Reengaging the Workforce
It’s a lot harder to engage employees than retain them, particularly when the job market is tight. In fact, high retention rates can actually mean trouble if employees are just showing up for work and going through the motions.
Research from various sources suggests that only about a quarter of employees are truly “turned on” by their jobs. As a result, the U.S. economy runs at only about 30% efficiency, according to Curt Coffman, the employee engagement global practice leader at the Gallup Organization.
Part of the problem is that the social contract between organizations and employees has changed. Most employers don’t even pretend to offer job security anymore, so old-fashioned employee loyalty and engagement have been eroded. And it hasn’t helped, some critics argue, that organizations increasingly view and treat employees more like “capital” than human beings.
So the first step in engaging workers is recognizing that they’re emotional beings with various needs and desires. They need, for example, bosses that care about them and will help them to achieve their goals. Engagement is seldom the result of higher pay but rather of giving people opportunities for professional growth and challenging work.
Jeffrey Saltzman, CEO of Sirota Consulting, believes that a new social contract based on partnership rather than paternalism is in order. A partnership emphasizes not only performance and pay but also listening to people. This can be achieved through various means of communication, including surveys and focus groups.
Intuit, for example, developed focus groups in which employees were asked what they required in order to be at peak performance, reports HRfocus. The result was the creation of a value proposition that includes items such as “let me know where I stand and how I'm doing,” “invest in me to help me grow fast,” and “make me an integral part of the team.” Intuit’s focus groups are ongoing, so the value proposition changes along with the needs of the workforce.
Other companies depend more on surveys to help them diagnose what practices are most likely to engage workers. This was the tool used by New Century Mortgage, aided by the Gallup Organization. Once its survey results were in, management worked with employees to “boost engagement based on problems identified in the survey,” reports HR Magazine. New Century found correlations between the revenues brought in by certain employees and the degree to which they were engaged. Today, every manager is required to undergo training in employee engagement.
Engagement programs may be particularly important for employees suffering from burnout or career plateauing. When pharmaceutical company Pfizer realized that many of its senior sales representatives had become less motivated, it created “self-reinforcing peer groups of four to seven senior reps throughout the company,” according to Fast Company. Group members communicated through e-mail and phone, and the sales groups competed with one another.
Another aspect to the Pfizer program was that the company tapped into the expertise and experience of the veteran sales reps. They were asked to address groups of trainees and sometimes even district managers. They also became mentors to younger colleagues. The program came to be called the Master’s Group, after the major golf tournament.
Largely as a result of the program, the Masters in one particular division excelled, beating overall sales-force averages in seven of nine years. “It was like recharging a battery,” said James Shumsky, a longtime Pfizer sales representative. “A lot of energy and enthusiasm came out. What makes it go is that it’s accepted that senior people are now respected for what they bring to meetings, and their mentoring is invaluable.”
Such engagement strategies may become increasingly important as the median age of labor forces in many industrialized nations continues to rise.
For more on Pfizer’s program for reengaging older workers, see
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/73/leadnow.html
To see HR Magazine’s “Getting Engaged” article, go to
http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0204/0204covstory.asp
For an article on how disengaged workers cost the economy billions each year, go to
http://gmj.gallup.com/content/default.asp?ci=466
For information on Gallup’s Q12 program, go to
http://education.gallup.com/content/default.asp?ci=865
For a Towers Perrin study detailing the characteristics of engaged HR professionals, see the PDF version of
“Tougher Times...Tougher HR.”
For a Towers Perrin study on how successful global companies are focusing on employee engagement, see the PDF version of
"Reward and Performance Management Challenges."
More on Towers Perrin’s HR services can be found at
http://www.towersperrin.com/hrservices/global/default.htm
The articles used to write this TrendWatcher include the following:
Bates, Steve. “Getting Engaged.” HR Magazine. ProQuest. February 2004. p. 44.
Byrne, John A. “How to Lead Now.” Fast Company. ProQuest. August 2003, p. 62.
“Global Organizations Focus on Employee Engagement.” Workspan. ProQuest. February 2004, p. 13.
“Master Class: Employee Engagement.” Management Today. ProQuest. February 2004, p. 17.
“Revamping the ‘Employment Contract.’” HRfocus. ProQuest. December 2003. p. 1.
