Not Another Employee Engagement Survey - Please

Are you really thinking of doing another employee engagement survey?  Do you really want to take on this huge annual project spend many months analyzing the data to  spend another couple months planning what to do with it in order to take action a year or more after on whatever was driving those scores in the first place?

Maybe more frequent data collection to uncover short term issues with a program designed to address performance improvement issues on the spot would be a better use of your time and money?  These frequent short term surveys, referred to as pulse surveys, offer the ability to quickly and frequently measure feedback within entire groups.  You can judge real time engagement and react accordingly. Think of these as a way of gathering data that is current, rather than on an annual basis.  Reacting in a timely manner can often make all the difference.

Traditionally, employee engagement data has been reported in the aggregate when it is really a metric about individuals.  Why not design the survey to specific needs and challenges and not ask everyone the same question? This would lead to more targeted action, better supervision of performance improvement issues, and the ability to use proven techniques of employee recognition to drive results. The one area of concern in an individual approach is that the data would no longer be anonymous, but frankly, there’s not much about attitude and performance that is anonymous in any case.  If you want to improve discretionary effort you can look for the signals of them in the data that point directly to it.

The safety industry for years has been using the psychological based principles of behavior to improve safety performance.  This approach observes performance that can lead to accidents and rewards individuals who perform those safe behaviors in the described manner.   This just in time approach to changing performance can be done to improve performance on any number of the issues that help to build employee engagement throughout the organization, not just safety.

.

Instead of another employee engagement survey, and considering the new technologies and analytical tools we have, isn’t it time to experiment with new approaches to determine what kinds of data might help with that?

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net

Real Time Data Can Drive Employee Engagement

Engagement in some organizations just seems to happen naturally.  In others it seems uneven and difficult to sustain. People seem to be treading water, there’s no real enthusiasm, momentum or positive attitude.  But this disengagement is not always visible.  A paper written by Glint entitled “The Chemistry of Engagement” reveals the data-driven strategies of innovative companies who have adopted emerging technology of real-time employee engagement.

There are many organizations that don’t realize they have an engagement problem until they have a retention or performance problem. They gain understanding from these issues, but often it is too little too late.

Consider these stats from recent research:

• 77% of CEOs feel they don’t have the right systems to address the issue of employee engagement (Deloitte)

• 79% of CEOs believed they have a significant retention and engagement problem (Deloitte)

• 18% of employees are actively engaged, only 30% of employees are engaged, 52% are disengaged (Forrester Research)

Here are three reasons often given by HR leaders for these above findings:

• There are challenges staying connected as the company grew and became more successful.With rapid growth there are so many new people that old employee surveys weren’t working

• The diversity and disbursement of employees makes it difficult to maintain cohesiveness and engagement.

• The wide variety of employee types (salaried, hourly, technical, customer facing, main office, remote etc.) makes it difficult to keep them all engaged

• With constant management changes because of growth there is a lack of consistency.

One answer to all the above according to Glint is real-time measurement using real-time technologies.  If the problem is present, you need present time data to solve it. 

But three factors have kept companies from measuring in real-time:

1. The annual survey because it is still just annual

2.  It’s not just an HR thing.  While HR has been the owner of measuring engagement and the strategies to use to improve it, it’s very difficult to drive behaviors across large and diverse organizations.

3. An issue of money or time. Many companies are forced to limit consultant based research to once a year, and if they do it themselves, the time and manpower to do it right can be very lengthy thus mitigating the “real-time” issue.

The answer, according to Glint, is to use the platform they have developed that creates programs for measuring and improving engagement, understands which factors drive employee satisfaction and empowers managers with interactive dashboards to lead them to action.  

While this certainly sounds like a workable approach to improving engagement, it leaves out a very important piece of the puzzle.  To change behavior you need to include positive reinforcement to turn those changes into habits.  Employee recognition and rewards has always been a driver of employee engagement.

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net

Can Positive Feedback Turn into an Entitlement?

Some might say that everyone expects positive feedback these days when it comes to positive performance.  The positive feedback provided at work happens during the normal course of the day. It can become habitual and often provide with little meaning.     

It’s on the fly managing – when you see something positive, you say it. Oftentimes that positive feedback loop becomes an entitlement.  It’s expected…and it’s never given proper consideration by either you or the recipient.

As a performance manager there are a couple things to consider: 

·       Do you provide positive feedback on the fly?

·       Are you managing for improvement and challenging those that need to be challenged?

·       Do you need to make positive feedback more formal on a periodic basis?

