Tag: employee engagement

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Engagement Marketing

Wharton Study: Employee Satisfaction Contributes to Bottom Line

Concern for employees’ satisfaction is more than just a “feel good” aspect of management. Wharton professor Alex Edmans’ recent study confirms that happy workers positively impact financial success.

His study examined the stock returns of companies from Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” between 1998 and 2005 and found they had higher financial returns – more than double those of the overall market.

According to Edmans, “One might think this is an obvious relationship – that you don’t need to do a study showing that if workers are happy, the company performs better. But actually, it’s not that obvious. Traditional management theory [still] treats workers like any other input – get as much out of them as possible and pay them as little as you can get away with.”

Part of the problem is rooted in managers’ short-term thinking as they are measured and rewarded on short-term results. Investing in employees, however, is considered to be a long term proposition … despite the fact that it can pay off.

Edmans’ research is the latest of numerous studies citing the financial impact of employee satisfaction. One of my favorites is the 1997 classic The Service Profit Chain, by Harvard B-school professors James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser, and Leonard A. Schlesinger, that documented the self-reinforcing relationship between employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and the bottom line. While a lot has changed in the 10+ years since the book was published, the need to pay attention to employees is as important as ever.

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Engagement

Employee Engagement: “Untapped Potential”

My last post was about “Straight A Management” as a way to attract and retain young professionals. Here’s why it’s more important than ever for all employees.

Towers Perrin’s latest Global Workforce Study reported dismal findings on employee engagement levels. They define engagement as employees “willing to go the extra mile to help their companies succeed.”

The study found only 21% of employees surveyed are engaged in their work. (Here’s a scary thought: if only one out of five employees are fully engaged, what are the others up to?) And 38% of employees surveyed admitted they were partly to fully disengaged.

The research also confirmed the self-reinforcing relationship between strong employee engagement and the bottom line. It found companies with the highest levels of employee engagement had better results in increased operating income and earnings per share.

According to Towers Perrin Managing Director, Julie Gebauer, “ … at a time when companies are looking for every source of potential advantage, the workforce itself represents the largest reservoir of untapped potential.”

Hard to believe so many companies continue to overlook the obvious.

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Engagement

“Straight A Management”

For fascinating insight into the work attitudes of Gen X and Millennials, check out Rebecca Ryan’s Live First, Work Second. Ryan’s firm, Next Generation Consulting, is a market research firm focused on engaging young professionals.

I particularly liked Ryan’s formula for attracting and retaining talent in the 20 to 40 age cohort – “Straight-A Management” – as a response to what she cites as an epidemic of bad management. Based on David Richo’s work (How to Be an Adult in Relationships), Straight-A Management involves:

  • Acceptance – being accepting of diversity among employees.
  • Affection – creating a sense of affiliation & collegiality.
  • Allowance – supporting employees’ professional aspirations.
  • Appreciation – acknowledging employees’ contributions to their work.
  • Attention – being attentive and accessible.

Although the book is about attracting and retaining the young professionals, Ryan advocates the importance of people-centered management to engage employees of ALL ages. This approach is consistent with the time-honored advice that “you must engage employees’ heads and hearts if you want to get the best from your people.”

I couldn’t have said it better.

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Customer service Engagement

A True Story of Another Happy Employee

In my last post, a friend who’s spent most of her career in the nonprofit world shared her positive experience as a seasonal associate at the Village Square (Baltimore MD) Williams-Sonoma store. She’s not the only one surprised and delighted by the Williams-Sonoma retail culture there.

Here are excerpts from a letter that one of her co-workers, also a seasonal (part-time) associate, sent to the chain’s top management.

