By Betty Healey - award winning author
Employee engagement is the new ‘buzz’ word. My clients are both excited and puzzled by the notion. Their excitement stems from their belief that ‘it’s about time we had this conversation’; the puzzlement is rooted in ‘how do we do this’.
Employee engagement is the new ‘buzz’ word. My clients are both excited and puzzled by the notion. Their excitement stems from their belief that ‘it’s about time we had this conversation’; the puzzlement is rooted in ‘how do we do this’.
What does it take to be engaged?
My concern about this most recent trend is that, like other trends in the past, lips speak the words but true commitment does not follow. If an organization is serious regarding the idea of truly engaging their employees it extends beyond the employee engagement surveys into the actual day to day practices of the organization.
Engagement implies that employees want to show up at work every day. Why do they want to be there? Because they know they are making a difference, because they believe they are making a contribution to the success of the company and because they are engaging the best of who they are in what they do – their strengths, knowledge and experience.
With this in mind, how does an organization re-assure itself that this wealth of talent, those strengths and accrued wisdom and experience, are actively engaged and being tapped into, to the benefit of both the employee and the organization. More importantly, can an organization measure these same things and use this knowledge to match employees to positions within the organization where they will excel.
Examine your Practices
It goes without saying that an organization must be willing to challenge some of the more traditional practices they may have related to hiring employees or re-assigning individuals to new positions. Typically these decisions have been based on the CV, education, work experience, or seniority. The questions that often remain unanswered in matching employees to the work assignments which need to be filled are:
- What are you really good at?
- What do you want to gain from this work experience?
- What do you love to do?
- What are your strengths and talents?
Having said this, asking these questions to some employees may lead to a few blank stares as they are not, in my experience, questions that a lot of people consider. Too many people believe they have to accept what comes their way. The result is often a less than satisfactory one for both the organization and the employee as it leads to under-employment, a mismatch between strengths and job requirements, and a lack of true engagement.
Three Essential Steps
In coaching teams and organizations, I believe there are three essential steps in developing an engaged workforce.
First, as an organization, take the time to define the qualities and characteristics of your perfect employees. This does mean writing it down and being as specific as possible. Think beyond skills and consider attributes such as integrity, communication style, level of independence, attitude, what makes them tick as a person, and so on. Perfect, by the way, does not refer to perfection. It is an observation as to who is a perfect fit for your organization.
Second, be clear on your ‘WHY’, the compelling reason behind what you do as a company and how you do it. Add to this your organizational values, the guiding principles by which you chose to operate. Simon Sinek’s book demonstrates that the most successful companies engage employees and customers because they know who they are and why they do what they do. Your perfect employee connects with this why and is aligned with your organizational values.
Third, build your organization from strengths. This is a fundamental shift in how employees are selected for the positions they will occupy. Identify tools (suggestions follow) that allow you to measure the strengths and preferences of your employees. This is an essential learning opportunity for both the employee and you as an organization. For employees, it provides an important opportunity for seeing themselves and serves as a confidence and esteem boosting experience. Organizational research tells us that an employee who is confident in their skills, and has the opportunity to apply these same skills and continue learning, is engaged and productive.
Building from strengths also implies a new approach to performance management, one which keeps the strengths conversation front and center and where employees are challenged to utilize their strength to leverage their ongoing development. Conversations related to ‘identified weaknesses’ have no place in this model. It also implies coaching versus managing employees, supporting them by recognizing their strengths and how they are applied to the current work responsibilities, and challenging them to leverage their strengths to reach new levels of performance.
Building a Strengths Based Culture requires you as an organization to be clear regarding who you wish to employ, know you essential raison d’etre and core values, and build on the strengths of your resources, your employees.
