Welcome to the Momentum Business Coaching Newsletter for
September 2006

Employee Engagement:
Running on 1/3 Power

The statistics on workforce engagement are shocking.

According to research, only 29 percent of employees are motivated and energised.
What, then, is happening to the other two-thirds of the people working in organisations?

This is an even worse scenario than the old joke in which a manager is asked how many people work in his company and he responds, "About half of them."

What is causing all these people to lose their enthusiasm and commitment?
Almost everyone joins an organisation with engagement.

What is it that extinguishes that initial engagement after the first few years of working in an organisation?

Here are some possible causes:

• Little or no feedback or guidance from those in charge
• Lack of opportunity to discuss problems or provide input
• Lack of resources to solve problems or to do a job well
• Little or no reward or recognition
• Little opportunity to develop one's potential
• Pressure to perform and achieve more with less
• Lack of opportunity to interact socially
• Interpersonal conflicts left unresolved
• Little joy or humour except for office gossip and cynicism
• Stress in balancing work and home responsibilities, leading to energy depletion

Measuring Employee Engagement

Since 1997, the Gallup Organisation has surveyed approximately 3 million employees in three hundred thousand work units within corporations. This survey consists of 12 questions - called the "Q12" - that measure employee engagement. Results show that those companies with high Q12 scores experience lower turnover, higher sales growth, better productivity, better customer loyalty and other manifestations of superior performance.

The Gallup Management Journal's semi-annual Employee Engagement Index puts the current percentage of truly "engaged" employees at 29 percent. A majority of workers, 54 percent, fall into the "not engaged" category, while 17 percent are "actively disengaged."

Here is how the Gallup Organisation defines these three types of employees:

1. (29%) Engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They drive innovation and move the organisation forward.

2. (54%) Not-engaged employees are essentially "checked out". They're sleepwalking through their workday, putting in time - but not energy or passion - for their work.

3. (17%) Actively disengaged employees aren't just unhappy at work; they're busy acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these workers undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish.

While leaders of organisations focus intense efforts on building shareholder value, they generally cannot control the stock market. What they should be worried about are the two-thirds of their workforce who are just going through the motions, putting in time at work without commitment.

In fact, Gallup estimates that actively disengaged employees - the least productive - cost the American economy up to $350 billion per year in lost productivity.

Handling "Not-engaged" Employees

Efforts to raise levels of engagement are worthwhile for those in the not-engaged range. Not engaged employees concentrate on tasks and want to be told what to do. They focus on process, not results. Managers who only provide tasks to an employee reinforce "not engaged" behaviors and move away from engaging the heart, mind, and soul of that person.

The way to get people to become a part of an organisation is through relationships. Employees who feel disconnected emotionally from their coworkers and supervisor do not feel committed to their work. They hang back and do the minimum because they don't believe anyone cares.

First, managers need to demonstrate a sense of really caring about employees and what's important to them. The manager who takes the time to have a dialogue about an employee's strengths and how these can make a difference forges essential ties and connections that lead to employee commitment.

Expectations, Clarification and Measurement

Managers must provide expectations, clarification, and measurement. A good place to start is with conversations about expectations for the person in a given role. Get the individual to view his or her role from a broader perspective instead of from a narrow task-oriented point of view. Encourage the employee to see how his or her work contributes to the organisational future by asking:

• What are the outcomes you are supposed to achieve?"
• What were you hired to do?"
• How do you contribute to making this a great place to work?"
• Are you creating engaged customers?"

Next, managers can help employees clarify how they can achieve outcomes. Sometimes they can help employees change their roles to fit their talents better. A person who is not adept at written reports and details can collaborate with someone who is. Measurement is crucial to an employee's feeling of success, as long as the measurement focuses on outcomes, not steps. Good measurement aligns with outcomes and matches the expectations for the role.

How to Keep an Employee Engaged

Engaged workers produce more, make more money for the company, and create emotional engagement and loyal customers. They stay with the organisation longer and are more committed to quality and growth than are the other two groups of not-engaged and actively disengaged workers.

Engaged employees tend to get the least amount of focus and attention from managers, in part because they're doing what they are needed to do. Great managers spend most of their time with the most productive and talented people because they have the most potential. The challenge for managers comes when the first signs of disengaging appear from an engaged worker. The symptoms need to be addressed immediately or else the disconnection is most likely to continue.

What Employees Want a Manager to Do

For great managers, the path toward engaging employees and keeping them engaged begins with asking them what they want and what is important in order to be effective in their roles. Here is a summary of what workers responding to the Gallup Q12 survey say they what they want from their managers:

• Focus me Equip me
• Know me Help me see my value
• Care about me Help me grow
• Hear me Help me see my importance
• Help me feel proud Help me build mutual trust
• Help me review my contributions Challenge me

Recommended Reading:

Buckingham, M. & Coffman, C. 1999. First, Break All the Rules. Simon & Schuster.
Coffman, C. & Gonzalez-Molina, G. 2002. Follow this Path. Warner Business Books.
Gallup Management Journal, www.gallup.com.

Resources: Workforce Engagement

Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (1999, May 26). Item 10: I Have a Best Friend at Work. Gallup Management Journal.

Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (1999). First, Break All the Rules. Simon & Schuster.

Coffman, C., (2002, June 3). Building a Highly Engaged Workforce. Gallup Management Journal.

Coffman, C., (2002, August 8). Start Worrying About "Not Engaged" Employees. Gallup Management Journal.

Coffman, C. (2002, April 15). The High Cost of Disengaged Employees. Gallup Management Journal.

Coffman, C. & Gonzalez-Molina, G., (2002). Follow this Path. Warner Books.

Crabtree, S. (2004, June 10). Getting Personal in the Workplace. Gallup Management Journal.

Rath, T., (2004, May 13). The Impact of Positive Leadership. Gallup Management Journal.

Rath, T. & Clifton, D., (2004). How Full is Your Bucket? Gallup Press.

Thackray, J., (2001, March 15). Feedback for Real. Gallup Management Journal.

Welch, D., (2004, May 13). Mutual of Omaha's Healthy Preoccupation with Talent. Gallup Management Journal.