Making Engagement Real: From Theory to Practice Part One: Express Yourself

Making Engagement Real:Making Engagement Real:From Theory to PracticeFrom Theory to Practice

Part One: Express YourselfPart One: Express Yourself

Tamara J. EricksonOctober 3, 2006

2006 © All Rights Reserved. 2

I Have a Job Offer for You . . . !

You’ll be officially on probation for the first three months – at the end of the time, your team mates will

vote on whether you will receive a permanent offer.

I can’t tell you exactly what job you’ll have. You’ll spend the first three months in an intense fishbowl challenge. Based on how you do, we’ll determine your role

in the company going forward.

You’ll spend the first three months in training, learning “our” way of doing this

job. We have a step-by-step approach that must be followed carefully, and will

lead to success, if you do.

It’s the job of your dreams . . . and here’s how it begins:


• New assumptions about how the world works• Differing motivations driven by the varied roles work plays in

our lives• The new diversity: individual needs and preferences

Today’s Workforce:A Diverse Spectrum of “Hearts and Minds”


Source: Employment Policy Foundation analysis and projections of Census/BLS and BEA data.

Millions of People

Expected Labor Force and Labor Force Demand

0

50

100

150

200

250

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

2026

2028

2030

Labor Needed

Labor Available

140142144146148150152154

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

The Lines Are Crossing:A Growing Shortage of Workers in the U.S.


It’s Time to Care

•No more ability to dictate employee conditions or even pre-hire specifications You must be ready to

“turn every stone” to find talent

•No more ability to survive on numbers alone You must fully engage

employees’ “hearts and minds” when they’re on the job


A Growing Phenomenon: “Presenteeism”

• “Presenteeism” – employees who are at work, but for a variety of reasons, are not producing

• Accounts for 80% of lost productivity

• Reflects low engagement

Source: American Productivity Audit; The Health Coalition of Tampa, Florida (1999)


Engaged Employees . . .

• Are excited and enthusiastic about what they’re doing• Resist distractions, tend to forget about time or place,

and often invest discretionary effort Routinely produce significantly more than the job requires, often

working all kinds of hours to get things done and done right

• Enjoy pondering current challenges, even on the drive home or in the shower! Search for ways to improve things rather than just reacting to

management’s requests or to crises Volunteer for difficult assignments

• Invite others in – and are emotionally contagious Encourage co-workers to high levels of performance and seek ways to

help them Conduct transactions with external constituencies – such as customers

– in ways that bring great credit (and business) to the company

• Identify proudly with the activity Are more likely to stay with the company, be an advocate of the

company and its products and services, and contribute to the bottom-line business success


Productivity

Employee Engagement

It Really Matters!A Growing Body of Research Links Engagement to Productivity

Enhanced Desirable Discretionary BehaviorsInnovation

– Insight and intuition– Originality and inspiration– Judgment– Humor

Collaboration– Offered input– Leadership– Friendship

Correlation to OutcomesHigher share price – Fortune “100 Best Companies To Work For” list outperformed the S&P 500

Higher return on assets – Korean firms with higher organizational commitment had a higher return on assets

Lower mortality – U.S. hospitals with higher nurse retention have lower mortality

Source: Re.sults Project EMP: Excelling at Employee Engagement, The Concours Group, 2004, based on the work of Dr. Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stanford University

Improvement in Traditional HR MetricsRetention rates, Acceptance rates Customer Satisfaction

Emotional contagion of employees in customer-facing roles

Reduced CostsInvestments focused only on those aspects of the employee “deal” that matter most


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Gallup Towers Perrin EEE

16% 19%

55%

64%

17%29%

Engaged

Neutral

Bitter

Source: The Gallup Organization, Towers Perrin, and The New Employee/Employer Equation, The Concours Group and Age Wave, 2004

Random samples of the working population in the U.S. over 18 years of age

18%

62%

20%

Sources Agree: Today, Few Employees Are “Engaged” in Work

Concours Group and Age Wave

What do “best practice” companies do?

