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Archive for Employee Engagement – Page 2

Managing Transitions in an Ever-Changing Environment

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw

It sounds simple enough, but if you are a leader attempting to guide your employees through a major change – an acquisition, a reduction-in-force, or new leadership, for example – you know that overcoming resistance to change can be the biggest hurdle to progress.

In his book, Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, William Bridges clarified that a leader’s role is not really about managing change, but rather about leading employees through the transition process as a result of change:

“Change and transition are not the same. Change is the external event or situation that takes place. Transition is the inner psychological process that people go through to adapt to a change. Empathetic leaders recognize that change puts people in crisis.”

Bridges describes transitions as a 3-phase process:

Phase One is an Ending. “Letting go of the old ways and the old identity people had.” Maybe they’re losing a beloved leader, or moving to a different team as the result of a reorganization, or having to adapt to a totally new way of doing their job. In any case, there’s a certain amount of grieving or sense of loss for what they’re leaving behind.

Phase Two is the Neutral Zone. This is an in-between stage when “the old is gone but the new isn’t fully operational.” Here is where the critical “psychological realignments and repatternings” take place. People begin to let go of the past. Although they may still be unsure of what’s ahead, they are beginning to accept the inevitability of the change.

Phase Three is New Beginnings. In this phase people adapt to their new identity, experience renewed energy, and find the sense of purpose that will help make the change work.

As a leader, understanding and accepting that your employees need to go through this process will increase the likelihood that the change will be successful.

Next time we’ll talk about some specific strategies for helping your employees through the process.

Now is the Time for Your HR Planning

As the New Year gets underway, this is the perfect time to do some planning for the various HR activities that need to occur throughout the year. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend that you get out your calendar to schedule the following HR activities and begin developing a plan for each of them. It’s very easy to get so caught up in day-to-day operations that these activities sneak up on you, and then are either delayed, not done well, or missed entirely.

Here’s a framework of common activities you can start with. You may have additional ones, based on your business.

Company goals. What are you planning to/need to accomplish this year? This is important in driving your planning and decisions for all HR activities. And also, in driving individual and team goals.

Workforce planning. To accomplish your goals, what are the skills, knowledge and number of employees you’ll need? Where are the gaps in your current workforce? What plans do you have in place for upskilling current employees to meet new demands of the business?

Budgeting for headcount. If you’ll be adding to your workforce this year, what’s your budget?

Job descriptions. Job descriptions should be reviewed at least once a year or and/or whenever a job position’s responsibilities change. As new positions are created job descriptions need to be created. Up-to-date, accurate, and detailed jobs descriptions as essential for effective hiring, employee development and performance management.

Employee Handbook. Your Employee Handbook should be thoroughly reviewed and updated annually, with periodic updates as new laws are implemented. When was the last time you updated your Handbook to reflect new company polices or employment laws?

Open enrollment. Even though this activity typically occurs in the fall, it’s important to plan for it well in advance, especially if you are thinking about changing brokers or adding or changing benefits.

Performance reviews. Waiting until the performance review date to manage performance is a disservice to employees and to the company. Make performance management an ongoing activity and then plan well in advance for the annual or semi-annual performance review.

Salary increases. What is your budget /criteria for salary increases? What surveys will you use to determine current market data?

Employee surveys. Giving employees the opportunity to provide feedback (and then doing something in response) is important in keeping employees engaged and motivated. Questions need to be thoughtfully prepared and relevant. You also need to consider how you will administer the survey (paper, online, focus groups…) and develop a plan for reviewing, communicating and implementing any changes resulting from the survey. Don’t conduct a survey unless you plan to do something with the information!

The most important thing is to be proactive rather than reactive. It’s much better to carve out some time now – as busy as you might be – to plan for these items ahead of time. Leaving it until the last minute or overlooking an activity altogether can be very costly in time, money and employee morale.

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

Remember to Thank Your Employees

The last month of the year can often get so busy with wrapping things up for one year and preparing for the next that we forget a very important activity – saying “Thank You” to employees.

Before you take off for the holidays, be sure you show your appreciation for the work that your employees have done in 2016. Recap the successes, share lessons learned, and tell them your hopes and plans for the New Year. Let them know how important they were in the organization’s accomplishments this year, and how you are relying on them for continued success next year.

Many companies have gone through changes this year – big and small, planned or unexpected. As you thank employees – both in group settings and individually – keep your message positive. Here are some ideas for showing your appreciation.

Say “thank you” in person. Encourage managers to make the time to walk around and thank each person on their team for contributing to the success of the organization. A personal thank you is much more meaningful than an email or a thank you during an “all hands” meeting.

Give a gift or cash award. Include a gift, cash or gift card with the personal thank you. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it should be meaningful.

Take your team to lunch. Have each manager take their team out to lunch to celebrate the holidays and say “thank you.”

And now I would like to thank you for following my blog, and for providing your comments and feedback!

My best wishes for very Happy Holidays and a Successful 2017!

Supporting Our Communities

As you gather with friends, family and colleagues this holiday season, please remember those in your community who are less fortunate. This can be an especially difficult time of year for them.

