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Successful Staff Engagement. Dilys Robinson. Background: IES’s research into employee engagement. Started in 2002 by defining and measuring engagement, and identifying engagement drivers in the NHS: Drivers of Employee Engagement 2004
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Successful Staff Engagement Dilys Robinson
Background: IES’s research into employee engagement • Started in 2002 by defining and measuring engagement, and identifying engagement drivers in the NHS: Drivers of Employee Engagement 2004 • Extended into other sectors and settings to test our early findings: Engagement: The Continuing Story 2007 • Reviewed all the engagement evidence: Employee Engagement: A review of current thinking 2009 • Most recently, investigated managerial behaviours: The Engaging Manager 2009
Programme for the session • What is engagement, and how is it measured? • Why does it matter? • What helps and what hinders engagement? • The importance of the manager • Engagement challenges
Engagement definitions: Companies ‘an emotional attachment to the organisation, pride and a willingness to be an advocate of the organisation, a rational understanding of the organisation’s strategic goals, values and how employees fit and motivation and willingness to invest discretionary effort to go above and beyond.’ ‘the degree to which employees are satisfied with their jobs, feel valued, and experience collaboration and trust. Engaged employees will stay with the company longer and continually find smarter, more effective ways to add value to the organisation. ’ ‘an outcome measured or seen as a result of people being committed to something or someone in the business – a very best effort that is willingly given.’ ‘the extent to which an employee feels a sense of attachment to the organisation he or she works for, believes in its goals and supports its values.’
Engagement definitions: Consultancies ‘a state of mind in which employees feel a vested interest in the company’s success and are both willing and motivated to perform to levels that exceed the stated job requirements. It is the result of how employees feel about the work experience – the organisation, its leaders, the work and the work environment’ ‘can be seen as a combination of commitment to the organisation and its values plus a willingness to help out colleagues (organisational citizenship). It goes beyond job satisfaction and is not simply motivation. Engagement is something the employee has to offer: it cannot be ‘required’ as part of the employment contract’ The Corporate Leadership Council ‘the extent to which employees commit to something or someone in their organisation, how hard they work and how long they stay as a result of that commitment’ ‘maximum job satisfaction and maximum job contribution’
‘the harnessing of organisation members selves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances’ Kahn (1990) ‘a persistent, positive affective- motivational state of fulfilment’ Maslach et al. (2001) ‘An engaged employee extends themselves to meet the organisation’s needs, takes initiative, is proactive, reinforces and supports the organisation’s culture and values, is in the flow, shares the values of the organisation, stays focused and vigilant and believes he/she can make a difference’ Macey (2006) ‘being charged with energy’ Hallberg and Schaufeli (2006) Engagement definitions: Academia
IES’s own definition Based on inputs from 46 organisations: ‘A positive attitude held by the employee towards the organisation and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business context and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organisation. The organisation must work to develop and nurture engagement which requires a two‐way relationship between employer and employee.’
Measuring engagement Done via employee attitude surveys: • IES Engagement Survey (12 statements) • Towers Perrin Rapid Engagement Diagnostic Survey • Roffey Park Institute’s Engagement Diagnostic Service • Gallup Workplace Audit (known as the ‘Q12’) • Utrecht Work Engagement Scale • Workplace Insight Tool • NetPromoter • ‘People Survey’ for the civil service, NHS staff survey for the NHS – nothing standard for local government yet • …and many companies have their own measures, developed in house or with a survey provider/consultancy
Measuring staff engagement in the NHS NHS 2009 annual staff survey contained an engagement indicator for the first time • enables comparisons and benchmarking • also enables correlations with other data eg patient satisfaction, absence, turnover • made up of responses to the following: Care of patients/service users is my trust’s top priority I would recommend my trust as a place to work If a friend or relative needed treatment I would be happy with the standard of care provided by this trust I look forward to going to work I am enthusiastic about my job Time passes quickly when I am at work
Engagement Benefits Why is engagement important?
