CareerCurve™

Everyone knows the economic woes of the last couple years have had a huge impact on organizations, individuals, and sometimes entire industries. Over and over in this blog you’ve seen recommendations, discussions, and articles about one the biggest HR challenges of our time – keeping employees engaged, motivated and interested in staying with your company. There is much debate about how much time, money and effort should be extended to employees to accomplish these goals.

Recently, I was re-reading one of my favorite books of all time called The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People by PH.D David Niven. I came across the chapter called “If you can’t reach your goals, your goals will hurt you.” This made me think of how helpful this basic idea could be if used by HR to evaluate your workforce.

Considering the recent down-sizings and re-organizations that have taken place, how many of your employees have been asked to take on extra functions at work? There are many articles written on this topic, most of them focusing on ways to let your employees know that you value their contributions. But what about backing it up a bit and evaluating whether or not what you’ve asked them to accomplish is attainable and matches the skill set they possess?

There is a study by Pavot, Fujita, and Deiner from way back in 1997 that I think still holds true today. It is entitled, “The Relation Between Self-Aspect Congruence, Personality and Subjective Well-Being.” One of the findings concludes that if a person’s goals are in-congruent with their abilities, the likelihood of dissatisfaction quadruples. That’s right – quadruples!  The goals themselves ultimately contribute to disappointment and disagreeableness.

Maybe before tons of effort is expended on thanking your employees, a good first step would be to evaluate whether the business goals are congruent with the individual. Do the new demands match the employees’ abilities? Now that the employee has been doing his/her best to manage the new responsibilities for a while, can you see where he/she struggles or excels? Could you shuffle some of the new functions between employees who have different strengths?

Any goal in life both, personally or professionally, should be assessed and updated periodically to ensure it is realistic. A new year is on its way and with it may come a good time to take a hard look at the specific duties you’ve asked your employees to take on. If you can make sure that what your company needs matches what your individual employees are capable of as closely as possible, you are one step closer to a satisfied and engaged workforce. THEN you can figure out how to show they are valued.

Is motivating unmotivated employees up to you?  And further, is this an effective performance management strategy?  Was the unmotivated employee a bad hire or was he/she a top performer and then became unmotivated?

HR is becoming more and more responsible for keeping their employees motivated at work.  But can you really succeed at this in the long run?

There are all kinds of recommendations and solutions to motivate employees such as incentives, coaching, disciplinary action, and counseling.  I’ve read of those who feel that this is a waste of time and money because you cannot motivate the unmotivated for any length of time. Period.  They are very black and white and blame it on a bad hire.  The wrong questions were asked, the employee was adept at interviewing and HR missed the most important aspects of the employee’s personality that would’ve told them this was not going to be a motivated employee; therefore, offering the above listed programs to the employee is throwing good money after bad.  Those with this stance also state that to increase performance management you need to cut ties quickly and stop taking responsibility for an employee’s lack of motivation.  By providing assistance you are giving the employee a scapegoat and he/she can now blame you for being unmotivated.  Admit it was a square peg/ round hole scenario, fire them and move on.  High performers always perform and don’t need to be motivated – they are motivated from within.

Can it really be that simple?  Is it that cut and dried?  I think there is a more effective path to performance management.  The first thing necessary is getting an understanding of why this employee lacks motivation.  Was he/she like this from day one?  (If yes, maybe the above isn’t so far off and you should reevaluate your hiring practices.)  If not, what happened?  Is there a problem with the team or manager?  Are there personal issues?  Has the employee exceeded expectations but received very little in the way of acknowledgement?  Have you provided support for the employee both professionally and personally?

Yes, high performers tend to be motivated from within and perform well despite all kinds of circumstances.  But that doesn’t mean a high performer can’t become de-motivated, and is not worth the time or energy to motivate.  Performance management tools are valuable. At a minimum they allow you to communicate with your employees, which ultimately helps determine the answers to most employee problems.  As I’ve said before, if you will listen, people will tell you what they want.

Those who are internally motivated can still become less so if the culture, environment and support are not there.  The best HR can do is focus on creating an environment that will optimize performance.  The level to which it succeeds is largely up to the employee, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bother or are wasting money.

