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Newsletter Archives
12 Elements of Great
Managing: Engagement is Key
In 12: The Elements
of Great Managing, by Rodd Wagner and James K. Harter, Ph.D., the
authors show significant correlations between organizational performance
and employee feelings of engagement. The results were published by
Gallup Press in 2006 and represent the outcome of hundreds of focus
groups and worker interviews across a broad spectrum of organizational
types, in many industries and countries.
The study identifies
twelve “key employee expectations” that form the basis for feelings of
engagement:
-
I know what is expected of me at
work.
-
I have the materials and equipment
I need to do my work right.
-
At work, I have the opportunity to
do what I do best every day.
-
In the last seven days, I have
received recognition or praise for doing good work.
-
My supervisor, or someone at work,
seems to care about me as a person.
-
There is someone at work who
encourages my development.
-
At work, my opinions seem to count.
-
The mission or purpose of my
company makes me feel my job is important.
-
My associates or fellow employees
are committed to doing quality work.
-
I have a best friend at work.
-
In the last six months, someone at
work has talked to me about my progress.
-
This last year, I have had
opportunities at work to learn and grow.
Two of these elements
can be directly supported by visual communications systems. The
statements made in #4 and #8 above support the idea that engagement must
come from the top, that it must be handled on an organization-wide
scale, and that managers must have a means by which they can communicate
mission goals and recognition to workers. Digital signage systems and
targeted messaging (cell phones, PDAs, desktop pop-ups, screen savers)
can help managers engage employees on both of these topics.
ELEMENT #4: Recognition
and Praise
 It’s not just an
occasional “Attaboy!” – it’s about specific and recurring recognition of
efforts. “The truth is that the best managers are always finding things
to praise,” says Kent Blumberg in his e-book summary of 12.
This is not just a
feel-good management tool with intangible results. Organizations with
respondents who said they had received recognition or praise for doing
good work in the last seven days show at least 10% higher productivity
and revenue, and 50% lower employee turnover. Praise outnumbered blame
by a ratio of 5.6 to 1 in high performance teams, and a previous study
showed giving careful praise increased happiness and decreased
depression of the givers.
The authors of 12
note that praise works better than financial incentives and has
virtually no cost associated with it. Praise should be delivered within
context. In some cases, it may be more appropriate to praise someone
privately for their efforts. However, public recognition can be a major
motivating factor.
-
Managers can use
digital signage and targeted messaging to motivate teams and
individuals:
-
Broadcast
performance statistics against quotas:
“Blue
team is at 89% of annual quota”
-
Recognize a leading
sales rep or employee of the month:
“Jane
Camp is our employee of the month”
-
Congratulate Summa
Cum Laude graduates: “Join us in congratulating these graduates…”
-
List certificates or
degrees earned:
“Tim
Neese is now CTS certified”
-
Publish goal
attainment: “Accounting finishes software migration”
-
Communicate results:
“African Missions Trip builds 2 houses”
-
Celebrate
anniversaries and birthdays: “Chuck Wald celebrates 7 years with us”
-
Acknowledge academic
achievements:
“Professor Wilde published in Science June edition”
-
Show company-wide
praise: “Thank you all for making us Chamber of Commerce’s Business
of the Year”
-
Advertise team
successes: “Marketing hosts 2000 visitors in EduComm booth”
-
Praise activities
participants: “Girls Soccer takes First in County
-
Note community
accomplishments:
“Laura
King heads up Blood Drive”
-
Incorporate personal
efforts: ”Ted Beck finishes third in Butler marathon”
-
Welcome new
employees: “Welcome to Barbara Sands, new Warehouse Manager”
ELEMENT #8: Connection to a Noble
Purpose
 Demystifying the company
mission is simply defining whom you are trying to help and how you are
trying to help them or make their lives better. However, many workers do
not feel that they have a clear understanding of their organization’s
mission, or they see no clear path between their efforts and achieving
that mission.
”Great managers are able to connect their direct reports to the mission
of the company resulting in employees feeling their job is important,”
states John Moore in his summary of 12. The study shows that
employees who feel engaged exhibit 27% less absenteeism and 62% more
accidents occur when employees feel disengaged. Mission-driven teams
reported 15-to-30% lower turnover rates. Groups who feel comfortable
with their role in respect to the mission show higher profitability,
lower accidents and lower turnover. Also, when employees
 feel a direct
connection between their job and the company mission, trust in managers’
decisions increases, on-the-job conflicts decrease, and commitment to
getting the job done is greater.
It is not a new concept
that mission direction and motivation starts at the highest levels.
However, 12 reports that less than 50% of workers surveyed
strongly agree that, “The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel
my job is important.” These numbers show that managers are still
struggling to define their organization’s mission, to communicate that
mission to workers, and to tie individual performance back to mission
goals. Dynamic visual communications delivered to digital signage,
desktops or portable devices can explain and reinforce the mission for
employees.
Define the mission:
o
“Zero
preventable accidents is our goal.”
o
“Higher education for tomorrow’s leaders in health care.”
o
“Bringing affordable organic food to families.”
o
“Spreading the gospel, one person at a time.”
o
“Improving worker productivity through excellence in training.”
o
“Bringing marketing expertise to small business owners.”
o
“Providing the highest quality shoes for the best price.”
o
“Delivering vocational education to commuter students.”
o
“Providing superior technical support for PC users.”
o
“Delivering a product while encouraging employee growth.”
Recognize worker
contribution (praise examples shown above also apply):
o
“Red
Team has 0 accidents in March”
o
“38%
of ITU students graduate with 3.7 GPA or higher”
o
“Milwaukee division contributes 23% of annual profit goal”
o
“Youth
Group hosts Campbell Middle School at Sunday service”
o
“Betty
Wilkes delivers training to 3 new clients”
o
“Dan
Tanner completes management training”
o
“Michael Joy decreases COGS by 17%”
o
“Andrea Rally launches P&G intern program”
o
“Customer Service decreases call wait time by 73%”
o
“Human
Resources builds improved benefits offering”
Not unexpectedly, the
farther a worker is from the top of the organization, the less they feel
a connection to the mission. Blumberg notes, “Out in the field, the
level of agreement was less than 1/3. The most important people in your
organization – those who produce the goods and deliver the services to
your customers – are the least likely to feel their job is important to
the company’s mission.” Targeted messaging is a new tool that can
address this gap. By broadcasting mission-driven communications to teams
in the field, central management can deliver important direction and
feedback to engage employees.
Blumburg summarizes, “We
all want to feel that our efforts at work are helping our organization
achieve something special. There are two parts to this. First, we need
to understand what our organization is trying to achieve and believe
that such a purpose is worthy of our efforts. Second, we need to
understand how our contributions help achieve that purpose. We need to
see the link between what we do and what our organization is trying to
accomplish for the world.”
References:
*12: The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner and
James K. Harter, Ph.D. – Gallup Press, 2006
*12: The Elements of Great Managing - As summarized by
Kent M. Blumberg – Kent M. Blumberg, 2007
*The Elements of 12 Elements – John Moore, Brand Autopsy,
2006
Visit Gallup’s web site
Copyright 2007. Visix, Inc. All rights reserved.
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