Employee Engagement : Optimizing Performance &

Driving Commitment
NHRD – 5th August 2011
September 6, 011
2
We deliver Global Engineering Solutions.
Efficiently.
© 2011 Infotech Enterprises. All Rights Reserved
 “Whether you are a CEO or a supervisor, the
place to start is yourself. Engagement is
contagious. If you are engaged in what you
are doing, people pick up your excitement
and will want to join you”.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 2

What according to you in Engagement?

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 3

What is Engagement

 Employee Engagement is a measureable degree of an employee's positive or negative emotional

attachment to their job, colleagues and organization which profoundly influences
their
willingness to learn & perform at work.
Source Scarlett Surveys

 An "engaged employee" is one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or her work
and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization's interests

 Engagement is seen as a positive attitude to the job and it is distinguished from both job
satisfaction and commitment. It is more temporary and volatile than commitment, which is a
more stable perception.
© Copyright 2010 by William J. Rothwell, Ph.D., SPHR 39

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 4

What is Engagement

 Employee Engagement is the means or strategy by which an organization seeks to build a

partnership between the organization and its employees, such that:
- Employees fully understands and is committed to achieve the organization's objectives, and

- The organization respects the personal aspirations and ambitions of its employees.

 A definition of a fully engaged employee

- Is intellectually and emotionally bound with the organization

- Gives 100 percent

- Feels passionately about its goals and

- Is committed to live by its values.

 The employee goes beyond the basic job responsibility to delight the customers and drive the
business forward

Source : OPC (UK) Ltd.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 5
How Do Experts Look At Engagement?

Towers Perrin: ‘Extent to which employees put discretionary

effort into their work’

Gallup: ‘Involvement with & enthusiasm for work’

Hewitt: ‘Intellectually & emotional commitment to the

organization’

Sibson: Knowing what to do at work and wanting to do at

work

Hay Group: ‘stimulating employees’ enthusiasm for their work

and directing it toward organizational success’

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 6

 “Work and the worker do not have to be in
the same location”

Example: Tele – Medicine & Surgery

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 7

Hewitt Model Of Engagement
SAY
Behavior:
engaged employees consistently speak
positively about the organization to
co–workers, potential employees and
customers
EOS Questions:
• Given the opportunity, I tell others
great things about working here
• I would not hesitate to recommend
this organization to a friend seeking
employment
© 2011 Infotech Enterprises
STAY
Behavior:
engaged employees have an intense
desire to be a member of the
organization
EOS Questions:
• It would take a lot to get me to
leave this organization
• I rarely think about leaving this
organization to work somewhere
else
STRIVE
Behavior:
engaged employees exert extra effort
and engage in behaviors that
contribute to business success
EOS Questions:
• This organization inspires me to do
my best work every day
• This organization motivates me to
contribute more than is normally
required to complete my work
8
Global Engagement Trends

In Aon Hewitt’s global engagement research from 2008 to 2010 includes 6.7 million employees
and represents more than 2,900 organizations.
The overall global average employee engagement score is 56% in 2010, down from 60% in 2009.
The 4 percentage-point change is due to regional score changes in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North
America
Top 3 engagement drivers are career opportunities, brand alignment, and recognition

Source : Aon Hewitt

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 9
Percent of Organization with an Increase or Decrease in
Engagement

The connection between employees and organizations has been strained. The change can be
attributed to the economic climate; however, there are organizations that continue to improve
engagement and create success during these challenging times.

Source : Aon Hewitt

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 10
What Engagement Drivers Motivate Employees

Source : Aon Hewitt

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 11
Only 36% of the workforce in India is engaged

Source: Towers Watson Global Workforce Survey, 2008

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 12
Why Engagement

Employee Engagement holds a very important position, few key benefits include:

 Better Performance - Engaged employees work smarter, not harder. They keep looking for
ways to improve performance at their workplace. This means more sales, lower costs, better
quality and innovative products.
 Better Communication - Engaged employees communicate – they share information with
colleagues, they pass on ideas, suggest and advice and they speak up for the organization.
This leads to better performance, greater innovation and happier customers.
 Greater Customer Satisfaction – Engaged employees go out of their way to meet customers’
needs. Customers aren’t slow to notice and this leads to higher levels of repeat business, at a
good cost.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 13