Giving back is not only a socially responsible thing to do, it also has many intrinsic benefits for you, your company and your employees.

You feel better about yourself!
Your company will benefit by demonstrating that it cares about the community, which helps attract customers and employees. And,
Your employees will have the opportunity to bond (and feel better about themselves) when you encourage them to volunteer their time or their money to a team selected cause.

There are many local charitable organizations that rely on donations and the help of volunteers to continue to serve their respective constituents. Here are a few:

Second Harvest Food Bank needs help packing and sorting the food it collects and provides to people in need in the community. This makes a great team event. Your employees may also want to help with food distribution.

The Family Giving Tree offers several opportunities for group volunteering: Off-season product sorting; wish card sorting/collateral prep; and volunteering in the warehouse.

Cityteam needs frozen turkeys and canned nonperishable food items to help to make a difference in the lives of men, women, and children struggling with homelessness, hunger, and poverty. Donations can be dropped off 9am-4pm Tuesdays-Saturdays at Cityteam’s Community Services Program, 1297 North 13th St., San Jose.

You can find more opportunities for giving in this San Jose Mercury News article.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 29 is Giving Tuesday. Please consider giving to your favorite charity.

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

5 Ways to Attract and Retain Millennials

Millennials (those people born between 1980 and 2000) are now the nation’s largest living generation, surpassing Baby Boomers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In fact, it’s projected that by 2025, Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce. This means that finding ways to effectively attract and retain them will become essential in keeping the wheels of your business churning!

Here are some tips for recruiting and keeping employees from this now-dominant generation.

Use social media. To attract Millennials, you need to go where they are. And that’s on social media. A recent article in Inc. Magazine said 66.7% of first time job seekers use social media to look for work. Make sure your recruiting messages present your brand well, and are mobile friendly. Anyone with a family member in this age group knows that their smartphone is a key source of information and communication. Use the latest tools available, such as LinkedIn’s recruiting tools and video interviewing.

Give them insight. Millennials want to work somewhere that provides stability and financial security. A collaborative environment is also important to them. They care about company culture. Be sure your website and your social media presence convey a sense of what it’s like to work at your company. Think about the images and content on those sites – do they accurately tell the story of who you are?

Show you care. According to a Deloitte survey, 60% of Millennials say they chose to join their current employer in part because of the organization’s sense of purpose. Do you give back to your local community? Include that on your website and in your recruiting materials and messages. Also, consider giving employees time off to volunteer or matching their monetary donations.

Develop and grow them. Millennials are motivated by a competitive compensation package, professional development, and opportunities for advancement. Give them a clear vision of their career path and how they can advance. Provide training and mentoring opportunities. They also prefer leaders who empower their employees, and who give them frequent, constructive feedback.

Provide flexibility. Millenials favor work/life balance. They want to work hard and get ahead, but they also want to have enough time to pursue their personal interests. Consider offering flexible work schedules.

Matching your recruitment efforts to the needs of Millennials will help ensure that you keep your candidate pipeline active!

Please contact me if you need more ideas or help in implementing any of these.

Employee Surveys: Don’t Just Ask…Act!

For the first 6 months of this year, only 32.9% of employees were engaged at work, according to Gallup, who regularly measures employee engagement. This means that nearly 70% of employees were not engaged. Lack of employee engagement translates into less productivity and lower morale, and may ultimately impact business results.

There are multiple factors that contribute to employees being engaged and motivated – a sense of purpose, opportunities for growth, a positive culture, learning and development, and effective leadership, to name a few. Often companies, especially small ones with limited resources and time, are hard pressed to know where to focus to move the engagement meter in the right direction. A good way to determine how to improve your employees’ satisfaction, engagement and motivation is to ask them.

Conduct an employee survey.

Perhaps you’ve done one before. But there are surveys and there are surveys. And…it’s not just about asking a bunch of questions. It’s about asking a few good questions that encourage an honest response, and then actually acting on the information you receive. Too often employees are asked to spend 20 minutes or so providing input to a survey and then they never hear anymore about it. This is most likely not the intent when the survey is sent out, but sometimes there are so many ideas and suggestions for improvement that leadership can’t get their arms around them, or they compete with other priorities. Good intentions get lost in the shuffle.

There is a better way.

Start by creating a list of questions that will help you identify some areas that employees want to see improved. Common ones are training and growth opportunities, communication, and understanding how their role fits into the big picture. Pare the list down to 3 or 4 effective questions. Communicate to employees the purpose of the survey and that you will be selecting one or two areas to work on based on the results. An alternate way to gather responses to the questions is through employee focus groups. Once you’ve gathered and analyzed the data, communicate results to employees and involve them in prioritizing the areas to work on. Select one or two areas to focus on in the short term. Be open and honest about what’s achievable. Consider setting up employee work groups to create solutions for the improvement areas selected. Make progress updates a regular part of your employee communication. The important part is to ask and to ACT. When employees see that you are true to your word, they will be more willing to provide you with feedback and ideas and to be part of the solution.

“Research indicates that workers have three prime needs: Interesting work, recognition for doing a good job, and being let in on things that are going on in the company.” –Zig Ziglar