This is the percentage of top performers who plan to leave their company in the next year, according to research.  60%!!!   Out of one million employees, 600,000 of them will quit.  And these are your high performers. 

How many of these employees will be yours?  It’s been hard to avoid the fact that rumor has it people are done with “I’m just happy to have a job” and are currently laying the groundwork to move on.  But hearing about it and seeing the numbers are two different things. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey reported in October that the number of employees voluntarily quitting their jobs has surpassed involuntary terminations through layoffs and discharges.  According to the research, this shift occurred in August.  Okay, we’ve been hearing that too, but let’s take a look at these numbers.  In August 2010, 1.998 million people quit their jobs, while 1.830 million employees were terminated or discharged.

Couple these numbers with the fact that disengagement is higher than it usually is during economic times like these and making engagement and retention important business initiatives for the new year better be at the top of your agenda.

I’ve posted about most of these individually, but here is a short list summarizing some of the important ones:

Don’t just throw money at it.  When ranking motivators, high performers DO NOT list salary first.  It’s not even in the top 3.

Listen.  If you let them, your best employees will tell you what they want.  And you might be surprised to find it won’t cost you much.

Define and implement career development programs.  High performers want to know that they can advance and grow and what specifically they need to do to accomplish that growth.

Re-evaluate your management.  Employees quit managers more often than they quit companies.

Organize business objectives and bonus potential frequently.  This forces communication between management and employees and communication drives engagement.

Be as transparent as possible.  Or at least appear to be.  Perception trumps reality when it comes to your employees.

One of the top priorities of Human Resource Departments everywhere is creating and maintaining an engaged workforce.  This means employees are excited (or dare I say inspired) to be there, they are happy and they are productive.

There are numerous articles, resources, and studies out there explaining different ways to achieve this utopian state.  I’ve written many of them myself on how important trust is, being transparent, empowering your employees, and managing with values instead of rules.  But how can you tell if you’re there yet?  Rather than focusing on the negative – behaviors that show a lack of engagement – what are some signs that your workforce IS engaged?

Do you have employees who come in early or leave late?  A good sign of engagement is that your people don’t clock watch.  It’s more about getting the job done than getting off on time.

Do your employees look happy?  I spent 3 1/2 hours last week at a company with highly engaged employees.  How did I know this?  Well, when you take a step back and really look around, if it’s there, you can’t miss it.

Are your employees proactive with solutions?  Research shows that engaged workers think creatively and will approach their managers with solutions.  They feel comfortable enough not only to think outside the box, but to proactively discuss their solutions with their colleagues.

Do your employees take ownership of their projects?  If you have a workforce who has a high level of accountability, chances are they are highly engaged as well.

Do your employees continually ask for more responsibility and embrace challenges?  Research indicates that the most highly engaged employees want the chance to learn and are not shy about asking for it.

When you hear work-related conversations between employees do they use the words we and us?  If your employees are engaged with your organization they tend to speak as if they are a member of a team.  You will not hear references to they or them when referring to the company.

What other signs can you share in the comments that show your workforce is engaged?

Seeing as I’ve written so much on the topics of trust, inspiration, transparency, and engagement etc. the natural progression seems to be empowerment.

My definition of empowerment in this context is you helping your employees grow and become more confident in their abilities.

As I look at the outline in my mind of how to achieve talent optimization, high levels of engagement and retention, and the effective recruitment of top talent, it seems to me that empowerment needs to be addressed.  (After establishing trust, of course.)

Employee empowerment has a significant effect on creativity and creativity has a strong effect on innovation.  Successful companies are innovative.

So how can you empower your employees and encourage creativity and innovation?

Many of the things you can do will be the same exact things that you do to instill trust and increase engagement.  Once you have a decent level of trust established, try some of these suggestions and you will not only bolster that trust but also encourage creativity.  They all go hand in hand.

Believe in them – and let them know it.  Show them that you have all the faith that they will do their job well and also that they will continue to improve in their role, even if they make mistakes.

Give them freedom – freedom to make decisions quickly without a bunch of hoops to jump through.  Freedom from a ton of rules and regulations that stifle creative thought and make it not worth their time or energy to institute creative problem solving.