Why Engagement

 Better Team Working - Employee engagement is about increasing the employees connection
with the principles, strategies, processes, culture and purpose of the organization. It is a
matter of commitment and encouragement. It is a matter of focusing on business results, and
the employees having a clear sense of responsibility for delivering on the business agenda.
 Greater Commitment - Engaged employees care about the future of the organization they
work for, they feel proud to work for their company and they get on better each day with their
colleagues.
 Lower Employee Turnover and Greater Ability to Recruit Great People – Higher engagement
leads to low attrition, they actively seek out new people who they believe can help the
company get even better.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 14

Gallup Study : Importance of Employee Engagement on
Organization Economics

What

the

best

organizations

do differently?

1. Strategy
2. Accountability & Performance
3. Communication
4. Development
Source : Gallup Inc. Employee Engagement Overview

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 15

Gallup Study : Importance of Employee Engagement on
Organization Economics

 Strategy - World-class organizations develop a formula for success by looking objectively and
rigorously at the business problems they face and by focusing on finding the right employees
and keeping them engaged. For these organizations, an employee engagement strategy is not
only fundamental to the way they do business, it is critical to their success.
 Accountability & Performance - The top-driven companies focus on outcomes. They define
and rigorously measure success at every level in the organization. These measurements
ultimately help focus each person, team, department, and business unit on driving
performance and results.
 Communication - Within the best performing organizations there is a cultural alignment
between the employees and the company, paired with a strategic alignment between
activities and company goals. These organizations use their corporate communication touch
points to reinforce their commitments to employees and customers.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 16

Gallup Study : Importance of Employee Engagement on
Organization Economics

 Development - As the struggle for talent intensifies, organizations face a continual challenge
to build and grow their leadership capacity. The world’s top-performing companies have
comprehensive leader and manager development programs, but they also go one step further
— these programs are performance-driven and incorporate a comprehensive succession plan
throughout the organization. They make it a priority to not only identify leadership potential,
but also to focus intently on the creation of developmental paths for current and future
managers and leaders.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 17

Hewitt: Engagement Framework : Six Categories to Drive Engagement

Work
People • Work
• Senior Leadership • Resources
• Manager • Processes
• Coworkers
• Customers

Total Rewards Engagement Opportunities

• Pay • Career Opportunities
• Benefits • Learning & Development
• Recognition

Company Practices
• Policies & People Practices Quality of Life
• Performance Assessment • Work Life Balance
• Company Reputation

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 18

Aon Hewitt : Engagement Model

The Engagement Model goes beyond measuring people’s satisfaction with each of these drivers. The
model prioritizes the areas for improvement based on their potential impact on engagement and,
therefore, business performance. Another key premise of the Engagement Model is that the
Engagement Drivers are interrelated; they do not operate in isolation.
Source : Aon
© 2011 Infotech Enterprises Hewitt 19
Sibsons Engagement Framework

Source : Sibson
© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 20
Methods of engaging employees – from entry to exit

 Employee engagement approaches for new employees

· The right person at the right position and giving them a realistic job preview
· A strong induction and orientation program
· Rigorous training and development, from technical to soft skills to leadership development
program
· Regular technical/soft-skill updates.
· Certification programs to drive people towards excellent performance

 Employee engagement approaches for all employees

· Communications activities
· Reward schemes
· Activities to build the culture of the organization
· Team building activities
· Leadership development activities

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 21

Methods of engaging employees – from entry to exit

 Communications activities
· Communication forums to provide regular feedback to all people, including team meetings &
conferences.
· In-house magazines
· On-line communications, including discussion boards and blogs by company personnel
including senior management
· Monthly updates on corporate goals and directions
· Regular employee opinion and satisfaction surveys
· Active soliciting of employee feedback, including opinions

 Reward schemes
· Compensation and benefit programs
· Stock ownership and profit sharing
· Recognition programs
· Idea collection schemes linked to rewards for idea generation
· Long service and good performance awards

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 22

Methods of engaging employees – from entry to exit

 Activities to develop the culture of the organization

· Clear and humane HR policies
· Pro-social corporate objectives and Corporate Social Responsibility
· Equal opportunities policies and practices
· Initiatives to maintain the quality of work life and a balance between personal/professional
lives
· Developing a safe, clean and inspiring work environment
·Demonstrating a commitment to employees’ well being

 Team building activities

· Team recreational activities, such as bowling, skating, trips to the cinema (or the pub!)

