In this paper, the author refers to current trends and essentials that organizations must consider to actively engage their workforce. Consistent communication, employee involvement, building trust and supporting real-time recognition are key elements to successfully engagement. Positive outcomes of engagement include increased productivity, loyalty and better alignment to company’s goals. A list of recommendations and a case study from Sapient distills best practices from within the organization.
Jack Welch, ex-CEO of General Electric once famously said – “without everybody embracing what we want to do, we haven’t got a prayer” summing up the importance of engaging employees to align to the organization’s goals. Organizations today face innumerable challenges including overcoming economic and business changes and managing varied workforce demands. That apart engaging employees is more complex with an explosion in social media tools and usage, increasing information overload, waning attention spans and a war for talent.
Engagement Takes Center stage
Employee engagement has taken center stage in the recent past with a host of consulting firms claiming to have cracked the code with well researched concepts and artifacts. For example, Hewitt sums up their understanding with the Stay-Say-Strive model and defines engagement as the ‘state of emotional and intellectual involvement in a group or organization – the extent to which an organization has captured the hearts and minds of its people’. Organizations also commit a lot of time and resources to participating in best places to work studies in order to reflect high levels of engagement that improve their chances of attracting the best people.
What does Engagement Mean?
The Gallup organization describes employee engagement as the ‘the involvement with and enthusiasm for work’. According to Development Dimensions International, ‘engagement is the extent to which people enjoy and believe in what they do, and feel valued for doing it.’ Watson Wyatt explains it as ‘the combination of commitment and line of sight’. The Corporate Leadership Council defines engagement as ‘the extent to which employees commit to something or someone in their organization and how hard they work and how long they stay as a result of that commitment’. Four focal points of commitment – day to day, team, manager and organization emerge from two broad types of commitment – rational and emotional. The outcomes of engagement are discretionary effort and an intention to stay.
While consultants and academicians spar on a worthy definition, the implications for communicators and organizations are barely understood. Gallup distinguished employees based on their engagement levels ranging from ‘engaged’ to ‘actively disengaged’. Some research firms coin creative ways to represent the profile of engaged employees based on their contribution and satisfaction – core contributors, lost believers, aligned skeptics, loose cannons, silent listeners, hamsters, crash and burners. It is important to revisit the reasons for declining engagement scores and relook at drivers that can change the way organizations keep employees connected.
Why Should Organizations Bother?
Global research reports such as the Edelman Trust Barometer highlight falling engagement levels within organization which face newer challenges such as globalization of business, new age technology, an increasingly diverse workforce and greater market pressures. There is a power shift in information sharing and credibility. According to the Trust Barometer, opinion leaders also consider rank-and-file employees more credible spokespeople than corporate CEOs (42% versus 28% in the US). Trust in “regular employees” and “colleagues” is growing, and is already significantly higher than information conveyed by a CEO. This may mean that the way internal communication is perceived may dictate how committed employees are within an organization.
To stay ahead, organizations need to tap their employees’ talents and market trends such as changes in the social media landscape. Organizational programs and policies that address employees’ needs and concerns and demonstrate caring and supportive environment are likely to motivate employees to reciprocate with higher levels of engagement. Development Dimensions International believes that organizations understand that people are a key asset and they have an overwhelming impact on the company’s growth. The right work environment usually translates into improved motivation and enhanced or discretionary effort; which in turn leads to business success. There are however ways to build engagement and Hewitt’s survey on ‘Cost Reduction and Engagement’ mentions that executives need to focus on planning, communicating better, measuring engagement impact and retaining talent. Those companies that communicate proactively are much surer of measuring engagement and better equipped to handle any downturns.
Five Strategies to Engage Your People
1. Involve Employees in Decision Making
The Egage Group in the UK recently discovered through their study that ‘including’ rather than ‘talking at’ people was the most effective way of engaging employees to improve business performance. The findings confirm a direct relationship between an organization’s financial performance and employees’ commitment to contribute effort. The essence of the study is that people are more committed when they are involved in change.
Similarly, a study by Gallup in 2009 among 1,003 U.S. employees arrived at the conclusion that if supervisors focus on their peoples’ strengths and actively engages rather than overlooks, the greater the chances of employees rallying for the organization’s cause. ‘What’s Working’ – Mercer study on worker insights highlights that employee engagement is no more about just the employee’s intent to leave. The employee’s commitment to the organization and motivation to contribute to the organization’s success plays a significant role. Among the key drivers are trust in senior management, organizational perception for customer service and fair pay. Not surprisingly, among the least valued factors in the continuum were benefits, compensation and performance management.