“For the last 21 years I have served in the Submarine Force and as a Naval Officer in the Cryptology community of the United States Navy. I pride myself on hard work, dedication to the mission, teamwork and integrity.  This December, however, I was shown the true meaning of the qualities above, when I took a Seasonal Job at one of your stores in Baltimore; specifically the store located at Village Square. I thought it might be fun to work in an environment that wasn’t classified, and since I have a passion for cooking I applied for a seasonal position. I wasn’t sure what to expect in the world of retail – renowned for high turnover, mediocre dedication and a demanding public – but I was eager to find out.

My experience was truly eye opening. Your store Manager Claudia and her team of full-time employees are nothing short of OUTSTANDING. I have a staff of over 130 people, and I attempted to evaluate this store from a manager’s perspective as I went about my daily tasks. Over and over and over — I was amazed at the teamwork, dedication and hard, hard, hard work these employees demonstrated. WOW!

This group is truly unique in that they understand and provide customer service – no matter what the circumstance.  Claudia’s attitude is that nothing is too big to handle or too small to pay attention to, and every single employee exemplifies this motto.

I was amazed that I could ask any full-time employee a question in any situation (store packed full of customers, a waiting line five deep) and I was ALWAYS greeted with a “No problem – how can I help?”

These employees ensure that the store is fully stocked, dishes washed, cash counted, floor swept, EVERYTHING in its correct place before they walk out the door every – single -night. I thought that maybe we could cheat a little after the mad rush of customers during the holidays – but it never happened.

Submarines, as you can imagine, are like fine tuned watches. Everything is routine and we can’t afford a mistake because it could mean the death of hundreds of men. I never thought I would work in an environment that had the same structure and system. I have to tell you — Claudia and her team exemplify the same characteristics.

I want to thank you for giving me such a great experience. I truly enjoyed myself – in fact – I looked forward to work and would always call to see if there were extra hours – it was that much fun!”

My reaction (to quote the author of this letter) is also “WOW!”

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Customer service Engagement

A True Story of a Happy Employee

I wanted to share this e-mail from a friend who raved about her work as a “seasonal associate” for the Williams Sonoma store in Cross Keys/Village Square, Baltimore MD. My friend is a professional who has worked in the nonprofit field for many years; she is currently in-between jobs as a result of burn-out.

She wrote: “I’ve not worked so hard or so happily in a long, long time. Despite the [hectic] holiday season … the culture is relaxed and positive and always human. Store managers are able and caring coaches; they listen to employees, meet employees’ scheduling needs wherever possible, and — get this — they THANK US for our day’s work as we leave the store each evening!  And, it’s not proforma, it’s sincere. Internal and external — these folks get it and they LIVE it!”

So I asked my friend if the culture was a reflection of local store management or the organization’s corporate culture? She told me it’s both: “The customer service philosophy is a company-wide one with frequent visits by secret shoppers who issue detailed reports. The approach to staff is more individual and Claudia, the manager of Cross Keys, and her staff are extraordinarily dedicated to creating a warm and motivating culture.”

I’ll have more to share in my next post from another seasonal associate with a truly unique perspective. So stay tuned …

Categories
Engagement

What are Your Employees’ New Year’s Resolutions?

It’s a new year and a fresh start full of new opportunities for everyone, including your employees.

According to Chris Woolard, Senior Consultant at Walker Information:

  • 40% of employees say they evaluate their career at the beginning of a new year
  • 32% say they’ll conduct a job search in 2008.

These stats are from Walker’s 2007 National Employee Loyalty Report. The study also found 44% of employees say there’s some likelihood they will not be working for the same employer in two years – this is up from 37% in the 2005 Report.

Granted, there are some people that employers would be happy to see leave. But the critical question is who among your better employees may be planning to exit? And what, if anything, are you doing to strengthen their loyalty and retention?