Towers Perrin. “Tough Times...Tougher HR.” TP Track: Executive Summary. September 2003.
Research from various sources suggests that only about a quarter of employees are truly “turned on” by their jobs. As a result, the U.S. economy runs at only about 30% efficiency, according to Curt Coffman, the employee engagement global practice leader at the Gallup Organization.
Part of the problem is that the social contract between organizations and employees has changed. Most employers don’t even pretend to offer job security anymore, so old-fashioned employee loyalty and engagement have been eroded. And it hasn’t helped, some critics argue, that organizations increasingly view and treat employees more like “capital” than human beings.
So the first step in engaging workers is recognizing that they’re emotional beings with various needs and desires. They need, for example, bosses that care about them and will help them to achieve their goals. Engagement is seldom the result of higher pay but rather of giving people opportunities for professional growth and challenging work.
Jeffrey Saltzman, CEO of Sirota Consulting, believes that a new social contract based on partnership rather than paternalism is in order. A partnership emphasizes not only performance and pay but also listening to people. This can be achieved through various means of communication, including surveys and focus groups.
Intuit, for example, developed focus groups in which employees were asked what they required in order to be at peak performance, reports HRfocus. The result was the creation of a value proposition that includes items such as “let me know where I stand and how I'm doing,” “invest in me to help me grow fast,” and “make me an integral part of the team.” Intuit’s focus groups are ongoing, so the value proposition changes along with the needs of the workforce.
Other companies depend more on surveys to help them diagnose what practices are most likely to engage workers. This was the tool used by New Century Mortgage, aided by the Gallup Organization. Once its survey results were in, management worked with employees to “boost engagement based on problems identified in the survey,” reports HR Magazine. New Century found correlations between the revenues brought in by certain employees and the degree to which they were engaged. Today, every manager is required to undergo training in employee engagement.
Engagement programs may be particularly important for employees suffering from burnout or career plateauing. When pharmaceutical company Pfizer realized that many of its senior sales representatives had become less motivated, it created “self-reinforcing peer groups of four to seven senior reps throughout the company,” according to Fast Company. Group members communicated through e-mail and phone, and the sales groups competed with one another.
Another aspect to the Pfizer program was that the company tapped into the expertise and experience of the veteran sales reps. They were asked to address groups of trainees and sometimes even district managers. They also became mentors to younger colleagues. The program came to be called the Master’s Group, after the major golf tournament.
Largely as a result of the program, the Masters in one particular division excelled, beating overall sales-force averages in seven of nine years. “It was like recharging a battery,” said James Shumsky, a longtime Pfizer sales representative. “A lot of energy and enthusiasm came out. What makes it go is that it’s accepted that senior people are now respected for what they bring to meetings, and their mentoring is invaluable.”
Such engagement strategies may become increasingly important as the median age of labor forces in many industrialized nations continues to rise.
For more on Pfizer’s program for reengaging older workers, see
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/73/leadnow.html
To see HR Magazine’s “Getting Engaged” article, go to
http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0204/0204covstory.asp
For an article on how disengaged workers cost the economy billions each year, go to
http://gmj.gallup.com/content/default.asp?ci=466
For information on Gallup’s Q12 program, go to
http://education.gallup.com/content/default.asp?ci=865
For a Towers Perrin study detailing the characteristics of engaged HR professionals, see the PDF version of
“Tougher Times...Tougher HR.”
For a Towers Perrin study on how successful global companies are focusing on employee engagement, see the PDF version of
"Reward and Performance Management Challenges."
More on Towers Perrin’s HR services can be found at
http://www.towersperrin.com/hrservices/global/default.htm
The articles used to write this TrendWatcher include the following:
Bates, Steve. “Getting Engaged.” HR Magazine. ProQuest. February 2004. p. 44.
Byrne, John A. “How to Lead Now.” Fast Company. ProQuest. August 2003, p. 62.
“Global Organizations Focus on Employee Engagement.” Workspan. ProQuest. February 2004, p. 13.
“Master Class: Employee Engagement.” Management Today. ProQuest. February 2004, p. 17.
“Revamping the ‘Employment Contract.’” HRfocus. ProQuest. December 2003. p. 1.
Towers Perrin. “Tough Times...Tougher HR.” TP Track: Executive Summary. September 2003.