Employee Engagement

What it is and why it is important

         Phil Walker
        WTT Results Ltd
        www.wttresults.co.uk
Employee Engagement
Defining Employee Engagement
• Many, many definitions, from very short
  phrases to an entire chapter of a book
• Only one I have found refers to customers
• “How each individual employee connects with
  your company and how each individual
  employee connects with your customers“ (Lucey,
  Bateman and Hines 2005)
Engaging employees




Gallup Management Journal – 1000 employed adults
The results?
Employee engagement & results
• A U.S. specialty mortgage company, found that
  account executives in their wholesale division
  who were actively disengaged produced 28%
  less revenue than their colleagues who were
  engaged
• Those not engaged generated 23% less revenue
  than their engaged counterparts
• This study was replicated in other divisions and
  has been replicated in other countries such as
  Canada, Japan and Mexico
Results 2
• 88% of highly engaged employees believe they
  can positively impact the quality of their
  organisation’s products, compared with only 38%
  of the not engaged
• 85% of highly engaged employees believe they
  can positively affect customer service, versus
  42% of the not engaged
• 65% of highly engaged employees believe they
  can positively impact profitability, compared
  with just 20% of the not engaged
Employees want to engage!
• Most want to work with organisations that allow
  them to grow and develop a career
   – “Career opportunities and training”
• They want to feel good about their organisation
  including that it is a good citizen with a trusted brand
• Only 11% of engaged employees thinking
  about/planning to leave (disengaged 50%)
• They are willing to give more to help the company
  succeed
   – “More opportunities to do what I do best”
Company Results & E.E. (1)
• Companies in which 60% (or more) of the
  workforce is engaged have average five-year total
  returns to shareholders of more than 20%.
• That compares to companies where only 40% of
  the employees are engaged, which have an
  average five-year return of about 6%.
• Another study in the United States found that
  engaged employees achieve 12% more of their
  goals than employees with low engagement.
Company Results & E.E. (2)
• Global studies data from 2004-2011 from 11,000
  to over 6 million people
• “Organizations with high levels of engagement
  (65% or greater) continue to outperform the total
  stock market index and posted total shareholder
  returns 22% higher than average in 2010. On the
  other hand, companies with low engagement
  (45% or less) had a total shareholder return that
  was 28% lower than the average”
So, what’s the problem?
• Why is EE low in the UK (and elsewhere)?
• Do organisations and their leaders understand
  their roles in EE?
• Two assumptions:
  – Workers are the problem
  – It’s all down to the immediate supervisor
Top 10 Global drivers of EE
1. Senior mgmnt sincerely interested in employee well-being
2. Improved my skills and capabilities in the last year
3. Organisation’s reputation for social responsibility
4. Input into decision-making in my department
5. Organisation quickly resolves customer concerns
6. Set high personal standards
7. Have excellent career advancement opportunities
8. Enjoy challenging work assignment that broaden skills
9. Good relationship with supervisor
10. Organisation encourages innovative thinking
Top 10 Global drivers of EE
1. Senior mgmnt sincerely interested in employee well-being
2. Improved my skills and capabilities in the last year
3. Organisation’s reputation for social responsibility
4. Input into decision-making in my department
5. Organisation quickly resolves customer concerns
6. Set high personal standards
7. Have excellent career advancement opportunities
8. Enjoy challenging work assignment that broaden skills
9. Good relationship with supervisor
10. Organisation encourages innovative thinking
Satisfaction vs Engagement
• A positive workforce that seeks to improve the
  organisation is essentially a satisfied workforce.
  However, an engaged workforce in addition has
  “a clear understanding of their company’s
  culture, and business strategy” to which they
  closely align themselves (Coleman 2005)
• Engagement is more than job satisfaction – it
  includes an emotional and intellectual alignment
  between the individual and organisation, striving
  jointly to improve business results
A model for E.E.                         Leadership
                                                  Management
                                                  Colleagues
             Pay rates                            Customers
             Overtime                             Suppliers
             Benefits                 People      Value of people?
             R&R                                                Work activities
                          Total                                   - relevance, worth &
                                                     Work
                         reward                                     measurability
                                                                Resources
Career growth                        Engagement                 Processes
Training & development
Ownership with whom?
                                                   Quality of
                         Growth
                                                     life
                                                                Work/Life balance
                                                                Physical environment
                                     Company
           Policies & procedures                                Working hours
           Performance management                               Attitude to socialising
           Results
           Reputation
           Inclusion and diversity
When it’s bad




Patrick Lencioni - The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (And Their Employees)
Anonymity

