Gallup is reporting that engagement in workplaces has dropped globally for the 2nd time in 16 years. You can check out their poll results here:
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/659279/global-engagement-falls-second-time-2009.aspx
Many will analyze this data and provide a laundry list of reasons for the drop which I would categorize as the usual suspects. I would prefer to present the issue as part of our ongoing struggles as human beings (leaders) and what we can do about it.
Like original sin, the fall of humanity, or another spiritual struggle you may be thinking of, poor engagement lurks all around us as a direct result of weak management and absent leadership. It can happen to any business at any time in part or in whole.
I had experiences over several decades first in the army under both great and marginal commanders, then in business in well run and poorly run factories, ultimately working for and with outstanding and not so great executives. In anll of these environments engagement was like a sine curve, that mathematical equation graphically illustrated as an S shape going back and forth over a center line over time. It was great until it wasn’t.
Organizations, when inspired by great leadership work hard to get the curve going up, measured by surveys , with sometimes crude bribes like free stuff and other more enlightened methods like listening, career development and well constructed total rewards.
Those same organizations can get distracted or go through a challenging business cycle and let their engagement levels sink. They may even tolerate bad leaders. When engagement gets bad enough, turnover, poor morale and bad feedback finally get theattention they merit and the cycle repeats. “Oh, we have to be nicer again!”
Is there a solution to the Eternal Battle between enlightened leadership and forgetful, distracted negligence? A few thoughts:
Defining and cultivating a healthy culture in your operation will help sustain the good things when you get distracted. A general understanding of “the way we do things around here” helps middle managers keep the wheels on when upper level executives are pulling their hair out. My favorite definition of company culture came from one of the original total quality gurus, Bill Conway, who wrote a book called the Right Way to Manage. He defined culture as “the way we work, talk, think and act”. Established firms should make sure their cultural norms are overtly described, told as stories and reinforced. Newer firms should define their norms and enshrine outstanding examples.
Policies, perqs, incentive structures, and anything considered a key part of the employee value proposition should be “downturn-proof”. When there are inevitable slowdowns in the business cycle, your tangible employee benefits and perqs should be sacrosanct. Don’t mess with them. This will sound harsh, but I believe firms are better off doing surgical layoffs than cutting benefits across the board in hopes of just getting through a bad situation. In the end cutting the very reasons to stay causes more people to leave. In the 1970’s the term “hollow army” described a poorly funded post-Vietnam military with plenty of soldiers that were underpaid, under equipped, lacked ammo and even real weapons in some cases. Don’t create a hollow business. That devil in the illustration accompanying this essay would love a hollow organization in which to wreak havoc.
Embrace process and make engagement a science, blessed by leadership, as opposed to a process dependent on leadership. Your process should include a strong approach to people analytics, seeking employee input in smart ways (i.e. not just cumbersome and long annual engagement surveys, but short 3-5 question monthly surveys). Engagement metrics should be reviewed at the highest levels of leadership regularly, with discussion. If there is a red/yellow/green metric for each department, make sure HR reports out on engagement similarly, with leaders accountable.
Finally, find your sweet spot for your employee value proposition, and make sure it is sustainable. Remember how silicon valley firms recently eliminated lavish perqs and constant free everything for which they were celebrated? Many of us knew the end would come. It did. Jarring for those used to feeding at the tough, for sure.
Maybe you cannot afford free meals, but coffee and snacks are doable. Maybe you can’t have in house training, but you can use outside suppliers for key learning events. Make smart choices about what is affordable and appreciated; stick to it consistently.
There you have it: my Recommendation Better Angels to help you stay on the path of righteousness and high engagement. Go forth and engage!
