White paper: Five Steps to Employee Engagement
Author: Pasquale Mazzuca – Hamilton Davenport partners
Date: July 2007
Employee Engagement is a concept
that is beginning to quickly take a
hold of the Corporate world, very
simply put, because Engaged
Employees mean bigger profits.
Research has demonstrated that
Engaged Employees feel a strong
emotional bond to the organization
that employs them. How do you
achieve that “bond” and ensure that
the workforce remains constantly
engaged?
In 1999, The Gallup Organization
published research that indicated
employees are more productive, more
profitable, more focused, have fun and
are less likely to leave the company. In
some studies there is a direct link
between employee engagement and high
performing organizations. Watson Wyatt –
the global human resources consulting
Firm, discovered through research that
the results of organizations with engaged
employees outperformed by 200% the
ones that have disengaged employees.
Other studies (Hay Group) have shown
that engaged employees were up to 45%
more productive. Something that most
CEO’s will notice very quickly.
The Hawthorn effect
In 1927, Harvard professor Elton Mayo
published one of the first studies of
human behavior at work. His findings had
a profound impact at the time and, eighty
years on, now form the basis of employee
engagement. The Hawthorn Effect is
based on a study was conducted at a
factory called the Hawthorn Works in
Ohio, United States, between 1924-1932.
Professor Mayo started these experiments
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by examining the physical and
environmental influences of the
workplace (e.g. brightness of lights,
humidity) and later, moved into the
psychological aspects (e.g. breaks, group
pressure, working hours, managerial
leadership). Researchers reported that
they had accidentally found a way to
increase productivity.
Making Individuals feel important
In essence, the Hawthorne Effect can be
summarized as; "Individual behaviors may
be altered because they know they are
being studied." Professor Mayo's
experiments showed an increase in
worker productivity was produced by the
psychological stimulus of being singled
out, involved, and made to feel
important.
Additionally, the act of measurement,
itself, impacts the results of the
measurement. Just as dipping a
thermometer into a vial of liquid can
affect the temperature of the liquid
being measured, the act of collecting
data, where none was collected before
creates a situation that didn't exist
before, thereby affecting the results.
The “Caring” Organization
Mayo stated that the reason workers are
motivated by such things is that
individuals have a deep psychological
need to believe that the organization that
cares about them, is open, concerned,
and willing to listen. The sociological
implications are that the human
dimensions of work (group relations)
exert a tremendous influence on
behavior, overriding the organizational
norms and even the individual's own self-
interests. The discoveries of "social
capacity", "informal work groups", and
"employee-centered management" were
nothing short of revolutionary for
administrative thought. In summary,
according to Professor Mayo being a more
caring organization means the following;
- Supervisors should not act like
supervisors - they should be
mentors and counselors to the
workers.
- Managers should not try to micro-
manage the organization by an
overriding concern for product or
job quality at the expense of the
macro-social, or humanistic,
characteristics of work.
- People should be periodically
asked how they feel about the
work, their supervisors, and co-
workers.
- Humanistic supervision plus morale
equals productivity.
- Workers should be involved or at
least consulted before any change
in the organization.
- Employees who leave should be
exit-interviewed - turnover should
be proactively managed for optimal
levels.
- Managers and leaders should not
neglect the importance of their role
fostering employee engagement.
From Satisfaction to Engagement
Having satisfied employees is no long
sufficient these days. A lot of time an
effort has gone into producing staff
satisfaction survey’s which indicate to
management how “happy” people are in
an organization. However, satisfaction
does not necessarily mean engagement.
Employee satisfaction is a direct
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indication of workforce morale, and
naturally, this important. However, it is
only one dimension. The other is
productivity, this is where engagement
comes in. Engagement is not a new idea;
owners and managers have been talking
about it in one way or another, crudely
put, do you mandate productivity by the
“carrot” or by the “stick”. Today this
means developing a happy and productive
workforce .
Levels of Engagement
According to the Gallup Organization
there are three types of Engaged
Employees;
- Engaged Employees; these are the
“stars” in the company and display
a real passion about where they
work and what they do. They feel a
strong connection to the values and
mission statement, and always
looking for ways to improve
themselves and the organization
they work for.
- Not Engaged Employees; these are
known as the “zombies” or
coasters, they come to works every
day because they have to and only
fulfill the basic requirements of
their job. They are neither
supporters of the company
strategy, nor the roadblocks.
- Actively disengaged; very negative
and cynical about the company,
these are by far the most “toxic” of
the employees. Their attitude and
mind-set gives the organization a
real business problem and impact
the rest of the workforce. They
achieve very little for themselves,
but also have a negative influence
on others.
Five Steps to Getting Engagement:
Listed below are five actions that can
lead to influence employee engagement;
1. Clear Expectations regarding the
job; if the expectations are not
clear and the basic materials and
equipment not provided, negative
emotions such as boredom or
frustration my result. The
employee will then think more
about survival than thinking about
helping the company.
2. Career advancement/Learning and
Development opportunities; giving
people an opportunity to build on
their strengths and do what they
do best every day. Creating a
learning organization where ideas
are easily diffused.
3. Regular feedback at all levels;
Feedback is a key tool enabling
employees to have a sense of
where they are going. However,
the ability to give constructive
feedback is an incredibly tough
thing to accomplish.
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4. Quality of Working Relationships
at all levels; if the relationship
with the “boss” is not working
out, getting people to be engaged
in this instance will be extremely
difficult. Employee engagement is
a direct reflection of how
employees feel about their direct
boss.
5. Perceptions if the values, mission
and vision; Inspirational values
and the manner in which they are
communicated provide the fertile
soil for employee engagement.
Have a coherent employee brand
proposition both internally and
externally is extremely important.
It’s absence is unlikely to engage
employees.