• People can’t be fulfilled if they are anonymous
• All humans need to be appreciated for their
  unique qualities by someone in a position of
  authority
• People who see themselves as invisible,
  generic or anonymous cannot love their jobs
• Supervisors need to take a genuine personal
  interest in employees to increase satisfaction
  and fulfilment – and not just a one-off
Irrelevance
• Everyone needs to know their job matters to
  someone; anyone
• Without seeing the connection between the
  work and the satisfaction of another person or
  group, an employee will not find lasting
  fulfilment
• Supervisors need to help them see why their
  work matters to someone
• Ask the question “whose life do you impact?”
“Immeasurement”
• Lack of tangible means of assessing progress or success
  in a job
• People need to be able to gauge their progress and
  level of contribution for themselves
• They cannot be fulfilled if their success depends on the
  whims or opinions of someone else
• Motivation deteriorates if people feel unable to control
  their fate
• Too often people try to rally employees around some
  macro objective like company profitability
• Most employees are looking for a measure more
  closely tied to their actual jobs.
UK – top 5 Engagement drivers
2010 RANK    DRIVER
1    SENIOR MANAGEMENT SINCERELY INTERESTED IN EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING
2    IMPROVED MY SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES OVER THE LAST YEAR
3    ORGANISATION QUICKLY RESOLVES CUSTOMER CONCERNS
4    APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY TO DO MY JOB
5    ORGANISATION’S REPUTATION FOR C.S.R.
Remember
• Those who were actively disengaged produced 28% less
  revenue than their colleagues who were engaged
• Those not engaged generated 23% less revenue than their
  engaged counterparts
• 88% of highly engaged employees believe they can
  positively impact the quality of their organisation’s
  products, compared with only 38% of the not engaged
• 85% of highly engaged employees believe they can
  positively affect customer service, versus 42% of the not
  engaged
• 65% of highly engaged employees believe they can
  positively impact costs in their job or unit, compared with
  just 20% of the not engaged
Company Results & E.E.
• Companies with high levels of EE produce 3
  times the shareholder returns over 5 years,
  and posted returns 22% higher than average
  in 2010
• Engaged employees achieve 12% more goals
• Engaged employees are made, not born
• Employees want to be engaged!
• It’s about more than the employees, and the
  direct supervisors
Causation or not?
• Is the company successful because of high levels
  of EE, or are there high levels of EE because the
  company is successful?
• “Workplace measures like employee engagement
  might be even more important as predictors of an
  organization’s economic health (than EPS)” –
  Gallup
• “We simply accept the premise that an Engaged
  workforce is essential for the success of the
  company” - Experian
The best 100 companies to work for in USA
 • “That this subset of companies from the 1998 100
   Best list performed better than other companies
   provides, to our knowledge, the strongest
   evidence to date of a direct positive link between
   employee relations and employee attitudes and
   financial performance at the firm level. Being an
   attractive employer may create an important
   intangible asset, positive employee relations, that
   differentiates firms in a value-producing way. At
   the very least, our study finds no evidence that
   positive employee relations comes at the expense
   of financial performance. Firms can have both.”
                                                     2003
Engaged employees




