EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT - 2011

The other day I received the BlessingWhite Employee Engagement Report 2011.  They introduce their report with these bold words:  "In organization's every individual is accountable for his or her own engagement; anyone with direct reports must coach team members to higher levels of engagement and manage his or her own engagement; and executives set the tone for high morale and motivation plus shoulder the responsibilities of individuals and managers".  The report itself is 80+ pages but I'd like to share some of their key findings because whether we want to recognize it or not, as leaders, we must encourage our workforce to build a more engaged organization.

These key findings focus on engagement levels worldwide, the engagement-retention connection, key drivers, and the ways that behaviors of managers and senior leaders influence engagement.

• 31% are Engaged, and 17% are Disengaged.
• There's a strong correlation between engagement levels and age, role/level, and tenure.
• More employees are looking for new opportunities outside of their organization.
• Engaged employees plan to stay for what they give; the Disengaged stay for what they get.
• Employees worldwide view opportunities to apply their talents, career development and training as top drivers of job satisfaction.
• Trust in executives appears to have more than twice the impact on engagement levels than trust in immediate managers does.
• Managers are not necessarily doing the things that matter most.
• Executives appear to struggle with key leadership behaviors.  Engagement surveys without visible follow-up action may actually decrease engagement levels.  

Some of the key implications and recommendations state that to reap the rewards that a more engaged organization promises, your entire workforce needs to be accountable for their piece of the "engagement equation" every day.  As an individual:  Ownership, clarity and action; Managers: Coaching, relationships and dialogue; Executives: Trust, communication and culture.

Think about it, are you making sure your workforce is engaged?

To download your free copy, click on the following link.  http://blessingwhite.com


Regards, Marya

Hiring Top Talent

In a article entitled Talent Matters, Edward E. Lawler III, the director of the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California (USC), reports that "in a recent survey of senior executives worldwide, 55% said they expect to spend more time on people management than on technology in the next three years. Over 85% said that people are vital to all aspects of their company's performance, particularly their top strategic challenges: increased competition, innovation, and technology." In another survey of 1000 global CEO's, "72% are more concerned about the availability of individuals with key skills than they are about energy and commodity prices and intellectual property rights."

People are important! They are number one when it comes to giving an organization a strategic advantage. So how can leaders and managers go about ensuring that the people they hire and bring into the organization are going to give them a competitive advantage? Let's start by looking at their recruiting process.

First and foremost, when making the decision to begin hiring, companies need to plan their recruitment strategy -- identify the desired outcomes they want to achieve and the benefits they expect to get from the strategy. Next they need to consider any potential barriers that may come into play when implementing the strategy and finally determine who they need to help them execute the strategy. This could be senior management's commitment and participation, a group of well-trained recruiters, their recruiting sources, and a well designed selection system to ensure equity among candidates.

When looking for a pool of candidates, the recruiting sources you choose need to be specific to your particular situation. Some traditional sources include employment agencies, executive recruiters, state employment services, advertising, referrals, internal recruiting options, and campus recruiting. If your company hires the disabled, you don't need to advertise specifically for applicants with disabilities, but you should put in your ads that such applicants will be considered. Government agencies and an increasing number of private employment agencies can assist you in finding this non-traditional source of applicants. More innovative types of recruiting sources include the internet and other new age marketing options. You can also consider legal immigrants and residents of community and transitional shelters who are looking to return to the workforce.

When putting together a recruitment strategy, decide how you're going to measure progress against the outcomes you want to achieve. Some of these measures can include the number of acceptable versus unacceptable resumes you receive; the cost of your recruiting activities; the effectiveness of the various recruiting resources you're using, etc. Recruiting resources are costly so you want to continuously monitor them for their overall effectiveness and ensure you're getting a solid return on your investment.

To optimize your ability to attract top talent, create a well designed recruiting brochure or, at a minimum, a well designed advertisement. Include your companies mission and vision, company facts, information on what you offer employees in the way of advancement, training and education. You should also include salary guidelines and benefits, and your company's level of community involvement. Make your brochure or advertisement interesting with pictures and graphics. Remember, people want practical information about your company so they get a sense of your culture and work environment and whether or not they would like to work for you.

Following these tips for implementing a solid recruiting strategy is crucial for companies who want to "compete on the performance of their people." Developing your strategy takes time, requires hard work and planning and excellent record keeping. But, in the end, it will give you the competitive advantage you need to keep your organization effective and viable in today's tough economic times.

Next time, I'll be writing about developing a selection system that will help you achieve the outcomes you want from your implementation strategy.

Performance Connect can work with you to develop a strategy that will fit your needs so you can hire the right people with the right talent in the right place at the right time. We believe in the importance of collaboration in performance acceleration which includes supporting and partnering with you to carry out your strategic recruiting and hiring initiatives. Call us at 908-782-0663 or contact us at info@performance-connect.com.

Accel Now!
www.performance-connect.com