A Positive Workplace Means… What’s Right with People? Have You Asked Them Lately?

One of my last positions in the corporate world several years ago involved the administration of the employee survey that took place every other year. As the manager of the employee strategy, I interacted with employees at every level of the organization. Overseeing the data collection, analysis of participants’ responses, and the cross-functional action planning processes for improvements that followed was very “engaging” and interesting work.

Many employee surveys are developed and based upon Gallup organization research. After hundreds of focus groups and thousands of interviews with employees in a variety of industries, Gallup came up with the “Q12,” a 12-question survey that identified strong feelings of employee engagement. Results showed a strong correlation between high scores and superior job performance. This research and its overall connection to managerial effectiveness and business results have been invaluable to many organizations ever since.  Even some CFO’s (the numbers people) have seen the light about the connection between engagement levels and bottom-line results!

In addition to Gallup, many organizations and global consulting groups have explored the subject of employee engagement. You may recognize some of them: The Conference Board, Towers Perrin, SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), ASTD (American Society for Training and Development), and the Corporate Leadership council, to name a few. 

It’s important to remember that surveying employees and changing the culture are two very different things. Many organizations/companies pay a lot of money (internal salaries and/or external consulting fees) to perform engagement studies and surveys. After spending a lot of time (and money) analyzing and preparing reports for the “upper deck” leadership and creating strategies to implement positive change, in many cases, the work and successful execution of these strategies comes to a stop or gets side tracked, leaving the employees thinking this effort was just “another flavor of the month” program… Lots of time and money spent for what?

Many of you have heard me talk about engagement statistics in my workshops and community college classes. To keep it simple, I’ve combined, averaged and rounded some of these stats for you.  Did you know?  In most organizations, approximately…

• 20% of employees are fully engaged
• 20% are disengaged
• 60% are what I call the “somewhat’s” – those who are somewhat engaged and somewhat disengaged.

I bet, if you stop and think about your organization, your numbers would be similar. You know the players…

The “engaged”…those who are a joy to work with!  They come to work early with a smile and a great can-do attitude. They are eager to learn; run with the ball and, need minimal supervision on our part. Be sure to continue to recognize and reward them appropriately and to offer them development opportunities so they will remain “engaged.”

The “somewhat’s” are the solid middle - the C and B players who are the core of the organization; and, the disengaged, well…you know who they are, too.

With what group do you think we as managers spend most of our time?  If you answered, the disengaged, you are correct.  Studies show, most managers spend about 80% of their time on (disengaged) employee issues – performance management, attitude adjustment, and other interpersonal and team building issues. Did you know that disengaged employees cost organizations over $300 billion in lost productivity each year?

Do you think it is possible to move the disengaged up into the “somewhat” or engaged groups?  Well, hope and positive thinking prompts us to try!  But, the hard reality is that rarely do these disengaged folks change their behavior. Improving engagement is a shared commitment and continuous dialogue – between (effective) fully engaged managers and their employees. Richard Westphal, of Accenture Learning, says, “The conversation should center around the question, ‘Is this who you are or who you want to be?’ It comes down to ‘what can I as a leader do to help you as an employee meet your personal priorities?’”

As managers, we need to try to help the “disengaged” with performance improvement plans, coaching, and the like, for a reasonable period of time; of course, always with the guidance of HR.  Please, do what is fair, but wasting too much time (and money) is futile… Disengaged employees can have wide-ranging negative effects on a business. Best practices manage them out before they pollute the environment any further.

So, where then should we devote most of our efforts as managers?  Where are the odds higher for moving employee performance upward?  You’ve got it!  With the “somewhat’s!”  Research has proven that there is a much higher rate of success in moving the “somewhat’s” closer to the engaged group than there is with improving the disengaged.

So, do yourself and your organization a favor!  Open up the conversation channels with all employees, especially the “somewhat’s,” on a regular basis. Ask them their opinions on some key engagement topics: company practices, career & development opportunities, people in leadership and management, quality of life, competitive rewards, and their general work activities, processes, resources.  Take the time to develop what’s right with the “somewhat’s” – they are the sleepers!

During these challenging economic times, the “new normal” of leaner organizations has brought survivor syndrome into full bloom (check out my website for the February and March 2009 newsletters on this topic).  Engagement has never been more critical. As managers, it’s critical to pay close attention to those that are left – those who are really running the day-to-day organization, who are executing your business strategy, who are driving your business results!

Paula Ketter, in her January 2008, T & D Magazine article, “The Big Deal About Employee Engagement,” says, “There is no one-size fits all solution for creating an engaged workforce.  All generations want balance, and all generations want satisfaction at work. All generations also want a good manager who appreciates them.”

Did you know?

• +10 – Increasing positive emotions can add 10 years to your lifespan
• Positive interactions don’t just make your job easier; they are vital to a healthy and fulfilling work life
• 65% of Americans say they received NO PRAISE for their work last year – no wonder they are disengaged!
• 9 out of 10 people believe they are more productive when they’re around positive people
• #1 reason people quit jobs – they don’t feel appreciated!

“Companies do what they have to do to survive – and smart companies take advantage of difficult business downturns to develop their people,” says Steve Hardesty, Ph.D., director of consulting services for Assess Systems. “This prepares the company to weather the storm with the best and brightest of its talent more fully onboard and permits it to recover rapidly and more successfully.”

Although, as managers, we can’t do much about the economy at large, we can do certain things to safeguard our organizations against professional and organizational disaster.  Engaging employees is at the top of the list! 

It’s back-to-basics, again folks!  Patience, perseverance and positive…(CLICK HERE FOR “FIVE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES” and “PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT SCORECARD”)

If you’re a people-manager, what is the number one thing you want your employees to do every day?  Answer: Come to work!  Uplifting employees and boosting morale can help to improve the workplace environment; (you and your) employees will want to come to work!  Without the people, nothing happens! 

To wrap it up, Paula Ketter said it best, “Engagement is all about creating a culture where people do not feel misused, overused, underused, or abused.”  

What is the one thing you can start doing today to create a more positive workplace environment for you and your employees?  Rather than focus on the negatives about people in your workgroup and organization - flip it around and ask, “What’s right with people?”  And, watch what happens!

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Stay tuned for next month’s edition…

MJ Paris

P.S. Do you know someone who needs "Positive Energy" in their workplace? Feel free to forward this issue to friends, family and colleagues!

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About MJ

Mary Jane (MJ) Paris brings a broad base of experience in management, leadership and employee development gained from more than 25 years in sales management, retail banking, training, recruiting, project management, event planning and community leadership.
Her common sense approach and practical experience combined with her dynamic presentation skills provide a solid foundation for understanding her client’s needs and challenges.

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