Align values – sorry, I’m saying it again.  Let your employees understand the values and goals of the company and how each of them fits into this overall corporate picture.

Have them participate in important decisions.  I’ve said this before too but it is such a factor in engagement, inspiration, empowerment and innovation.  How can an employee feel connected to the ultimate goal if he/she is not part of the process?  Ask for their advice or suggestions and listen to what they have to say.  You might even learn something.

Empowering your employees is going to do wonderful things for your organization.  Remember, business today is no longer about commanding and controlling with a top-down hierarchy.  Organizations require a connect and collaborate mindset and empowering your employees will not only make them more creative but will reinforce the connection and the fact that everyone is in this together.

Your employees are struggling to have faith in anything anymore. Most people are experiencing a loss of trust with government, the banking system, the housing market, big business – I could go on and on.

As an organization, what can you do to restore trust and faith? Trust is the guiding force behind motivation, engagement, retention and ultimately, productivity. Trust is earned through communication.

Communicate effectively and earn trust. Earn trust and in return you will get motivated (or even inspired) employees. Motivated employees are engaged and stick around. The result for your company? Productivity.

Thinking about it in this format (an outline, of course – you know how I love outlines) means you need to master step one. If you focus on effective communication, everything else follows.

So, how do you achieve effective communication?

Transparency.

But how can a company be transparent. Well it can’t be.   But the culture can. And as I’ve said before, character is to an individual what culture is to an organization.

How do you create a transparent culture?

1. Be honest.
   You don’t have to tell everybody everything but what you do tell should be the truth.
2. Be forthcoming.
   Share as much information, unprompted, as possible. Your employees will feel like they are part of something bigger and not only will this encourage trust but they will feel valued. For most, this is one of the top three things employees want from their company.
3. Don’t pretend to know what you don’t.
   Admitting your own limitations gives you credibility. People more easily trust those that don’t act as if they know everything. A little humility goes along way.
4. Define corporate values.
   Figure out what the corporate values are and share them with the employees. Making these values a priority helps get everyone on the same page. At the very least, make them understood. Gray area creates trust issues.
5. Follow through.
   If you don’t know something, get the answer. Or at least get the employee in touch with a person or resource who can get the answer.
6. Be consistent.
   Regarding corporate values, once they are defined, demonstrate them every day. Values should not be a list that are a lofty goal, they should be action that is visible in the way you work at all times.
7. Have opinions.
   Don’t be afraid to take a stand. Your opinions should align with the corporate values and you should be definitive in stating them. Stand firm.
8. Be open to other opinions.
   Here is another area where a little humility goes a long way. Be firm in your opinions but, be open-minded to changing them if a persuasive and logical reason is presented. Taking a definitive stand on something just because it’s always been that way stifles innovation and reduces the amount of trust your employees have in their superiors.
9. Be responsive and genuine.
   If you haven’t reached a solution, seek them out and tell them that. If you have, let them know as soon as possible what the results are. Don’t make them come back to you.

Transparency is an essential part of communication and effective communication will create an aligned,  happy and productive workforce.

Bersin & Associates did a study ranking the 40 best practices that create an empowered enterprise.  The top 5 include:

1.   Leaders are open to “bad news.”

2.   Asking questions is encouraged.

3.   Decision-making processes are clearly defined throughout the company.

4.   Employees are frequently given tasks or projects beyond their current knowledge or skill level in order to stretch them developmentally.

5.   Employees have influence over which job tasks are assigned to them.

Interestingly, 4 of the top 5 best practices help build trust in your organization and as we all know, trust is a key factor in retention, engagement, motivation, and many of the other concerns faced by HR today.

What about your company?  Do you use these top best practices?  Do you have any others to share that leave a larger mark?  Do you have real life experiences of how operating this way has paid off?  If you do use these best practices, would you agree that trust in your organization is very high?  Please share in the comments.

With all the talk of a recovering economy leading to concerns over attracting and retaining top talent, engagement has become a key buzzword for business owners and HR professionals.  The fear of employees “jumping ship” at the first sign of a better economy is a very real concern.  So how do you avoid that?

One common solution seems to be to engage your employees by increasing motivation.  But is motivation what you think it is? 

