Employee Engagement & Retention
Topics to measure/analyze employee engagement
- Career development: opportunities for advancement; access to and support for learning and development - Relationship w/ management: communication w/ management; autonomy; recognition - Compensation and benefits: competitive wages and benefits; work/life balance programs - Work environment: job-strategy connection; organizational culture; relationships w/ coworkers
Engagement Strategies
- Commit long-term. - Measure consistently. - Connect engagement to business results. - Seek employee input. - Gain leadership support.
Determining Actions from Survey Results
- Identify drivers of engagement with each survey. - Identify which engagement drivers can be realistically addressed. - Make action plans realistic and measurable. - Track and communicate efforts and results.
Key areas of employee engagement
- Leadership characteristics - Team practices - Organizational values - Work itself
Survey development principles
- Prepare employees; communicate the purpose. - Survey significant areas. - Guarantee confidentiality and anonymity. - Provide timely and actionable feedback on the results.
Role of HR in Employee Recognition
- Promote a strategic recognition program - Tie recognition to corporate values - Encourage corporate spending on employee recognition
Manager action for employee engagement
- Reflects concern for employees' professional and personal well-being. - Expresses gratitude for contributions. - Amplifies employees' accomplishments. - Values communication and emphasizes positive feedback.
Retention Drivers
- They believe they are doing meaningful work. - They are recognized for going above and beyond. - The organization provides tools/resources needed to succeed in job. - Performance management systems are fair, consistent, and transparent. - The organization offers appealing incentives and perks.
Improving Employee Retention
- Treat retention of key employees as a proactive, strategic part of talent management. - Know what motivates each segment of the workforce. - Conduct ongoing research to monitor motivation and workforce trends. - Develop a deep understanding of the reasons employees want to stay or leave. - Link the ability to retain and develop high-value talent to managers' performance evaluations; reward appropriately. - Keep employees informed about the organization. - Monitor retention and turnover rates. - Work to align systems, departments, processes, and procedures to improve retention.
Rewards and recognition programs
-Bonuses - Prizes - Public or private recognition - Opportunities - Grater autonomy or access to resources - Work/life balance
Separation practices
-Humane and honest behavior during workforce reductions. -Exit interviews that uncover obstacles to engagement. -Well-handled separation processes. -Creation of an alumni network.
Common Engagement Drivers
-Satisfying work and job opportunities -Confidence and trust in leaders -Recognition and rewards -Timely and orderly communication
Understanding employee turnover
-What is the current turnover rate? -How does it compare to previous years? -How does it compare to the industry average? -How much is turnover costing the organization? -Who is leaving the organization? -What impact does turnover have on the morale of employees who stay?
Reduction in force strategy
A reduction in force in which employees in selected task areas are allowed to volunteer for layoff has the potential to benefit both the organization and the employees. For the organization, a voluntary RIF creates opportunities for restructuring and assists in meeting the organization's fiscal responsibilities. For employees, it may facilitate a transition to retirement. Also, in some countries, an early "at will" separation can provide the employee with access to federal or local financial assistance for the pursuit of other career opportunities
Realistic job preview
Any part of the selection process that provides an applicant with honest and complete information about a job and the work environment—a clear picture of what a job will be like if the applicant is hired. Three goals: - Help a candidate make an informed decision - Allow the organization to objectively portray the job - Increase the potential of a good match
Types of Org Cultures
Authortarian Mechanistic Participative Learning High-performance
Alumni network benefits
Branding. New business. Industry intelligence. "Boomerangs." Employee referrals.
Performance appraisal methods
Category: graphic scale; checklist (checks words); forced choice (pick 2) Comparative: Ranking; paired-comparison; forced distribution Narrative: essay; critical incidents; field review
Work/life balance programs
Concierge services; employee assistance programs; family assistance programs flexible work arrangements; leave of absence; total working hours; wellness programs Employee assistance and employee development programs focus on immediate and long-term needs of the employee
Fostering a high-performance workplace
Demonstrating executive-level support for performance management. Providing a positive and challenging work environment. Attending to employee engagement activities. Training managers in performance management, including legal issues. Holding managers accountable for their role in performance management. Providing continual feedback from managers, peers, customers, and others—not just at performance appraisal meetings. Providing the proper resources and tools. Maintaining consistent management practices
Employee Engagement
Embodies broader concept than employee satisfaction, commitment, and morale Involves employee behaviors that positively influence individual- and business-level performance Characterized by a desire to stay with the organization in the future and willingness to "go the extra mile"
Stay interview
Employees discuss why they like (or do not like) their current job. Help to assess the degree of employee satisfaction and engagement that exists in a department and/or organization.