· Social activities, such as family gatherings and barbeques

· Community outreach activities such as volunteering and fund-raising.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 23

Methods of engaging employees – from entry to exit

 Leadership development activities

· Effective Leadership

· Effective Performance Management

· Fair evaluation of performance

· Empowerment through effective delegation

· Coaching and mentoring activities to give honest feedback by supervisors and peers

· An open and transparent culture to empower people and develop entrepreneurs

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 24

Managers Role in Driving Engagement

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises

Managers Role in Driving Engagement

Brawley believes, “ To ensure long – term success, Managers need to learn, to Coach
and Develop their staff.”

Sean Brawley’s employee performance equation

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 26

How Managers can Drive Engagement?

Recruit & Select the Right Talent for Right Position:

Managers should look into :

1. Candidates relevant work history, should brainstorm to gauge the facts.

2. Candidates relevant experience should match with the current level of position.

3. Should review the past achievement levels and match it with current requirement.

4. Should gauge the candidates willingness & flexibility to merge with the culture.

5. Pick ‘Oh Yes’ attitude candidates during hiring as the new hires today will become team members
for next new hires.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 27

How Managers can Drive Engagement?

Coaching:

Coaching is a communication process that develops awareness, personal accountability and trust. It

facilitates individuals’ and teams’ learning and performance and creates meaningful experiences in

the workplace.

Two primary skills of the ‘Coaching’ process:

1. Listening: The coach listens attentively and openly to employees’ concerns and feedback.

2. Questioning: Rather than giving advice or telling employees what to do, the coach asks a range of
questions that get at the core of the issue. Through the questioning process, employees identify
their own conclusions and develop solutions based on the answers they give.

3. If you have Super Starts in ‘Oh No’ category, council them for better results.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 28

How Managers can Drive Engagement?

Communicating Clear Objectives:

When Managers get his list of annual objectives, he can follow two approaches:

1. Devise his own plan and distribute tasks accordingly.

2. Managers can communicate the years objectives to his team, ask for their suggestions and
feedbacks and then work with them to formulate a strategy and delegate responsibility.
• In the first approach, managers “tell” employees what to do. In the second approach, managers
“coach” employees to develop optimal solutions and are almost surprised at the results.
• When employees are more involved in the goal setting process and have a say in how they will
contribute, they typically exhibit greater creativity and are willing to be more accountable for
achieving their goals.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 29

How Managers can Drive Engagement?

Team Developing Initiatives:

With the work reviews, Managers should identify the strengths and weaknesses of their team

members and initiate development activities like:

1. Recommend for Project specific trainings

2. Guidance for technical certifications which adds to individual and project success.

3. Nominate for Soft Skill Training Programs

4. Motivate to participate in Employee engagement initiatives and knowledge initiatives like :

Cynosure, Eloquent Infotechie

5. Fare distribution of work load and ensuring work – life balance

6. Supports and encourages team members to share their point of opinion

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 30

How Managers can Drive Engagement?

‘Pygmalion Effect’ :

"The way managers treat their subordinates is subtly influenced by what they expect of them,"

- Livingston

1. Managers behavior modulates their team performance – what you believe about your people is
what they will turn out to be.

2. The Pygmalion effect enables staff to excel in response to the manager’s message that they are
capable of success and expected to succeed.

3. Can you imagine how performance will improve if your supervisors communicate positive
thoughts about people to people? If the supervisor actually believes that every employee has the
ability to make a positive contribution at work, the telegraphing of that message, either
consciously or unconsciously, will positively affect employee performance.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 31

Role of Top Management

 Know your employees

 The More you Care, the More will They
 Meaningful Work – The Work Itself Motivates
 Develop Commitment
 Manage Expectancies – “The Expectancy Manager”
 Challenging but achievable Goals
 Build Willpower

 Transparency – Transparency in any work holds a very important position. Associates are very
keen and hold a right to know whatever is happening in the organization and what their
efforts means to the authority. This means the top management has to be on toes and share
all the information with their team members and subordinates.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 32

Role of Top Management

 Role Model – The top management plays a very important role as being the idol for the
associates. They need to walk on the path before telling others to follow.

