LEADING THROUGH ENGAGEMENT: MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO

MOTIVATE AND RETAIN KEY TALENT

CHARLES COTTER

28 AUGUST 2014HILTON HOTEL, SANDTON

Defining employee engagement

Strategic imperative and context of employee engagement

Diagnosis of current levels of employee engagement

Building a business case for employee engagement (value and benefits)

Key drivers of employee engagement

Strategies to develop employee engagement

Best practice guidelines (retention, engagement and motivation)

KEY PRESENTATION TOPICS

LEADERSHIP WISH-LIST

Higher customer ratings (10%)

Higher levels of profitability (21%)

Higher levels of productivity (22%)

Lower levels of employee turnover (25%-65%)

Lower levels of safety incidents/accidents (48% employees and 41% customers)

Lower levels of stock shrinkage/theft (28%)

Lower levels of absenteeism (37%)

Higher quality (less defects) (41%)

PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES OFFERING

THE STRATEGIC VALUE OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Engagement happens when people are committed to their work and the organization and motivated to achieve high levels of performance

Engaged employees at work are positive, interested in and even excited about their jobs and are prepared to put discretionary effort into their work beyond the minimum to get it done

Say

Stay

Strive

DEFINING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

South African respondents recognized the following top five trends in terms of the importance index :

Leadership (77%) – readiness gap (40%) Retention and Engagement (71%) - readiness gap (43%) Diversity and Inclusion (70%) - readiness gap (45%) Workforce Capability (70%) - readiness gap (47%) Talent Acquisition and Access (69%) - readiness gap (35%)

Despite these being the most urgent trends, many of the companies surveyed expressed reservations about their ability to address these issues in the short-to-medium term.

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE AND CONTEXT – DELOITTE S.A HUMAN CAPITAL TRENDS

2014 REPORT

The Capability Gap index shows that Retention and Engagement has become an urgent challenge for leaders worldwide, especially in Brazil and China.

South Africa’s position shows the urgency for the trend, and the low level of readiness. South Africa (-29) is number six on the list.

This may suggest that organizations do not have the appropriate retention and talent strategies in place that cater for the continuously changing workplace and the changing demographics of the workforce.

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE AND CONTEXT – DELOITTE S.A HUMAN CAPITAL TRENDS

2014 REPORT

Are employees COMMITTED to the organization?

Are employees proud to work for the organization – company/brand ambassadors? CITIZEN

Do employees put forth extra/discretionary effort to help the organization and their colleagues achieve business objectives? COMRADE

Are employees innovative, enthusiastic and passionate about their work/jobs? CREATOR

Are employees CONNECTED (intellectually and emotionally) to their work/jobs – offer value add?

MEASUREMENT OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT - 5c INDICATORS

What do I get?

What do I give?

Do I belong?

How can we grow?

FOUR STAGES OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Engaged

Not Engaged

Actively Dis-Engaged

TYPES OF ENGAGED EMPLOYEES

71% of employees are disengaged:

45% are not engaged

26% are actively disengaged

29% of the workforce are engaged

CURRENT DEGREE OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Engaged29%

Not Engaged45%

Ac-tively dis-en-

gaged 26%

BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

According to Gallup (2013), employers can reap the following benefits of an engaged workforce:

202% better performance$11 billion is lost annually due to employee turnover Direct correlation to 9 key business performance

indicators

BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

According to Dale Carnegie research:

Relationship with the immediate supervisor

Senior Leadership’s ability to lead the company and communicate its goals

Organizational Pride - vision of organization and corporate social responsibility

KEY DRIVERS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Enthusiasm

Inspiration

Empowerment

Confidence

95% of employees who experience any three (3) of the above key emotions, are engaged

EMOTIONAL DRIVERS OF ENGAGEMENT

Work

People

Opportunities

Total rewards

Company practices

Quality of Work Life

KEY DRIVERS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

According to Gallup (2013), three (3) strategies to accelerate employee engagement are:

Select the Right People and Managers

Develop employees’ strengths

Enhance employees’ well-being

STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

According to Armstrong (2011), the five (5) strategies to enhance employee engagement are:

The work itself

The work environment

Leadership

Opportunities for personal growth

Opportunities to contribute

STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

According to Hackman & Oldham:

Skills variety

Task identity

Task significance

Autonomy

Feedback

JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL

According to Dale Carnegie research:

Senior managers must articulate the company vision in a clear and compelling way

Senior managers need to define organizational goals and objectives in realistic, clear and attainable manner

Managers should determine how each employee’s personal motivators align with organizational goals

Leaders should ensure that employees understand how their role contributes to the overall company success and should continuously demonstrate that employees have an impact on their work environment

Leaders should project a positive manner with employees, and be accessible

LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

According to Dale Carnegie research:

Managers should praise publicly, reprimand privately and coach team members who demonstrate disengaged behaviour

Employees should be encouraged to communicate clearly and provide input into the company vision

Direct managers should foster healthy relationships with employees

Managers should show that employees are valued as true contributors, giving them a sense of empowerment

Senior leaders should create a climate of trust and encourage managers to demonstrate that they care about employees (on personal level)

LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

CREATING TRUST IN LEADERSHIP

According to Gallup (2013) research, the best organizations deeply integrate employee engagement into the following four areas:

Strategy and Leadership Philosophy

Accountability and Performance

Communication and Knowledge Management

Development and on-going Learning Opportunities

BEST PRACTICE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

An effective retention plan calls for analysing more than just what causes employees to jump ship – talent managers must also understand which employees they are most at risk of losing.

According to Bersin by Deloitte research (2013) on employee engagement and retention, shows a variety of factors contribute to retention:

Managerial excellence

Recognition and rewards

Career opportunities

A flexible work environment

Great online tools

Corporate mission or purpose

DRIVERS OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION

In today’s digitally connected workplace, with the ever-changing dynamics of the environment and employees, organizations need to reinvent their retention and engagement strategies.

These strategies should take into account employee needs for career-life fit, the digital age of working differently and the high levels of employee migration and job mobility that are available today.

In the African context, retention and engagement strategies also need to be adapted to the cultural and various socio-economic conditions of the diverse workforce with consideration of the language and literacy barriers per employee demographic group.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: “TAKE-AWAYS” – RETENTION AND

ENGAGEMENT

Companies should shift from “holding” to “attracting and engaging by building commitment, aligning individual and corporate goals and providing engaging work and a culture of development and growth.”

The 2014 human capital trends demand change, investment and focus if companies in South Africa want to effectively compete both as employers of choice and as competitive businesses in a human-resource-constrained market.

Jobs in most sectors become increasingly knowledge intensive, and the cost of replacing capable workers is high. Companies already recognize that keeping good people and keeping them engaged and productive are two separate things.

The secret is designing a suite of systems (work, culture, flexibility and social and community purpose) that supports a talent experience that makes it easy for employees to be continually “signing up” for the work they do.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: “TAKE-AWAYS”– RETENTION AND ENGAGEMENT

Business Leaders need to transform from applying Compliance-driven (extrinsic) motivational strategies to Commitment-driven (intrinsic) strategies

Business Leaders need to adopt a targeted (rifle) approach and not a hit and miss (shotgun) approach to employee motivation and engagement

Business Leaders need to transform employees into associates (sense of ownership) and brand/company ambassadors

Business Leaders need to develop a bouquet of recognition-oriented strategies and de-emphasize the value of monetary rewards

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: “TAKE-AWAYS”– MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT

Businesses need to transform from Talent Management to becoming compelling Talent Magnets

Business Leaders need to transform from employee retention to building Passion and Purpose

Managers/Leaders are instrumental/pivotal to effective employee engagement practices

Businesses need to adopt an integrated approach/strategy to employee engagement

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: “TAKE-AWAYS” – MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR JOURNEY TO AN ENGAGED WORKFORCE

CHARLES COTTER

084 562 9446

charlescot@polka.co.za

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