2. Effective Communication Key to Success
Watson Wyatt’s ‘Global Work Attitudes Report’ indicates that if engagement is high, so is financial performance. It highlights that the main drivers of employee engagement are similar around the world: effective communication, a clear customer focus and confidence in the strategic direction and leadership of the organization. It is therefore recommended that senior leaders proactively communicate, explain their thinking behind key decisions and organizational changes. It is also expected that managers and leaders personalize communication to improve trust and credibility. By regularly seeking feedback and employee inputs in the decision making process helps engage them better. Frequent recognition is known to be a relevant engagement lubricant and Towers Perrin underscores the influence of managers in inclusive communication and building trust through the power of recognitions.
3. Managers as Communication Ambassadors
The manager’s role in positively impacting engagement is widely accepted. A study by the Society of Human Resources Management found that managers or the immediate supervisors have a mission to build and sustain a workplace environment that fosters engagement and also attracts potential employees. Employees’ emotional commitment to the job, organization, team and manager has been found to determine stronger performance. Also managerial style has a significant impact on trust, respect and leadership and is one of the factors that influence engagement. A study by Development Dimensions International highlights that among the top key components of engagement are communication and accountability. This emphasizes the highlighting the managers’ responsibility in engaging employees. Having a competent manager community and a comprehensive communication strategy are vital to an organization’s engagement initiatives.
A well crafted reward and recognition program that is fair, clear, outcome driven and real-time supports a manager in improving commitment and productivity. That said, the manager is also expected to be attentive (listen intently), receptive (be open to suggestions and acknowledge value of what is heard) and responsive (demonstrate interest to take action). It is know that people show increased levels of respect and trust for managers who regularly ‘uplift’ their employees with informal and formal confidence building measures.
4. Demonstrate your commitment to corporate social responsibility
A research by Kenexa suggests that an organization’s active participation in corporate social responsibility efforts has a significant influence on employees’ engagement levels and how they perceive senior management. The research bases itself on the premise that those companies that win the hearts and minds of their top talent will be able to deliver value over both the short and long terms’. Bhattacharya, C. B., Sen, Sankar & Korschun (2008) in their study emphasized that employees like to work for social responsible companies because it gives them the opportunity for personal growth. CEOs who were polled ranked ‘CSR’ 2nd in importance only to ‘reputation and brand’. Those who identify strongly with the company, view its success as their own. Employees who noted their organization’s commitment to social responsible behavior were motivated to work harder and be more productive. The benefits for the organization included high levels of employee commitment and dedication to excellence at work.
5. Embrace social media to engage employees
In their book ‘First, Break All The Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently’ the authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman articulate how communication is a vital element in energizing a flagging workforce. Overcoming information overload and getting employees to manage their work and by providing necessary tools helps to motivate and engage.
The research proposes a model – Develop-Deploy-Connect taking into account alignment, capability, performance and commitment. According to Aon Consulting, employers are unable to keep pace with the way employees communicate and hence do not know how to engage them. With growing social media interest it no more about what we communicate with employees but how we do so. There are lessons for leadership to absorb newer trends in social networking and mobile telephony to appeal to their younger generation at the workplace. Recommendations to involve and create a culture of sharing and peer to peer communication include instant messaging, podcasts, virtual training, blogs, internal social networks, wikis and social sites.
Deloitte’s 2008 talent report quotes a couple of relevant surveys – a Conference Board study which highlights open and two way communication as one of the top three expectations of employers. Another study from MIT which reinforces the social engagement aspect – ‘people are five times more likely to consult a co-worker for information than a corporate system’. ‘Who you know’ matters more than just ‘what you know’, a shift from our earlier understanding of knowledge and importance within an organization.
These pointers are crucial for organization to remodel the way communication needs to get created, shared and viewed. Social media tools will play a defining role in building trust and transparency, drive engagement and help measure the impact of how employees view their employers. There are very few organizations who take employee feedback and actively drive recommendations from consultants. Look up a case study of Sapient to know of how the organization involves and integrates its people to win loyalty.
Helping employees understand their role in the organization’s growth, channelizing their creative energies and allowing freedom at work can deliver results for organizations who want to win the engagement battle.
The Sapient Way – A Case Study
At Sapient, a global services company founded in 1990, the commitment to help clients transform their businesses for today’s digitally centric world is top priority. The organization believes in aligning its people to the company’s goals and understands the importance of keeping everyone on the same page when it comes to meeting it objectives. From its unique 3 day integration workshop and strategy called Sapient Start to its performance linked assessment program, from its ‘localized’ rewards and recognition initiative to its wide reaching alumni connection – the organization ensures that every person imbibes the Sapient culture. By keeping its internal programs consistent across all levels and all geographies it retains its unique identity and the clients’ experience of Sapient.