www.wttresults.co.uk
Thank you


 Phil Walker
WTT Results Ltd

www.wttresults.co.uk

Success through Employee Engagement

  • 1.
    Employee Engagement What itis and why it is important Phil Walker WTT Results Ltd www.wttresults.co.uk
  • 2.
  • 3.
    Defining Employee Engagement •Many, many definitions, from very short phrases to an entire chapter of a book • Only one I have found refers to customers • “How each individual employee connects with your company and how each individual employee connects with your customers“ (Lucey, Bateman and Hines 2005)
  • 4.
    Engaging employees Gallup ManagementJournal – 1000 employed adults
  • 5.
  • 6.
    Employee engagement &results • A U.S. specialty mortgage company, found that account executives in their wholesale division who were actively disengaged produced 28% less revenue than their colleagues who were engaged • Those not engaged generated 23% less revenue than their engaged counterparts • This study was replicated in other divisions and has been replicated in other countries such as Canada, Japan and Mexico
  • 7.
    Results 2 • 88%of highly engaged employees believe they can positively impact the quality of their organisation’s products, compared with only 38% of the not engaged • 85% of highly engaged employees believe they can positively affect customer service, versus 42% of the not engaged • 65% of highly engaged employees believe they can positively impact profitability, compared with just 20% of the not engaged
  • 8.
    Employees want toengage! • Most want to work with organisations that allow them to grow and develop a career – “Career opportunities and training” • They want to feel good about their organisation including that it is a good citizen with a trusted brand • Only 11% of engaged employees thinking about/planning to leave (disengaged 50%) • They are willing to give more to help the company succeed – “More opportunities to do what I do best”
  • 9.
    Company Results &E.E. (1) • Companies in which 60% (or more) of the workforce is engaged have average five-year total returns to shareholders of more than 20%. • That compares to companies where only 40% of the employees are engaged, which have an average five-year return of about 6%. • Another study in the United States found that engaged employees achieve 12% more of their goals than employees with low engagement.
  • 10.
    Company Results &E.E. (2) • Global studies data from 2004-2011 from 11,000 to over 6 million people • “Organizations with high levels of engagement (65% or greater) continue to outperform the total stock market index and posted total shareholder returns 22% higher than average in 2010. On the other hand, companies with low engagement (45% or less) had a total shareholder return that was 28% lower than the average”
  • 11.
    So, what’s theproblem? • Why is EE low in the UK (and elsewhere)? • Do organisations and their leaders understand their roles in EE? • Two assumptions: – Workers are the problem – It’s all down to the immediate supervisor
  • 12.
    Top 10 Globaldrivers of EE 1. Senior mgmnt sincerely interested in employee well-being 2. Improved my skills and capabilities in the last year 3. Organisation’s reputation for social responsibility 4. Input into decision-making in my department 5. Organisation quickly resolves customer concerns 6. Set high personal standards 7. Have excellent career advancement opportunities 8. Enjoy challenging work assignment that broaden skills 9. Good relationship with supervisor 10. Organisation encourages innovative thinking
  • 13.
    Top 10 Globaldrivers of EE 1. Senior mgmnt sincerely interested in employee well-being 2. Improved my skills and capabilities in the last year 3. Organisation’s reputation for social responsibility 4. Input into decision-making in my department 5. Organisation quickly resolves customer concerns 6. Set high personal standards 7. Have excellent career advancement opportunities 8. Enjoy challenging work assignment that broaden skills 9. Good relationship with supervisor 10. Organisation encourages innovative thinking
  • 14.
    Satisfaction vs Engagement •A positive workforce that seeks to improve the organisation is essentially a satisfied workforce. However, an engaged workforce in addition has “a clear understanding of their company’s culture, and business strategy” to which they closely align themselves (Coleman 2005) • Engagement is more than job satisfaction – it includes an emotional and intellectual alignment between the individual and organisation, striving jointly to improve business results
  • 15.
    A model forE.E. Leadership Management Colleagues Pay rates Customers Overtime Suppliers Benefits People Value of people? R&R Work activities Total - relevance, worth & Work reward measurability Resources Career growth Engagement Processes Training & development Ownership with whom? Quality of Growth life Work/Life balance Physical environment Company Policies & procedures Working hours Performance management Attitude to socialising Results Reputation Inclusion and diversity
  • 16.
    When it’s bad PatrickLencioni - The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (And Their Employees)
  • 17.
    Anonymity • People can’tbe fulfilled if they are anonymous • All humans need to be appreciated for their unique qualities by someone in a position of authority • People who see themselves as invisible, generic or anonymous cannot love their jobs • Supervisors need to take a genuine personal interest in employees to increase satisfaction and fulfilment – and not just a one-off
  • 18.
    Irrelevance • Everyone needsto know their job matters to someone; anyone • Without seeing the connection between the work and the satisfaction of another person or group, an employee will not find lasting fulfilment • Supervisors need to help them see why their work matters to someone • Ask the question “whose life do you impact?”
  • 19.
    “Immeasurement” • Lack oftangible means of assessing progress or success in a job • People need to be able to gauge their progress and level of contribution for themselves • They cannot be fulfilled if their success depends on the whims or opinions of someone else • Motivation deteriorates if people feel unable to control their fate • Too often people try to rally employees around some macro objective like company profitability • Most employees are looking for a measure more closely tied to their actual jobs.
  • 20.
    UK – top5 Engagement drivers 2010 RANK DRIVER 1 SENIOR MANAGEMENT SINCERELY INTERESTED IN EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING 2 IMPROVED MY SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES OVER THE LAST YEAR 3 ORGANISATION QUICKLY RESOLVES CUSTOMER CONCERNS 4 APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY TO DO MY JOB 5 ORGANISATION’S REPUTATION FOR C.S.R.
  • 21.
    Remember • Those whowere actively disengaged produced 28% less revenue than their colleagues who were engaged • Those not engaged generated 23% less revenue than their engaged counterparts • 88% of highly engaged employees believe they can positively impact the quality of their organisation’s products, compared with only 38% of the not engaged • 85% of highly engaged employees believe they can positively affect customer service, versus 42% of the not engaged • 65% of highly engaged employees believe they can positively impact costs in their job or unit, compared with just 20% of the not engaged
  • 22.
    Company Results &E.E. • Companies with high levels of EE produce 3 times the shareholder returns over 5 years, and posted returns 22% higher than average in 2010 • Engaged employees achieve 12% more goals • Engaged employees are made, not born • Employees want to be engaged! • It’s about more than the employees, and the direct supervisors
  • 23.
    Causation or not? •Is the company successful because of high levels of EE, or are there high levels of EE because the company is successful? • “Workplace measures like employee engagement might be even more important as predictors of an organization’s economic health (than EPS)” – Gallup • “We simply accept the premise that an Engaged workforce is essential for the success of the company” - Experian
  • 24.
    The best 100companies to work for in USA • “That this subset of companies from the 1998 100 Best list performed better than other companies provides, to our knowledge, the strongest evidence to date of a direct positive link between employee relations and employee attitudes and financial performance at the firm level. Being an attractive employer may create an important intangible asset, positive employee relations, that differentiates firms in a value-producing way. At the very least, our study finds no evidence that positive employee relations comes at the expense of financial performance. Firms can have both.” 2003
  • 25.
  • 26.
    Thank you PhilWalker WTT Results Ltd www.wttresults.co.uk