Isn’t motivation a short term state?  Think about the ways we use the word motivation; I need to get motivated to complete this project on time, I am motivated to get to the gym (today), I need to motivate my team to win this game.  These are short terms goals.  In addition, motivation is typically used to describe accomplishing something you don’t really want to do, but know you have to.  Do you really want your employees in a temporary state of mind that allows them to complete something they really don’t want to do?  Do you see how much work it is for you to have to create new motivation so each employee will complete each project?

Inspiration, on the other hand, usually decribes something that was accomplished above and beyond anyone’s expectations.  It takes being motivated to the next level.  Think of the ways we use the term inspired; I was inspired to write a poem, I was inspired to develop a program, I was inspired to be a good manager.  Inspiration is also a more permanent state; it is used to describe people who were inspired to complete whatever it is they started to do.  You don’t typically hear the word used until something is finished and finished successfully.  Someone who is inspired is also constantly motivated.  How much easier would your job as an HR professional be if your employees were inspired? 

Employees who are motivated will come to work and complete their tasks or projects. 

Employees who are inspired will come to work and think outside the box.  They will continually seek solutions relevant to the company’s long term goals, they will create an enthusiastic environment, and they will not require rewards and incentives to do it.  Inspiration can be nurtured if given the proper setting.   And then you can end the cycle of continually trying to motivate your employees.

I would also bet that inspired employees do not seek out trouble, real or imagined, or have as many grievances.  They are too busy being inspired to focus on the negative. 

So how do you set the stage to inspire your employees?  Here are a few ways to do it.

Listen to their ideas.

Communicate with them honestly and frequently.  In short, trust them.

Encourage them to think unconventionally

Give them the freedom to experiment with different solutions.

Allow them to take some risks in their roles.

Which do you think is more valuable to your organization?  What techniques do you use to motivate or inspire your employees?  Do you have employees who are truly inspired and how can you tell?

In my experience, everyone is motivated by different things.  In order to effectively manage people in any role, you have to first identify the key motivating factor for each individual.   There are all kinds of ideas and programs available to help managers motivate their teams but I think you have to back up first in order for any of these to work.  If you don’t have a clear understanding of what motivates each employee, how can you determine which program or idea will be effective?  In fact, if you don’t understand the individual, there is a good chance the program will actually de-motivate your workers.

Here are some examples of different drivers you will see in each individual employee that can help you determine how to effectively motivate them.

Accomplishment:  These employees are motivated from within and respond to the satisfaction of achieving their goals.  They will assess their job requirements, analyze what they need to do to be a valuable employee and usually try to go above and beyond. They will stay with an organization as long as it is realistic that they can reach that sense of accomplishment.  They will probably not be very responsive to outside influences such as contests and awards.

Challenge:  These employees love to learn and grow.  They are probably easily bored and once they have mastered their job, they will move on if new challenges are not offered to them.  These employees are more likely to stay in their roles if there is an opportunity for advancement.

Recognition:  These employees strive to be recognized for their contributions.  This could be as simple as a mention in the corporate newsletter or a company-wide email noting their accomplishments.  If they feel their successes are not noticed, they will go work somewhere where they will be noticed.

Compensation:  These employees are driven by a bigger paycheck.  Bonuses, raises, gift cards, and other monetary results for their efforts will keep them happy and performing. 

Independence:  These employees are driven to perform by the knowledge that if they do, they will earn more freedom.  They will stay with a company who not only recognizes their efforts but rewards them by leaving them alone to do their jobs.  They will leave an organization where they feel micro-managed.

These are just a few examples of the many personalities that make up your team of employees.  Most people are motivated by a combination of these factors but you can see how if you happen to have a team who is mostly made up of people motivated by compensation, putting together a program that promises an article on the company intranet is not going to do much in getting your team to want to achieve their goals.

In some cases, you can hinder the performance of your employees.  If you have a team made up of people who want to be challenged and you continually reward them with time off instead, this could de-motivate them.  Why would they want to work hard if the effect is that they get to coast?

There is so much talk surrounding the implementation of programs to optimize your workforce but I challenge that you must KNOW your workforce first.  If you don’t assess the personalities involved you could wind up implementing programs that could ultimately cause your top talent to go elsewhere.