Sapient’s culture hinges on Strategic Context, a framework of common purpose, vision and set of values that connect every Sapient person to the company’s future. This aligns its people to a common and shared goal and their efforts are contributing to a bigger cause. The key differentiators of Sapient are its focus on internal communication, involving people in key decision making, extensive leadership-people connection, open and transparent work environment, its corporate social responsibility commitment, sharing ownership with the manager community and its consistent measurement of engagement.
Due to its focus on engagement, it ranks globally amongst the most engaged companies in the BT Mercer ‘Best Companies to Work’ as well as the ‘Great Places to Work’ surveys. Its reputation as a great place to work is also significantly enhanced by being featured amongst NASSCOM’s Top 100 innovators.
Below is a snapshot of a few internal initiatives that drive engagement at Sapient.
Strategic Internal Communication Approach: Effective internal communications drives Sapient people to change behaviors. It shares relevant and compelling communication to get people to move from awareness to understanding and action. Specifically, for change management initiatives that affect a large portion of Sapient people, a toolkit is shared that outlines communication practices at Sapient. A strong partnership between Public Relations, Internal Communications and the leadership ensures that Sapient people receive significant information about big changes, such as acquisitions and leadership transitions real time. Through telephonic debriefs, Town Halls and e-mails Sapient’s leadership effectively cascade the information with the help of managers to everyone in the company within a matter of hours.
Consistent Leadership Connect Town Halls: Every quarter the senior leadership and Office Leads commit time to engage with its people, share company updates, take feedback and answer questions face to face. The management believes it is vital to have everyone on the same page. The Town Hall conversations cover the company strategy, the impact of people practices, the company’s progress against goals, recognitions and office level updates.
People Forums: People from different career levels meet up on a recurring basis to interact, engage, drive initiatives and connection with peers and the organization. The forums such as the manager, director and technology sessions strive to align to the company’s charter and the Leadership Team’s goals. These are also opportunities to groom future leaders by allowing people to take accountability and initiative. Apart from this gathering, the Leadership Team frontends an initiative called the ‘Lessons in Leadership’ which allows people to interact with leaders, get advice on growing leadership skills and connect on a personal level with leaders.
Consistent communication through plasma TVs: Across offices plasma TVs play a roll-up of key company updates in a timely and consistent format. Every week the information is refreshed with a dedicated team monitoring and releasing content on company branded templates. The plasma screens are placed at vantage locations near the reception areas to ensure the information is relayed effectively. Also the slides are pictorial and timed to give people sufficient opportunity to absorb key messages.
The People Portal : The Sapient People Portal, represents a key step in the company’s commitment to keep its people better connected and informed, and provide an intuitive, easy-to-use experience. A major benefit is its ability to communicate important messages from management in a timely and efficient manner. The People Portal is unique in the manner the company involved the entire company in its conception and development. Over 40 teams made up of over 100 Sapient people submitted design entries, which were voted on by the entire company. Many of the designs provided key functional ideas and specifications that have been incorporated into the winning design.
Sapient’s company newsletter, the Sapient Connection: The weekly internal newsletter, emailed to every Sapient person and posted on the landing page of the People Portal, highlights new messages from leadership, as well as corporate news and success stories from offices worldwide. The newsletter received than three times the number of articles submitted and much wider readership than its predecessor. The Sapient Connection is now more accessible with a pdf format that is e-mailed to those who are at client locations and are unable to view the People Portal from a remote site.
People Portal Communities: Sapient believes in frequent and open feedback. It encourages people to leverage the current trend in social networking to help foster a sense of community between people and leadership. The People Portal includes online Sapient Communities, which have become a valuable tool for sharing information and insights in real time and fostering a sense of community across teams, practices, offices worldwide. Leaders can now connect with their people through postings, articles, and discussion threads.
