The keys to building an army of engaged employees


  • November 29, 2016
  • /   Quint Studer
  • /   training-development,quint-studer

Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/workplace-team-business-meeting-1245776/

Do you have satisfied employees? Better yet, do you have engaged employees?

Both are good, but distinctly different.

A satisfied employee is better than one who isn’t satisfied. According to organizational psychologist Dr. Chris Reilly, an employee who is merely satisfied performs work because he or she has to.

An engaged employee performs work because he or she wants to.

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That effort from an engaged employee can take a business from average to great. The absence of that extra effort can take a business from below average to out of business. The engaged employee is emotionally committed to working on organizational goals. They care about the work product and work on behalf of the organization’s goals.

The engaged employee understands the impact he or she has on the company’s success. Engaged employees understand customer satisfaction means more than just a happy customer. All of this leads to better word of mouth, more customers and better job security and wages.

Ultimately, employee engagement means better financial performance, greater customer satisfaction, better quality, reduced employee absences and turnover, better safety and easier job recruitment.

One of our 2016 EntreCon keynote speakers, Julie Weber, the vice president of people for Southwest Airlines, showed data that when engaged employees connected with wowed customers, it led to record-breaking financials year after year.

Satisfaction, while not nearly as effective as engagement, sets the foundation to develop in employees the behaviors needed to achieve organizational goals.

It’s not easy to get engaged employees, and it’s getting more complicated by the day. We have generational differences between baby boomers, Generation X, Millennials and, coming soon, Generation Z. With the shift in workforce, conventional wisdom is changing with respect to pay and benefits, recognition, communication and innovation.

While these engagement drivers were stable for many years, pay is becoming more important. It is the No. 2 priority at any job for millennials, No. 3 for Generation X and it has moved way up to No. 5 for Baby Boomers, a huge jump from past years (as they likely see younger people in organizations making similar money).

Organizational reputation ranks No. 2 for Baby Boomers and Generation X and No. 3 for Millennials. All three generations rate career opportunity as the No. 1 need in a job. That means ability to move up and develop.

So what does this mean? It means the business that creates the best workplace culture has the best chance for success. Here are some tips to help create an engaged workforce:

— Measure. Every company measures cash and inventory regularly. Yet employee engagement — the most vital resource — rarely (if ever) gets measured.

While I understand it can look expensive, it is a great investment. Because so many small businesses have shared with us at the Studer Community Institute that they feel they can’t afford to measure, we have created a very cost-effective way to gauge employee engagement. We recently completed our own engagement survey for the Bodacious Shops and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. For our full-time staff we were in the top 1 percent (or 99th percentile). However, for part-time staff, we were in the 74th percentile. This information told us loud and clear that we need to focus on the part-time workers in our organization.

— Develop leaders. The direct supervisor is the most important person in an employee’s work life. Many people in leadership were promoted because they were good at the job. Leading people is a different job and developing different skills is necessary for success.

— Owners and top leaders need to make sure that they connect all employees to the mission of the organization. The mission is why we do what we do. A few weeks ago, I was asked to speak to an advertising sales team. I asked them why they do what they do. Of course I could tell early thoughts were “it's my job, for my pay, to earn my bonus,” etc. So I asked some questions.

  • What benefit is it to the company that buys your advertising? It helps them get more customers.
  • What did that mean to the company? It helps them financially.
  • Does it make the employees’ jobs more secure?
  • If the advertising works well, could this lead to more jobs? Yes.
  • Could that mean more secure jobs, and more jobs means a better life for the worker and their family?

So in the end, their work improves the quality of life for many. Children have more secure homes, families have food on the table and supplies for school. That means they are in the quality of life business. The leader must connect to that organizational image and mission.

— Connect with them on how you can help them in their skill development. This even goes for part-time workers. Investing in employees lets them know their development is valued, knowing full well it’s highly unlikely they work for the same company forever.

— Have fun. A leader’s job is to bring energy to the workplace. Take time every day to create that spirit. As a leader, the staff can take your cues, moving up and down emotionally based on the leader. Bring your A-game every day.

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