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Engagement Marketing

It’s NOT About the Holiday Bonus

Hold the merriment for a moment, something is happening in the workplace. Walker Information’s 2007 Loyalty in the Workplace study found employee disloyalty is on the rise. The percentage of “high risk” employees (36%) – those who plan to leave their employer within the next two years – now outnumbers the percentage of loyal employees (34%). This trend is frightening when you consider the costs of lost productivity and high turnover

Walker also reports that despite employees’ overall willingness to be involved in strategy development, just 44% indicated that they were involved. And only 50% of the employees felt senior leaders communicated the strategy well. (More evidence to support the need to listen to and engage employees as mentioned in my last post.)

There’s no one simple solution. According to Walker’s 2007 Loyalty Study, the top experiential drivers of employee loyalty include:

  • Fairness at work
  • Employer care and concern
  • Trust in employees
  • Feelings of accomplishment
  • Satisfaction day-to-day.

In other words, it takes more than just a once-a-year bonus to keep employees.

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Engagement Marketing

Listen & Engage Your People or Else …

In Lewis Green’s recent blog post (Leaders Reap the Benefits of the Reality They Create) about why nearly two-thirds of U.S. workers are considering switching employers, he says higher compensation is not the answer. It’s more about creating better organizations for everyone: “We should set our goals to create a great culture, to keep our promises to our customers, and to create a better world …” A key ingredient in improving one’s organization is to listen to both employees and customers and “hear what they’re saying.”

His sage advice is reinforced by John Maver who has found employee frustration with management is based on employees “not understanding or having ownership of the company’s actions” although employees are held accountable for results. In his article, Aligning Employees with the Strategic Plan, Maver advocates talking to employees, training them, and engaging them so they “understand that their work fits into the success of the organization and how it fits in. People [need to] see how [the company’s] strategy is going to make them better off through job security, promotions and pay increases … as well as making the company more successful.” In other words, communicate what’s in it for them and the mutual benefit for the organization.

Want to improve employee ownership of business results? Want better retention? Then listening to and engaging employees is well worth the effort.

Thanks to Toby Bloomberg for introducing me to Lewis Green & John Maver in a recent Diva Marketing post.

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Engagement Marketing

“Fun Works” (Really!)

If you’re interested in creating and maintaining a positive corporate culture, check out the 2nd edition (updated & expanded) of Fun Works: Creating Places Where People Love to Work by Leslie Yerkes.

Her book lays the foundation for the “fusion” of play and work. She showcases companies that consciously chose to integrate fun into their corporate culture, but it’s not an add-on or forced “let’s-take-a-break-and-play-a-game” type of fun ala The Office. According to Yerkes, “I don’t want to be put in charge of fun. That makes it a job and that would not be fun.”

Yerkes explores how different companies integrate fun into their normal course of business, creating positive experiences for employees and customers, to illustrate “there’s no right or wrong way to engage in serious fun.” She shares what she calls “Principles of Fun/Work Fusion” and the resulting benefits that include:

  • reduced employee absenteeism and better retention
  • a buffer for stress and potential burnout
  • enhanced employee commitment
  • stimulation of creativity & innovation
  • positive impact on productivity.

From my work in internal marketing, I’m familiar with the power of a corporate culture that encourages a sense of humor and appropriate play in the workplace. I found Fun Works a good reinforcement.

Trying to deal with my own workload pressures, I found this book a great reminder that I need to adjust my own Puritan Work Ethic (i.e., work first, play later) to achieve a better balance. (Maybe I need to take a break and catch up on my favorite cartoons … )

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Engagement

Engaging Employees – Not Just for Front Line Management

When it comes to employee engagement, most of us know the critical role of supervisor-to-employee communications, especially given the proximity of the supervisor and staff working relationship. But a recent study found companies overestimate the importance of this communication.

Watson Wyatt’s Work USA® 2006/2007 research found that “senior leadership and the frequency with which senior managers communicate with employees are far more important drivers of engagement.”

Not to minimize the role of supervisory communications, the study also found “High-engagement employees receive communication from [both] their supervisors and senior management far more frequently than low-engagement employees.”

The bottom line: to engage employees, communication is needed from ALL levels of management.