Why Does Employee Engagement Matter? Performance Improvement Network, June 7, 2012 Presenter: Doris Savron

Agenda  Review engagement data  Define engagement  Discuss two types of engagement  Discuss drivers of engagement  Share our story and ongoing work  Brainstorm and discuss engagement activities  Share resources available  Wrap-up

What the Data Says...  Disengaged employees may cost U.S. businesses as much as $350 billion a year.  Engagement is correlated to organizational performance, customer service, productivity, and employee retention.  Increased competition is not only putting pressure on organizations to become more efficient and better at delighting customers, it is creating more career options for employees.  Media has provided a regular stream of stories of unethical behavior and poor decision making by senior leaders. As a result employees tend to be more distrustful of leaders’ intentions Gallup Employee Engagement Index, 2009 Towers & Perrin

Defining Engagement  Table Activity  Take 5 minutes  Assign a volunteer to take notes  Report back your best definition

Common Definitions of Engagement  Employees work with passion  Employees feel a deep connection to the organization  Employees (at all levels) focus on innovation  Employees increase discretionary effort  Employee potential is translated into high levels of performance and increases organizational success

Two Types of Engagement  Examples of Rational  Employees feel fairly compensation  Employees feel there are opportunities to grow skills  Examples of Emotional  Employees believe in leaders  Employees believe their work matters to the organization  Employees feel valued  Employees understand how their effort contributes to the organization’s success

 “The emotional side of engagement is actually four times more powerful than rational side when it comes to driving… employees who want to stay with the company and employee productivity” (Ketter, 2008) “A basic factor in predicting engagement – employees’ understanding of how their roles fit with the business strategy” (Fox, 2010)

Drivers of Engagement  Competent and engaging leaders (all levels)  Managers who are able to align goals and direction with organization vision  Collaboration at all levels  Employee development and enriching their roles  Valuing and appreciating employees

Manager vs. Employee Responsibility  Managers need to:  Be aware of engagement and integrate it into the other responsibilities of their job  Need to ask questions and connect with staff  Managers need to provide feedback and highlight successes, show appreciation  Employees need to:  Ask for help when they need it  Help each other out and recognize each other  Take engagement surveys seriously  Other thoughts?

Our Story  Senior leader site visits  Focus group feedback  Regulatory changes  Organization’s strategy  Time constraints  Engagement Philosophy (including focus on Communication, Recognition and Appreciation, Relationships, and Feedback)

Steps We Took  Captured a baseline by using Baldrige Express Survey and Feedback Report  Conducted strategy planning sessions with entire leadership team  Shared survey results and helped connect our campus strategy to the employee feedback and organization’s strategic plan  Designed committees for specific areas  Provide quarterly updates on progress  Conduct ongoing engagement activities including follow-up engagement surveys

Ongoing Engagement Activities  Organizational Engagement Survey (Quantum)  Ongoing Pulse Surveys  Skip level meetings  Site visits  One on one’s  Road shows  Focus groups  Leadership development groups  Stay interviews* * (Ketter, 2008)

Ongoing Engagement Activities  Q&A teleconferences  Morning huddles  Departmental, team, and all staff meetings  Video conferencing  Recorded messages  Kindness week  Highlight successes in meetings  Focused effort in catching people doing amazing things  Committees and project teams

Table Activity – Other Engagement Activities  Take 10 minutes  Select a recorder  Report back best idea  Hand in ideas to be distributed to the rest of the group after the session

Available Resources  The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace (Chapman, Gary)  How America’s Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times – ReEngage (Branham & Hirschfeld)  Just Listen (Goulston, Mark)  Soup (Gordon, Jon) also  Start with Why (Sinek, Simon)  Touch Points: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest Moments (Connant & Norgaard)

Available Resources (continued)  Fox, A. (2010, May). Raising engagement. HR Magazine, 55(5),  Ketter, P. (2008, January). The big deal about employee engagement. T + D, 62(1),  Engagement Surveys – Quantum Workplace (there are many others available as well)