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BY ADRIENNE HEDGER
TRYING TO “MOVE THE NEEDLE” ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT CAN SEEM LIKE a Herculean
task; one that involves complicated survey administration, data analysis, sub-committees,
action items, and more. A daunting set of activities. Important, yes, but too much to take
on right now.
“This is a common myth,” says Mike Dolen, managing partner of Kenexa’s Global Survey
Practice. “Improving employee engagement doesn’t have to be overwhelming—there are
many ways to take small, incremental steps that lead to sustained improvement.”
And forget about putting it off any longer. “Your employees are on the front line, talking
to potential customers and representing your brand,” adds Dolen. “It’s vital to make sure
they are engaged.”
So what’s a company to do? Start by focusing on these three steps:
• Clarify “engagement”
• Understand the role that leaders play
• Simplify, simplify, simplify
was anonymous, felt pressured to give an understand the treatments that will be
C O M PA N Y P R O F I L E
inflated response. effective. What they can do to improve
“We use a people-centric approach that engagement in their area.”
asks, ‘what are employees truly experi- Barnett agrees that effective solutions
encing?’” says Barnett. “What’s really can be simple. “Personal assessment and
going on? It could be that there are coaching can be appropriate for top
‘derailing’ personalities in upper manage- executives, but at lower levels there’s
ment that are undermining employee rarely the budget to offer these services.
As an international authority
engagement.” At the same time, companies recognize
in personality assessment and Sometimes managers don’t understand the important role middle managers play
the impact they are having, or how they in employee engagement and the overall
consulting, Hogan has over are perceived. And there are many success of the company.”
instances when leaders will continue to To fill this need, Hogan Assessments
30 years of experience use management styles and techniques created the Hogan ThinkBox, an online
that worked early in their career, instead portal that aligns in-depth leadership
helping businesses reduce of evolving their styles as they move up in assessments with hundreds of bite-sized
the organization. development resources designed to help
turnover and increase
“These aren’t easy conversations to managers succeed.
productivity by hiring the have, but they’re necessary,” says “It’s an easy way to send a positive
Barnett. “In some cases, the manager message to managers,” says Barnett.
right people, developing may not be the right fit. But in other “You’re letting them know that they
cases, you’ll have a manager who is open matter, and you’re giving them skills that
key talent, and evaluating and interested in developing new skills will position them for the future.”
and motivating their teams.” It’s also a way to address leadership
leadership potential. gaps that could be affecting engagement.
Step 3: Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
In many companies, particularly those
The Hogan assessments It’s one thing to understand the factors
that have experienced layoffs, people
that influence engagement; it’s another
may have been promoted faster than
predict job performance by thing to undertake a program to drive
usual; and they may be selected for
improvements.
management positions based on their
assessing normal personality, The good news is that depending on
technical skills, rather than leadership
the partner you select, the process can be
derailment characteristics, skills. Tailored coaching and develop-
quite easy.
ment can help fill in the gap and strengthen
“Companies don’t need to reinvent the
and core values. The assess- wheel,” says Kenexa’s Dolen. “Your
leadership qualities.
ments are grounded in assessment partner should take care of Small Steps, Big Impact
tailoring an approach based on your com- Measuring and influencing engage-
decades of research and pany’s specific culture and needs. And the ment doesn’t have to be a daunting
assessment itself should be completely au-
experience. The key is to remain steadily
evaluate every major job tomated, so you don’t need to worry
focused on making incremental progress.
about administration or data collection.”
family. The portfolio of After the assessments are complete, “Organizations, leaders and teams are
Kenexa delivers detailed reports to continually evolving,” says Barnett. “By
employee selection, develop- understanding engagement and how
managers, explaining what’s driving
ment, and leadership tools engagement in specific teams or groups. to influence it, you can help steer the
The information packages also include evolution in a positive direction.”
allow companies to better concrete action plans for improvement, “It’s not about taking huge, drastic
based on research and best practices. It’s
steps,” adds Dolen. “It’s about gaining
manage their human resource a tool that appears to be working;
the right insight so you can drive
the company has shown that use of its
capital and retain top talent. online action planning makes a manager improvements year over year. Small
75 percent more likely to see year-over- improvements, multiplied over hundreds
www.hoganassessment.com year improvement. or even thousands of people. That is
“We’re not just diagnosing the issues,” the path to powerful and sustainable
says Dolen. “We’re helping managers engagement.” I
From: Management
Date: Friday, January 13
To: All Employees
Subject: Lunch with the boss!
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Even if it’s not, there’s no getting around the fact that employee engagement is a function of
corporate culture, which is in turn defined by the strength of leadership. The best managers
know how to build creative, effective teams that drive innovation, growth and organizational
longevity. Hogan’s Leadership Forecast Series™ is designed to help your company develop
stronger leaders, better employees and a corporate culture that works for the long term.
T H E S C I E N C E O F P E R S O N A L I T Y