What do “best practice” companies do?


Source: Re.sults Project EMP: Excelling at Employee Engagement, The Concours Group, 2004

There Are No Universal “Best Practices” for Enhancing Engagement!

• Companies with highly engaged employees each do very different things

Each company different . . . but somehow internally aligned

• But within each, a pattern that appears to make sense: The individuals’ preferences The corporation’s values The human resource policies and practices The day-to-day work environment


• Every store divided into teams

• New employees hired into one of the teams on a provisional basis

• After four weeks of work, the team votes whether the employee gets to stay: requires a two-third “yes” vote

• Pay beyond base wages linked to team performance

Recruiting for – and by – the Team Employee teams recruit new employees, using peer pressure to build performance


Immediate Contribution and Long-term ContextUse newest hires to develop the next generation of strategic ideas, products and leaders

• No specific job assignment upon hire

• Immersion in a three-month in-house process run by top management, including the CEO

• Stretch challenges: to come up with breakthrough new product or service ideas, develop marketing campaigns, etc.

• Intense teamwork, deep bonds with peers, being stretched beyond the point of failure


• Specific well-structured processes, clearly communicated

• New recruits start with a full 5-day training program

• More training – 235 hours – throughout the first year

• Long-term, career development focus

Investing in a Common Base of Competence A Well-Defined Career Path, with Detailed Training, Creates Fierce Loyalty


Work is Clearly Not the Same Thing to All People

• Not all people are equally well-suited to all types or styles of work

• Not everyone values the same things from the work experience

• There is no one definition of a “good” manager or an “ideal deal”

• It is smart to target employees that are best for your firm and the type of work

Jim Collins: First, get the right people on the bus

Old Management Wisdom: Hire for attitude; train for skill


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The Six Values of Work in Our Lives

Expressive LegacyExpressive Legacy Work is about creating something with lasting value

Secure ProgressSecure Progress Work is about the American dream – a predictable, upward path to success

Team VictoryTeam Victory Work is an opportunity to be a valuable part of a winning team

Risk with RewardRisk with Reward Work is an opportunity for challenge, change, learning and, maybe, wealth

Flexible SupportFlexible Support Work is our livelihood but not currently a priority in our lives

Low Obligation IncomeLow Obligation Income Work’s value is largely its near-term economic gain

Source: The New Employee/Employer Equation, The Concours Group and Age Wave, 2004

Know which ones are important to your employees!


And Companies That Excel at Reinforcing Core Values

Expressive Legacy

Secure Progress

Team Victory

Risk with Reward

Flexible Support


A Real Best Practice: “Signature” Experience

• A highly-visible element of the employee experience

• Valuable to the firm in-and-of itself

• Also, a powerful symbolic representation of the firm’s human capital values

• And a convincing mechanism for prompting self-selection

Signature Experience


The Common Threads Among Excellent Companies• They know who they are

Not all things to all people

• They understand their target employees (current and future)

As clearly as other companies understand their target customers

• They communicate who they are vividly, with “stories” of actual practices or events – “signature experiences”

Not through slogans and posters

• They align all elements of the employee experience

Reinforce the brand attributes at every step

• They embed today’s managers and leaders deeply into the fabric of execution

Not an HR-only-run programThey Create a Powerful “Signature

Experience”


for further information:Tamara J. Erickson

[email protected]

978-287-0170

www.concoursgroup.com

800 Rockmead DriveKingwood, TX 77339Tele: 281-359-3464

321 Arsenal StreetWatertown, MA 02472

Tele: 617-926-0800

211 PiccadillyLondon W1J 9HF

Tele: +44 (0)20 7830 9740

For Further Reading:

“Managing Middlescence,” Harvard Business Review, March 2006

“It’s Time to Retire Retirement,” Harvard Business Review, March 2004

Winner of the 2004 McKinsey Award

Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent by Dychtwald, Erickson, and Morison, Harvard Business School Press, April 2006

Documents

Making Engagement Real: From Theory to Practice Part One: Express Yourself