·       If you sense that there are concerns when you push for results, do you need to take that managing to a more private place?  

·       Are you modifying your coaching plan with the personality of the target in mind?  

Positive feedback can quickly become an entitlement if you do it on the fly.  It is easier to manage and challenge people if we do a better job of getting credit for all the positive feedback that occurs.  

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net

Do You Measure the Effectiveness of Your Recognition Program?

It still amazes us that many companies invest millions on employee recognition programs, yet a huge percentage fail to measure the effectiveness of these programs. 

With the added emphasis lately on importance of employee recognition in an overall employee engagement effort, analysis and measurement should be a given…but it isn’t.

When you effectively measure the outcomes of your recognition programs you stand to benefit tremendously, as recognition efforts are increasingly being viewed as a powerful strategy to boost employee morale and productivity levels.  Higher engaged employees have higher productivity and lower turnover. 

If you are not measuring your recognition efforts, here are five basic to start with:

1. Determine the Metrics of Recognition Success - The success of any program requires a clear understanding of what defines success prior to program launch.

2. Establish a Performance Baseline for Recognition - Once the metrics for success have been established, the next critical step is to determine a baseline of current performance.

3. Measure Regularly and Consistently - After the baseline has been established, the program should be measured regularly and consistently to ensure the effort stays on target.

4. Analyze Results and Look for Trends - When recognition outcomes are available through the program itself and from employee surveys, the results need to be compared and analyzed to uncover important trends. 

5. Report Results Back to Employees, Managers and Executives in a Meaningful Way - Significant results should be reported back to key audiences, including employees, managers and executives with outcomes that are most meaningful to each audience.

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net

Can Negative Feedback Be Effective?

No one likes to hear bad things about themselves in a performance review.  From a behavioral perspective this negative consequence can fuel feelings of shame, frustration and helplessness. Fear is one of the most powerful motivators and when you fear losing your job, either a quick change in performance can be apparent or a malaise that spins downward to eventual dismissal.  Either way, negative feedback is effective.

From a more positive view researchers at Columbia Business School found a strong link between social rejection coming from a negative review and a temporary boost in creativity.  While it may seem counterintuitive, we often do our best creative work when we are backed into a corner.  This is not unlike people who would prefer working under the pressure of a deadline.  Aftershocks of negative feedback can help clear the way for sharper inner focus and more determination.  This is just what managers would like to see when they give negative feedback. 

Actually a survey done by Zenger Folkman, a leadership development firm, supported the idea of receiving negative feedback at work. They found that being alerted to mistakes did more to raise performance than positive feedback and praise.

Another upside to negative feedback is that experienced workers want to hear it. They appreciate useful bits of information that fine-tune their performance. 

So the next time you enter into a performance review, remember that negative feedback delivered in a constructive way can motivate positive future performance.  In fact, because employees tend to ignore advice given with positive feedback as much as 70% of the time, negative feedback can take on an added sense of urgency that can drive positive performance.

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net

Feedback: The Key to Employee Motivation

As mentioned in recent posts, a culture that is based on a strong purpose and values from the beginning helps to institutionalize the right kinds of employee behaviors.

 One common thread to the most successful employee recognition programs that we have researched over the years is honest and timely feedback.  Conversely, a common mistake that will negatively affect any recognition program is not having the type of feedback that lets employees know how they are doing.  

All too often, employees go through their workday amid the “corporate noise” that managers use as their main source of feedback.  And you don’t know until it’s too late that an employee is quitting their job because of the lack of respect and recognition that can only come from genuine feedback.

If you want employees to go above and beyond, give 110% or whatever other cliché you’d like to use… then you have to tell them what exceptional performance looks like, and then recognize them for that performance. They can’t do it if they don’t know.  And the more consistently you are at letting them know, the sooner their positive performance will become a habit.

Behaviorists for decades have been informing companies about the importance of feedback.  Feedback is the glue that binds the “what” you want them to do with the “what’s in it for them”, the positive consequences for them making the change in the first place.
Not having feedback is like bowling with a curtain in front of the pins.  You do a great job of lining up, approaching the lane with a good motion, rolling the ball down the center and

hearing the pins dropping, but you don’t know how many went down.  You can’t have a good recognition program without letting everyone know how they are doing!

Your company's purpose should connect your employees' work to how it impacts your customers' daily lives, creating an emotional, rather than financial, incentive to the job. When you let them know how well they are doing, the entire behavior model moves into a continuous loop of positive reinforcement.

For more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net