Have you ever tried to address staff level engagement? If so, you'll know that it's difficult because each staff member is motivated/demotivated by different work-related toggles. So what do you do? Many managers have attempted to use web-based surveys to delve into root cause issues. But my bet is that method isn’t for you. There are a few things you should know before you implement fact-finding process. In this post, I’ll talk to what I did in the past and what you need to know to make sure you steer your process in the right direction and will enable you to successfully drive staff engagement.
Tell Me Why You Arent...Or Else!
First of all, I have to admit that when it comes to soliciting employee feedback, I am not a fan of blind surveys. Staff response is low and surveys are notorious for skewing results; only your most vocal employees will take the time to share commentary and when they do, chances are the input is not representative of the whole.
Interesting sidebar-I actually had a
manager not too long ago that told his management team to force staff to
complete surveys under threat of discipline/termination. I cant think of a more effective way to skew
survey results than with such threats.
And how can you really take the results seriously with such a starting
point!
Another fact that is lost in many
initiatives is that managers and directors are staff too. They must be engaged in the corporate process
to drive corporate success. Why do so
many initiatives gravitate immediately to lower level staff and completely
ignore upper level management is a complete mystery to me!
What Has Worked For Me In The Past
What you need is effective two-way
communication between staff and the fact-finding process. Simply churning out a
survey doesn’t measure up because surveys are only a meaningful one-way
communication tool. The anonymity
afforded to the respondent makes the survey data easy to discount.
I have led engagement initiatives
several times in the past and so let me tell you about what I did at a client successfully
a few years ago. Remember that each situation is different, but I encourage you
to read into the common themes as a blueprint.
I invited all staff to partake in a
review of employee engagement. I posted sign-up
sheets throughout all facilities and asked for true cross-functional participation.
Once I had tallied the participant list (and ensured I had critical mass to
proceed), I ran a series of work sessions to short-list core issues. I then
brought the team together in an open workshop and drove deeper level
discussion/debate around the most prevalent issues. I incorporated senior management in the
initial workshops (so that I could incorporate their views) but I excused them
from the open workshop as it would have skewed the discussions.
As the open workshop executed, it
became obvious to me what staff members were engaged enough to help manage
corrective change. During final
presentations (with senior management), these individuals were given enough
limited informal authority to delve into the issues deeper and propose later date
recommendations. What was most powerful was when I walked the total audience
through a comparison between the lower level staff and upper management
dis-engagers. I have done this process
on three separate occasions and the key themes are always 9r% similar. Obviously
the perspective is a little different, but root challenge remains essentially
the same.
Over the proceeding weeks, staff level
work teams (sponsored by senior management) made minor process changes to
larger workstreams. These changes really
were not dramatic, but what was impactful was the way the process made
participants feel: acknowledged, involved and empowered.
If you want an engaged workforce, you
need foster these base ingredients.
Increased Engagement Is A Focus On Trust, Involvement And Empowerment
Staff
engagement is a challenging endeavor. Try to take it to the base common
denominators discussed above, and you will be well on your way to improving the
status quo.
John Woodward has 15 years of experience making Supply Chains work better and smarter. And he can help you too.
Feel free to contact him to discuss your current or future needs
john.woodward@sympatico.ca
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