Evaluating and Maximising Employee Engagement

OK, the credit crunch has resulted in millions unemployed so we should all be lucky to have a job. But with the pressure on human resources being greater than it has for many years it’s even more important that we ensure our people are fully engaged – that lovely word which means switched on, motivated and positively focused towards the Company!

Unfortunately, this is often not the case. Even though we should all be grateful to have a job, employee satisfaction is still an often neglected corporate measurement indicator.

Managers’ objectives are still more likely to be focused on productivity, cost cutting and sales rather than attention to the key resource, the people who work for the organisation.

A manager’s prime responsibility should be to get the most out of the people he or she is responsible for and an important part of their evaluation should be based on how motivated and engaged their subordinates are.

There is an excellent book on the subject – “First, break all the rules” by Marcus Buckingham - subtitled “What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently” . Based on research conducted by Gallop he has defined twelve key questions that measure the core elements needed to attract, focus and keep the most talented employees.

These are:

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?
5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important?
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress?
12. At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?

I recommend you read the book to understand how the questions work but using a five-point scale (Strongly agree to Strongly disagree) he has proven a strong link between employee satisfaction and organisational performance. And as you may have guessed, the factor that links the two is great management.

Whilst employee surveys are now a commonly used tool in measuring employee engagement, I believe it is important to ensure that, as part of the process, every employee has the opportunity to provide feedback on their line manager. This ensures that managers know how they are performing from their subordinates’ perspective as well as their bosses. Some will be uncomfortable with such feedback but employee evaluation will not only identify issues encouraging or undermining their engagement, but will help managers to maximise their strengths and minimise their weaknesses.

Continuing this theme we published a couple of articles about designing/conducting good employee surveys on our website last year.