Management by Objectives (MBO)
Employees help set objectives for themselves, defining what they intend to achieve within a specified time period. The objectives are based on overall goals and objectives for the organization.
Errors in performance appraisal
Halo/horn effect. The halo effect may occur when an employee is extremely competent in one area and is therefore rated high in all categories. Conversely, the horn effect may occur when one weakness results in an overall low rating. Recency. The recency error occurs when an appraiser gives more weight to recent occurrences and discounts or minimizes the employee's earlier performance during the appraisal period. Primacy. The primacy error occurs when an appraiser gives more weight to the employee's earlier performance and discounts or minimizes recent occurrences. Bias. When an appraiser's values, beliefs, or prejudices distort ratings (either consciously or unconsciously), the error is due to bias. Strictness. Some appraisers may be reluctant to give high ratings. In the case of strictness, appraisers who believe that standards are too low may inflate the standards in an effort to make the standards meaningful in their eyes. Leniency. Leniency errors are the result of appraisers who do not want to give low scores. All employees in this case are given high scores. Central tendency. Central tendency errors occur when an appraiser rates all employees within a narrow range, regardless of differences in actual performance. Contrast. The contrast error occurs when an employee's rating is based on how his or her performance compares to that of another employee instead of on objective performance standards.
Practices to increase engagement
Job enrichment: Incorporate meaning, variety, autonomy, and coworker respect into jobs Performance and career management: Challenging goals that align with the company's strategic objectives; Positive feedback; Appraisal methods free of bias.; Recognition and appreciation for extra voluntary contributions. Learning and development: Offer skill development training to increase job performance, satisfaction, and self-efficacy. Strategic compensation
Manager's role in employee engagement
Managers are one of the most important components of employee engagement. Employees want to feel that managers care about them as professionals and as people. Managers facilitate engagement when they show gratitude, amplify accomplishments, and communicate well and often, with an emphasis on positive feedback. HR professionals play an active role in supporting managers' efforts to engage employees. This allows the organization, the manager, and the individual to achieve success
performance appraisal
Measuring the degree to which an employee (or group) accomplishes work requirements. Purposes: -Provide feedback and counseling -Help in allocating rewards and opportunities -Help in determining employees' aspirations and planning developmental needs Outcomes: -Constructive feedback and improved productivity -Training and developmental needs -Clear expectations -Commitment and mutual understanding
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)
Method of performance measurement that rates behavior in terms of a scale showing specific statements of behavior that describe different levels of performance
retention rate
Number of employees who remain employed divided by number of employees at start of period
Communicating survey results
Once survey results have been analyzed, the organization must take action based on the information received—and must do so in such a way that employees recognize that action is being taken. Employee engagement surveys can actually be harmful to employee engagement levels if they are not properly handled. Employees who feel that an organization is just going through the motions and disregarding the feedback collected can become even less engaged. These employees may refuse to participate in future surveys, potentially causing increasingly large issues to be missed during future survey processes.
Employee survey categories
Opinion survey questions are designed to elicit employee views related to specific issues, such as how work policies or practices are administered. Employee attitude surveys seek data on employee perceptions of the organization's culture and image. Engagement surveys examine employees' levels of job satisfaction, commitment, and morale Employee attitude surveys attempt to determine employees' perceptions of such topics as company culture and company image, the quality of management, the effectiveness of compensation and benefits programs, organizational communication and involvement issues, diversity, and safety and health concerns. Employee opinion surveys tend to measure important data on specific issues. These surveys may seek to gain opinions on specific processes an employee performs, safety procedures, or some other issue the employer may be evaluating or considering. Employee engagement surveys focus on employees' level of job satisfaction, commitment, and morale. Survey questions or statements should explicitly link to business objectives.