 High Performers Club - An internal pool of extraordinary talent who can occupy leadership
positions across the globe helping meet our future growth requirements. For this we provide
them learning and career advancement opportunities through Structured Conceptual Inputs,
Cross-functional Assignments, Knowledge-sharing Sessions, Cross-functional Exposure and Job
enrichment.

 Fast Track Program - Fast Track Program is designed to retain the high potential associates from
Tier-I institutes like IIT’s, IIM’s, ISB etc. who are the key contributors towards influencing,
motivating, and attaining new business lines & growths, achieving the desired effectiveness and
success of the organization.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 33

Employee Engagement using Social Media

 Start CEO scheduled online chat sessions

 Senior leader blog/or company blog
 Leaders Create a Facebook fan page for your employer brand
 Twitter and Facebook for recruiting
 Use Wikis
 Use Foursquare or any location based social media
 YouTube Channel
 Collaborate in the cloud
 Social intranet
 Virtual worlds

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 34

Measuring Engagement : Hewitt Methodology

Strongly Disagree Slightly Slightly Agree Strongly

(2) Disagree Agree (5) Agree
Disagree (3) (4) (6)
(1)

1. It would take a lot to get me

to leave this company.
2. I would not hesitate to
recommend this company to a
friend seeking employment
3. This company inspires me to
do my best work every day
4. I rarely think about leaving
this company to work
somewhere else
5. Given the opportunity, I tell others
great things about working here
6. This company motivates me to
contribute more than what is normally
required to complete my work

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 35

Tools to Measure Engagement Index

MyManager Connect Survey

 My Manager Engagement Index is an anonymous questionnaire conducted wherein the
subordinates give feedback to their Managers on various aspects related to the way they were
managed. The genesis of this study was the realization that the main motivators for
engagement is the relationship between the manager and his team member.
 The survey is expected to be filled up by all employees and “Coaching for Engagement”
sessions to organize for Managers to gave the people manager tips on how coaching skills
could be used in day to day interactions to enhance engagement levels.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 36

Gallup Study –
Q12

 The Gallup Q12 is a survey designed to measure employee engagement. The instrument was the
result of hundreds of focus groups and interviews. Researchers found that there were 12 key
expectations, that when satisfied, form the foundation of strong feelings of engagement.
 Comparisons of engagement scores reveal that those with high Q12 scores Exhibit lower turnover,
higher sales growth, better productivity, better customer loyalty and other manifestations of
superior performance.
The engagement index slots people into one of three categories:

 Engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They

drive innovation and move the organization forward.

 Not-Engaged employees are essentially “checked out.” They are sleepwalking through their

workday. They are putting in time, but not enough energy or passion into their work.
 Actively Disengaged employees aren’t just unhappy at work; they’re busy acting out their
unhappiness. Every day, these workers undermine what their engaged co-workers accomplish.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 37

The Gallup –
Q12

1. Do you know what is expected of you at work?

2. Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

3. At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

4. In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

5. Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

6. Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

7. At work, do your opinions seem to count?

8. Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

9. Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

10. Do you have a best friend at work?

11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

12. In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 38

Methods of Engaging associates at Infotech

 We at Infotech engage our associates right from the day he or she becomes a part of our
family till the time we bid adieu to them for a better future. We constantly schedule and
implement different ‘innovative’ engagement initiatives by which we try to delight our
associates and retain them for a long journey with ourselves. We make sure that the associate
participation for all our initiatives is cent percent because each associate holds an important
position for us and it is our responsibility to engage them. In all our initiatives we keep our
Vision statement in mind, which states, “Delivering Innovative solutions together for a better
future”. It is very essential to be innovative in all our practices and promote team work.

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 39

 Thank you

© 2011 Infotech Enterprises 40