Why does it matter? The engagement belief 1 The engaged employee: • identifies with the organisation • understands organisational context and the bigger picture • respects colleagues and helps others • is willing to ‘go the extra mile’ • works to make the organisation better … and so brings business benefits
Experiences at work Attitudes to work Engagement Performance Personal characteristics Virtuous circle Job characteristics Predisposition Why does it matter? The engagement belief 2
Why does it matter? Benefits identified from IES’s evidence review • customer loyalty • employee retention • better productivity • positive advocacy • improved performance • receptivity to change • enjoyable work • health and well-being • self-efficacy
Why does it matter?It has Government backing • MacLeod Review of employee engagement (Oct 2008 to May 2009) • Reported 2009: Engaging for Success: enhancing employee performance through employee engagement by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke • Lots of evidence, case studies and support from big hitters in business eg Justin King at Sainsbury’s • Accepted in its entirety by the Government
Enabling engagement: the drivers • feeling valued and involved • good management • interesting, satisfying work with job autonomy • two-way communication • organisation is serious about staff safety, equality of opportunity, corporate social responsibility and staff well-being seriously • development opportunities • aligned performance – staff understand their contribution • reward and recognition (not necessarily financial)
training, development and career immediate management performance and appraisal communication equal opportunities and fair treatment pay and benefits health and safety co-operation family friendliness job satisfaction Engagement diagnostic tool: NHS feeling valuedandinvolved engagement
Barriers to engagement • bureaucracy that stifles initiative • heavy workloads with little control over them • poor day-to-day management • poor communication • lack of trust in top team • job insecurity
The Role of the Manager Highlights from IES’s ‘Engaging Manager’ research
overall mean(3.58) Why focus on managers?Engagement and harassment
Research participants • Funded via IES’s membership HR Network • Seven participating organisations: • Centrica • Sainsbury’s • Rolls-Royce • Corus • Association of Certified Chartered Accountants • HM Revenue and Customs • London Borough of Merton
What we did • Participating organisations nominated 2 to 5 managers whose teams had scored highly for organisational engagement in the latest employee survey • We then: • interviewed these engaging managers (25) • interviewed their managers (22) • facilitated a focus group with their teams (154) • Report published late 2009
The good news • Our managers were very different – personalities, age, experience, background, roles, levels • Engaging managers are made, not born – engaging behaviours can be learnt • All our managers said they had learnt about engaging behaviour by observing themselves and others • However, some find it easier than others
Effective communication Engaging managers • communicate clearly • in particular, give clear directions • listen to their teams • consult with their teams • involve their teams in decision-making
Integrity Engaging managers • have personal integrity • are respected • are honest, truthful and open • can be trusted • share their understanding and learning
Taking an interest Engaging managers • are supportive and protective • display empathy when appropriate • are interest in individuals in their teams • develop individuals • are approachable, visible and available • are enthusiastic about their organisations and their teams
The bigger picture Engaging managers • are performance focused • have high expectations and standards • have clear strategic vision • understand the contribution they and their teams make to organisational success • are not afraid to confront or challenge
Engaging managers and performance Engaging managers are well liked, but are not pink and fluffy ‘Very, very focused…he sees the results of the business as being his main driver.’ ‘She has very high expectations.’ • clarity about expectations • preference for informal discussions • adopt a coaching style • frequent interaction and feedback • identify good performers and give additional challenges and opportunities BUT • tackle poor performance or behaviour straight away • get tough if necessary • use formal procedures where appropriate – and stick to them
The difficult conversations Poor performers and tricky people: ‘They face it and have difficult conversations, in a supportive way.’ • tackle immediately • find out the facts • keep calm • use empathy and get on wavelength • get tricky people on side • coach to improve • set clear goals and expectations • but get tough if they have to
Managing teams for performance ‘They are performance driven ... There is no distance between them and their teams, which leads to higher motivation and very high energy levels.’ • all our managers had high performing teams • frequent monitoring of performance against targets • good feedback to team • involvement of team in improvement discussions • aim high – stretch targets • able to evidence success
Delivering bad news ‘He took a fairly direct approach. He explained why. He empathised, but made it clear that we still had to get on.’ • homework • open and honest • calm and serious • sensitive to individual circumstances • answer questions straightforwardly, or refer • give people time to reflect about impact
Training in people management • A good shop assistant, customer service adviser, accountant, engineer, teacher, nurse, doctor doesn’t automatically become a good people manager when given supervisory or line responsibilities • What training do supervisors and first line managers get in managing people? Many training budgets have been diverted away from people at this level – have yours?
Senior management • Managers are people, too, who need to be managed in an engaging way – are they? Will they take their behavioural cues from how they are treated? • There will always be engaging managers in any organisation, but to really embed engaging management, senior leaders need to lead by example – do they?
Engaged – with what? • In a complex organisation, just what is it that people are engaging with? • Think about the NHS – are employees engaging with their NHS trust, their hospital or clinic, their patients, their staff group/profession, their directorate, the wider NHS? • Professionals can be especially tricky eg in the NHS, doctors typically have very high job satisfaction but low organisational engagement
Think about your organisation • Do you know how engaged people are, and how engagement levels vary? • Is the senior team on board with engagement? • Reflect on the managers and leaders you know, including yourself: • How engaging (or disengaging) are their behaviours? • Can you see a relationship between engaging management and performance? • Can/do the more engaging managers share their methods? • How would people in your organisation depict your senior managers? • And how would your team depict you?
… thank you www.employment-studies.co.uk