Employee well-being
Physical—overall health, stamina, energy Psychological—levels of stress, optimism, confidence, control Social—work relationships, work/life balance, equity, respect, connectedness
Performance management
Process of maintaining or improving employee job performance.
Designing recognition systems
Recognition should be tied to performance that helps the organization meet its strategic goals and to the organization's values. The form of the recognition should have significance for the recipient.
Employee life cycle (ELC)
Recruitment. The employer-employee relationship is initiated. Integration. Employee gains access to information and tools required for the job and settles into the position. Becomes familiar with the organizational culture, coworkers, and management. Development. To promote engagement and retention, the organization invests time and resources in the employee's development. As necessary, the employee participates in internal training and external professional training programs funded by the organization. Transition. Specific activities during this phase are dependent upon the type of transition (e.g., resignation, firing, transfer, promotion, demotion, or retirement).
Engagement outcomes
Say—Speak positively about the organization to coworkers, potential employees, and customers. Stay—Have an intense sense of belonging and a desire to be a part of the organization. Strive—Are motivated and exert effort toward success in their job and for the company. better talent, operational, customer, and financial business outcomes
Flexible staffing practices
Select employees who can function well in these roles given their work styles and skill levels. Deliver clear communication regarding expectations, reporting, and performance outcomes. Contact the information technology department to obtain technical resources for telecommuting and virtual communication. Establish performance management systems that cover flexible arrangements. Evaluate the arrangements on an ongoing basis to determine job satisfaction and employee contribution to the organization. Evaluate the cost-effectiveness and other effects of flexible work programs based on the strategic goals of the organization.
Performance standards guidelines
Should be objective, measurable, realistic, and stated clearly in writing (or otherwise recorded). The standards should be written in terms of specific measures that will be used to appraise performance. Measures of employee performance include: Quality. How well the work is performed and/or how accurate or how effective the final product is. Quantity. How much work is produced. Timeliness. How quickly, when, or by what date the work is produced. Cost-effectiveness. Dollar savings to the organization or working within a budget.
Retention
The ability to keep talented employees in the organization. Organizations aspire to keep high performers and to exit the low performers. - Involves strategic actions to keep high performers motivated and focused - Preserves and develops an organization's human capital - Reduces voluntary turnover costs
Performance standards
The expectations of management translated into two key elements that employees can deliver: Behaviors. What the organization wants the employees to do. Results. What the organization wants the employees to produce or deliver. Tell employees both what they have to do and how well they have to do it.
Rewards and Recognition
Tied to strategic goals and organizational values In a form meaningful to individual recipient Use positive and negative reinforcement of desired behavior (Skinner's behaviorist school)
Approaches to measuring effectiveness of performance management system
Track training of users. Track completion of activities. Review performance standards periodically. Review alignment with organization's strategic goals. Confirm positive relationship of appraisal results with promotions and pay increases. Gather feedback from users.
Facets of Employee Engagement
Trait- personality characteristics (e.g., curiosity) State- workplace conditions or practices (e.g., variety) Behavioral - effort invested (e.g. high performance)
Yield ratio
a ratio that expresses the percentage of applicants who successfully move from one stage of the recruitment and selection process to the next
Transactional engagement
employees appear engaged, for example, by working longer hours and even responding as such in engagement surveys, but do not actually feel or think in an engaged way.
Challenges to engagement
external stressors (global completion, new technology, economic conditions, continuous innovation) and internal stressors (work/life balance) = decreased employee engagement
Turnover rate
number of separations during a period divided average number of employees during period
Performance management systems
standards, measurements, and processes to use in discussing past performance and improving future performance. Can only be effective if: -They have the support of senior leaders. -The managers who must implement the system accept the system's value to the organization and thoroughly understand how to implement it. -Employees are educated about the system—how to get the most value from it and how to ensure their rights to provide responses and feedback. -The implementation of the system is regularly evaluated and improved and its alignment with strategy and culture is adjusted as needed.
