Employee Engagement, Part 1: Start with Baby Steps

The path to higher engagement begins with a survey program and sound communication plan.

The U.S. economy is the strongest it has been in almost 10 years, and unemployment is down. Our newest generation—the millennials—have employment expectations far beyond those of previous generations. Does your organization understand how to reach and engage this generation of employees (as well as all the other generations)?

“Employee engagement” is a buzzword that’s been around for quite some time. In 1990, William Kahn, professor of organizational behavior at Boston University, provided the first formal definition as, “the harnessing of organization members’ selves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performances.” More and more studies point to engagement as a critical indicator for both employee productivity and employer profitability.

Due to their customer-facing nature, call centers experience greater negative impact than other organizations when employee engagement is low. In this three-part series on employee engagement, I will reveal the steps to setting up a successful and sustainable employee engagement program, including program development and data analysis techniques that will result in measurably higher engagement for your agents.

Why Is Employee Engagement Relevant?

According to a study of more than 1,500 employees across the United States by Dale Carnegie Training:

• 29% of employees are engaged
• 45% are not engaged, and
• 26% are actively disengaged.

Another surprising finding is that companies with a fully engaged workforce outperform others by up to 202%. Engagement isn’t just relevant, it’s a competitive necessity.

The Effects of Employee Disengagement on Customers

If you’re hoping that disengaged employees don’t have a big impact on customer service performance, guess again. There are at least five ways that disengaged employees can negatively influence customer engagement and loyalty, according to PeopleMetrics (“How Disengaged Employees Create Disengaged Customers,” Customer Experience Knowledge Blog, May 5, 2011):

1. Disengaged employees’ negative or apathetic demeanor “infects” customers
2. Disengaged employees fail to satisfy customers due to lackluster performance
3. Disengaged employees do not exceed customer expectations and cause delight
4. Disengaged employees trigger negative feedback and reviews
5. Disengaged employees don’t inspire referrals

In most organizations, employees fall somewhere on the spectrum ranging from fully engaged to mild-to-moderately disengaged to fully detached, but it’s not always clear who’s at what stage—or why. Most companies also don’t dedicate resources for conducting a full-blown employee engagement program that could identify and treat disengagement in the team. So where do we start?

First: Understand Employee Engagement

Engaged employees are higher performers, but how do you define engaged?

Researchers at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) found that engaged workers:

• Believe in their organization
• Desire to work to make things better
• Understand the business context and the “bigger picture”
• Are respectful and helpful to colleagues
• Are willing to “go the extra mile”
• Keep up to date with developments in their field

This list is a combination of beliefs and behaviors. When evaluating employee engagement in your department or organization, make sure that you measure both the actions of an employee and the underlying motivations behind them.

Once you start gathering data, you may see some surprising—or not so surprising—correlations. For example, employees who feel most respected may be the ones most consistently respectful to others. Each one of us is responsible our own actions, but the reality is never that simple. The environment we live and work in affects us all, and it shapes our attitudes, beliefs and commitment level. If policies, practices or personalities in your organization are negatively affecting morale, isn’t that useful information?

Second: Set Up a Timeline and Communicate

When developing your employee engagement program, start with an implementation plan and timeline that includes the basic program goals, deadlines and actions that will occur. Next, communicate it to the employees.

One of the best ways to further disengage your employees is to roll out a program with minimal communication about why the organization is doing it. Employees want to understand what is going on and what they can do to help. Disengaged employees can fill a communication gap quickly with gossip, misinformation and unfounded fears, seeding doubt among your engaged employees. Get out ahead of the rumor mill with early, frequent communications.

In these communications, transparency is key. Simply, be honest. Explain that the purpose of the employee engagement survey is to understand how engaged the employees are, what motivates them to be engaged, and what can be done to increase the engagement of those who are not.

Finally, the follow-through on your plan is more critical than anything else. When the survey data is gathered, analyzed and shared with your team, the next step must be action (unless everything is perfect!). Lack of change after the initial survey will confirm everyone’s worst fears. I’ll discuss this in depth later in this article series.

Third: Create Your Survey

To understand your employees and their level of engagement—just ask them. It’s simple, effective and inexpensive to survey employees about engagement.

Asking the right questions—in the right way—is important. Ranked questions (On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being Strongly Agree, please indicate your agreement with these questions), multiple choice (Choose A, B, C or D), or true/false survey formats will give you clear data. Open-ended questions may reveal unexpected situations or solutions, but tend to make analysis more challenging. For the best results, include more than one kind of question format to appeal to all kinds of responders. The following are some sample questions to inspire you.

Communication

• My supervisor listens to my ideas and takes action on them.
• My supervisor keeps me informed on issues.
• I have a clear understanding of what is expected of me on a daily basis.

Job Satisfaction

• Overall, I am satisfied with my job.
• I am proud to say I work at this company.
• Most days I enjoy what I do.
• I plan to be working here in two years.
• I would recommend this company as a great place to work.
• I believe the work I do matters.
• I receive personal recognition for the work I do.
• I have a good working relationship with my coworkers and feel like a valued member of the team.
• The work atmosphere is usually optimistic and positive.

Supervisor

• My supervisor motivates me to follow new processes.
• My supervisor resolves employee performance issues and concerns.
• I trust the information I receive from my supervisor.
• My supervisor has integrity and professionalism.
• My supervisor provides me with feedback in a positive and motivating manner.

Training

• The training I receive reinforces the values and mission of the company.
• I receive appropriate training when there are changes.
• I can adjust the training I receive to fit my learning style.

Company Perception

• I understand how my role fits into the goal of the company.
• I am optimistic about the future of the company.
• I feel the culture is positive.
• I believe the company respects its employees.
• I believe the company rewards and recognizes its top performers.
• I believe the company is fair and equitable in how it treats all employees.
• I believe the company promotes a good work/life balance.
• I believe the company offers me a career path.
• I love my job and my company.

Open-Ended Questions

• If you could change just one thing about working for this company, what would it be?
• What would make you consider changing jobs?
• What would you do to increase performance?
• What are three things that you think [Company] does well?
• What are three things that you think [Company] does not do well?

Fourth: Show Gratitude for Participation

Everybody loves a prize. With the survey and the initial communications, I recommend including an incentive to generate excitement or the spirit of competition. It can be as simple as a Starbucks coffee or Target gift card, or a company-branded promotional item as a gift for completion. Teams could compete for a catered lunch or a week of premium parking by achieving the best response rates. It doesn’t need to be anything large, but rather something that demonstrates your gratitude for the time they took to complete the survey.

Key Takeaway: Demonstrating Your Interest Increases Trust

With your survey program in progress and a sound communication plan, you have started on the path to better engaging your employees. Remember, your employees want to be happy and love their jobs, just as you do. By understanding what it will take to make them feel valued, empowered and more engaged, you have shown your interest in them, which will likely increase their trust in you and the organization.

In the next article, I’ll show you how to dissect the engagement survey results, develop an action plan to address issues, and create a sustainable program for change.