Employee engagement occurs when the employee is committed to his/her organization’s goals and values, takes positive action to contribute to organizational success, and is simultaneously able to enhance his/her own sense of well-being. In a 2013 national Gallup poll, employee disengagement–the relationship between an organization and its employees–was measured at 70%. Gallup estimated that disengaged employees were “more likely to steal from a company, negatively influence coworkers, miss work, and to drive customers away.”
A Mid-Atlantic heavy manufacturer had a big problem with late deliveries, and Management was pretty sure that the problem was caused by a lack of quality performers at the supervisor level. Senior Management wanted to “make them into better managers” so that they could fix the problem.
Due diligence–discussions and research– showed an incredibly high turnover rate at the supervisor level in the past 5-7 years. Interviews showed that these employees—who were good enough to get promoted in the first place—were disengaged, frustrated, and felt as if they were blamed for everything. We decided to start our program instead with the Senior Management Team—and to make them better managers first. We focused on:
- Why Employee Engagement Matters
- How Employees Are Engaged
- The Importance and Role of a Coach
- Communication
- How and Why Managers Motivate
- Coaching for Improved Performance
- Delegation
The Senior Managers started to see business and employee improvements as they learned to:
- Coach performance in a way that the employee would be motivated to improve
- Create an environment of open communication in which employees would feel safe
- Communicate daily—or almost daily-with each employee
- Create an environment in which the employee could take risks and fail
- Plan and run structured and meaningful one-on-one performance meetings
- Help the employees develop time and action calendars, with milestones and follow-up
- Get staff buy-in before initiating change