Social Media Usage: Sapient creats CEO ‘You-Tube’ style videos to share company updates and progress against objectives set. The video medium is an ideal communication tool that allows the company to share information in a consistent and timely manner. Feedback on this new format has been extremely positive; people feel the video format helps them connect more easily (than an e-mail bulletin, for example) to leaders’ new ideas. Similarly, leadership blogs written by a pool of leaders share experiences and personal learning from the workplace. The blogs capitalizes on their ‘personality’ within the organization, provides an opportunity for leaders to be heard and allows open interaction. It is measured through the number of direct comments from readers, fruitful conversations and increased engagement. The posts range from the leaders’ business interactions to the team’s charter, from recent industry trends to the company’s people volunteering initiatives. The leadership accesses and manages the blogs in a DIY (do it yourself) model with e-mail communication templates to share updates after they post their entries. The company recently launched a Sapient India Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/sapientindia) to build on the success of its social media strategy, which already includes Sapient Interactive groups on Facebook and LinkedIn. The Sapient India Facebook group is designed to help the company create brand awareness, showcase its culture and provide a community forum where Sapient people can share important company milestones and engage others in relevant discussion. The page reached 861 fans in a short span of 5 months.
‘Non-Business’ Distribution Lists: The company allows people to operate subscriber led distribution lists which appeal to special interest groups. The leadership monitors and observes posts and responds to comments and feedback which impact the organization. The lists are self-moderated and the moderators proposes guidelines so that only relevant communication is shared. Close to 1/3 of the company use the lists and many claim that it increases their chances of getting good deals as compared to the traditional route of newspaper advertisements. Through peer reviews people are able to get quick feedback on courses, real estate, banking needs among others.
Engagement Measurement: The company conducts a company-wide ‘pulse’ designed to assess the quality of how its people experience Sapient. The Engagement Survey using qualitative and quantitative questions assesses the company’s performance against a set of unchanging key measures. It measures various aspects of Sapient and gives Company, Support Teams, as well as Account, Project and Practice Leadership insight into what we are doing well today and what we need to change and improve. Apart from that Sapient conducts periodic Focus Group sessions designed to gather qualitative and anecdotal information from Sapient people about their thoughts on Sapient’s culture. Culture Champions approach people directly to participate in these in order to ensure a representative mix of domains, career stages, tenures and roles in each office are covered. Regular periodic ‘pulse’ checks are also conducted to get a sense of people and preempt attrition. The focus covers key themes: leadership, recognition and fun, connect to company, nature of work and growth. Using a proven discussion grid the inputs are captured for developing an action plan and shared directly with leaders.
Recognition Program: Sapient not only has a dedicated resource to oversee its recognition program it also makes improvements to the way award recipients are selected and celebrated. It applauds extraordinary effort and success across the organization consistently. All recognition programs are localized to ensure easier connection, faster distribution and smoother processes. The program is linked to the organization’s objectives and recognizes high performance. There are awards ranging from a spot recognition to a company wide honor for business development and living the core values.
Career Framework: Sapient invests in career tools to build readiness among its people for rapid growth and expansion into new markets. With an updated, integrated, holistic and standardized set of tools for talent management that better reflect its current and future business requirements, the company is well positioned to meet the needs of both the business and the inspirational needs its people. Online tools support peoples’ understanding of their competencies, areas of improvement and career levels they can move to.
People Led Office-Level Programs: Celebrations assume different dimensions at the local Sapient office level and are a blend of social, leadership-based and even, family-oriented celebratory gatherings, to recognize the value and impact that our people have on the organization. Sharing successes at the workplace with people’s families make celebrations even more meaningful. Through office-level social meets, leadership-people interactions and family gatherings we place a strong emphasis on recognizing the value and successes that our people bring across the organization in varying degrees. Budgets are allocated via the Office Leads who involve people for the office level programs.
Emphasis on CSR: We believe that corporate social responsibility (CSR) relates to the way organizations integrate social, environmental, and economic concerns into their values, culture, decision making, strategy and operations, thereby establishing better practices within the organization, creating wealth, and improving society. Sapient is interested in CSR as a way to ‘give back’ to the communities that we operate within while improving morale and engagement within our organization. We actively support the programs which fundamentally help improve lives. The programs are unique since it is people led and the organization plays the role of enabler with resources and support. The ‘enactors’ are the employees who choose, design and implement initiatives that impact society.
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References:
1. British Association of Communicators in Business (2008). Engagement: Results of Engage Group Survey. Retrieved: http://cib.uk.com/content/knowledge-bank/1457-engagement-yougov-survey-results.html
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Retrieved: http://www.kenexa.com/getattachment/76533599-b86f-4391-8d50-3b8e35286d3f/Corporate-Social-Responsibility-Efforts-Are-Recogn.aspx
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14. Towers Perrin (2009). White Paper – ‘Turbo charging’ Employee Engagement: The Power of Recognition from Managers.
Aniisu K Verghese is the India Internal Communication Lead at Sapient Corporation. Aniisu is passionate about engaging fellow communication practitioners through workshops and presentations. Visit Aniisu’s blog at http://www.intraskope.wordpress.com
