation of participation extends into the workplace. When communication is mostly one-way, usually from the top down, employees become passive audience members who won't participate on command.
It's easy to fall into delivering a message, rather than inviting or evoking one, so polish up your receptive skills. Without a voice, the people at the bottom feel powerless and the people at the top are out of touch. And a listening tour is not enough. Collaboration is an attitude that permeates vibrant and healthy relationships where power is shared. No "big me, little you" mentalities allowed, only two-way communication based on unified goals and a mutual value exchange.
Want: Choice (to be free to make meaningful decisions)
Needs Met: Freedom, Power
Key Rivet-Makers: Autonomy, Options, Clear Boundaries
Breakers: Surveillance, Over-Regulation, Muscle
There's a certain irony in being unable to control other people’s behavior. It would be so much easier if we could manage people in the same way that we push things into place. But try to push people into place and you end up wrestling, no matter how right you are. Control from the outside is coercion. Nobody likes being told what to do. The more you implement external controls, the more enforcement is required. Ultimately, resistance increases and a backlash is inevitable.
On the other hand, control from the inside is focus and self-management. Give your employees the kind of freedom that comes with responsibility. There are big choices, like flexible scheduling and job sharing, but it's the little day in day out situations that matter most—like choices to sit or stand, what time to take break time, whether to strictly adhere to a script or whether it's time to improvise. Dictate outcome and guide ethics by drawing clear boundaries, but make sure there is some choice about how the results are achieved.
Want: Contribution (the opportunity to be a significant and valued asset)
Needs Met: Belonging, Freedom, Power
Key Rivet-Makers: Speed, Follow-Through, Acknowledgment
Breakers: Bureaucracy, Suggestive Incentive Programs, Misplaced Credit
Gathering ideas for improvement from employees is not a new concept—it's as old as the suggestion box—yet it's still rare to find a company where employees actually see their ideas implemented. Even well-intentioned organizations often wait so long to follow through on a reasonable change that staff lose faith; and, by the time the change comes, relevance and impact are lost. Delays also dilute the credit, and there's nothing more frustrating than having someone else take the credit for "discovering" what you've been trying to tell them all along. When your employees have a concern they need a prompt and meaningful response, even as you hold onto the big picture.
Burn the suggestion box and develop a culture that encourages thinking out loud and brainstorming at every level of your company. Not just because ideas are dynamic and will keep your company competitive. Not just because your front line employees live the nitty-gritty of your daily operations and have firsthand knowledge of what your customers want. Not just because your employees may be able to fix problems you didn't even know you had. You also want thinkers because thinkers are creators—eager for the opportunity to contribute something of value. Reward the unique talents, natural curiosity and creative drive of your employees and you'll turn their work into a calling. Given the chance, their contribution will literally be more than you can imagine, which is exactly why you need them.
Want: Commitment (to have confidence in a mutual loyal relationship between the organization and the employee)
Needs Met: Safety
Key Rivet-Makers: Inclusion, Root Cause Analysis, Predictability
Breakers: Criticism, Blame, Groupthink
People perform better when they are confident and secure. This isn't just a state of mind; it's also a matter of circumstance. Your employees do not give you their best when they're afraid—of losing their jobs or of being scrutinized and criticized, whether direct or covert. So when problems surface, first assume that the system needs fixing, not the people. Criticism and blame may give you short-term relief, but you'll also get long-term losses.
The need for change does not need to be viewed as a criticism of the way things are. Commitment says, "We're in this together. We may raise the bar, but we'll keep it within reach." That certainty is a crucial part of emotional security. Make it safe for employees to speak, even when they disagree. In the process, you'll broaden the scope of your own perspective and reduce the risk of groupthink—where everyone agrees with one another. Remember: Sometimes you need to applaud the heckler.
A Little Empathy Goes a Long Way
Feelings of powerlessness, fear and anger are not the kind of emotions that drive optimal employee performance. But engaging employees requires more than good communication. Choice, timing, novelty, reliability all send cues that can equally stimulate or dissolve engagement. These signals communicate in the language of experience, directly with human emotions, and respond to visceral human needs.
Experiences frame our reality. Because of this, even small changes, if they are well-targeted, can produce big payoffs.
Charles and Susan Robinson are behavioral clinicians and the co-founders of Rivetmaker Consulting Inc. They help executives to produce positive and lasting changes in workplace dynamics through engagement. For more information visit www.rivetmakers.com, call (727) 638-1397 or e-mail susan@rivetmaker.com.
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