Sean Conrad, a senior product analyist at Halogen Software, takes a look at the role leadership must play to have an engaged and productive worforce.

Leadership entails aiding and supporting others in the accomplishments of common tasks. It’s about creating ways for people to contribute and display their talent to achieve a common goal, and a way for those in the leadership position to pass on their knowledge and experience to help them do so. Managing a team of individuals to make a business run smoothly requires good leadership to ensure that all employees are given an equal opportunity to showcase their talent and that they are well respected in the workplace. The creation of a positive work environment helps keep up employee satisfaction and motivation.

Numerous articles and studies lately are reporting a crisis in employee engagement and predicting a mass exodus of employees during the economic recovery. Employee engagement levels are registering at record lows, and it’s said that the majority of those with jobs are actively looking for new opportunities, or plan to do so as the job market improves.

The consequences of this are significant. Low employee engagement typically translates to poorer performance and productivity. And high turnover can mean a critical loss of skills, experience and corporate memory. Both of these can significantly impact an organization's ability to survive. While much is written about the manager’s role in employee engagement, and it’s true they can be a vital contributor, leaders need to acknowledge their own important role and take action to address the problems of employee engagement and retention.

Here are some fairly simple, tangible steps leaders can take to improve engagement and retention.

Start by Setting Goals at the Top
Organizational goals need to be set and communicated before the employee goal-setting process begins. In addition, these goals need to be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). Vague or evangelical goals like “Be Number One” aren’t useful. Be specific, spell it out, and hold the organization to the same level of accountability for its goals as you do your employees. Be sure to regularly communicate progress and/or any changes in direction.

Doing so gives employees visibility into how their work directly contributes to the organization's success. It gives them a sense of contribution and importance. Ever hear the story about a visitor to NASA headquarters who came across a janitor sweeping the floor. When he asked the janitor what he was doing, the janitor replied: "I'm helping to put a man on the moon." Now there’s an employee who understands the importance and context of his work!

Define and Develop Organizational Competencies
I know this is harder than it sounds, but it’s important for leaders to identify the competencies that set the organization apart from its competition. We tend to do this with product, services or technology, but sometimes forget to do it with competencies, which, when you think about it are the “how” we do things differently. What competencies are your competitive differentiators? These core competencies need to be something everyone in the organization develops and exhibits, but most especially your leaders.

Foster Employee Development
This means investing in your employees. Make sure there’s sufficient budget for every employee to receive some training that expands their skills and experience. But also encourage less formal learning, like: job shadowing, mentoring, lunch and learn sessions, volunteer work, cross-functional team work, on-the-job training, reference books, wiki sites, internal social networking tools, etc. These are all terrific ways to foster employee development. Research tells us that employees who are given development opportunities feel more valued and cared for by their organizations; they are more highly engaged and more likely to stay. Leaders play a critical role in creating this kind of environment and culture.

Practice Good Employee Performance Management
Often employee performance management is something that is done for employees at lower levels in the organization, but not for leaders. We forget that leaders are employees too, who need feedback on their performance, who need SMART goals, who need development plans to expand their skills and address skill gaps, who need coaching. Leaders need to lead by example and engage in the performance management process so they can maximize their own performance and effectively lead others. How can you expect your employees to engage with the process and take it seriously if you don’t?

All of these things help better connect leaders to their employees and bridge the hierarchical gap that often exists. Doing this can have a direct and tangible impact on employee engagement and retention. You lead by your presence and example as much as by your directions and words.

For the past 15 years Sean has focused on enabling organizations to successfully implement software solutions. An accredited Human Capital Strategist, Sean has worked with hundreds of HR professionals on defining their talent management strategy and execution.

Last update : 05-04-2011 18:31

Keywords : Are You Keeping Your Employees Engaged? Sean Conrad Halogen Software, Employee performance management

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