April 6, 2011

Everyone talks about customer engagement, but what about employee engagement?

As a small-business owner, this may be the last topic on your mind. You are focused on attracting new customers, retaining current ones and simply making ends meet. But creating an environment that breeds motivated and enthusiastic employees will pay off.

“If you have satisfied employees, they will treat your customers better. Then your customers will come back and refer you to others,” says Jack Zenger, author of The Extraordinary Leader. “We’ve done several studies on this topic and always found that when you improve employee engagement, you improve customer satisfaction—which then turns into increased revenue.” 

Not sure how to implement employee engagement? Try following these rules.

1: Show real concern

As the owner of your business, you work hard to show compassion and understanding for your employees and, by most counts, they love you. But how are your middle managers treating client-facing staff?

“It is incredibly important to show concern for how immediate supervisors treat employees,” Zenger says, adding that his employee engagement tips come from a blog post written by his business partner, Joe Folkman. “Sometimes we tolerate managers yelling at treating others unfairly. As a small business owner, you can’t do that.”

2: Share information

Gone are the days of hiding bad news from employees and instituting stiff organizational hierarchy practices.

“Employees need to feel like they are insiders, rather than outsiders,” says Keith Ayers, president of Integro Leadership Institute, a business consultancy based in Sydney, Australia. “They want to be involved in decision making. This extends out to physical things as simple as preferred parking spots for leadership members. This is an example of something that can make someone feel as if they sit on the outside.”

3: Communicate job purpose

Let's say you come in Monday morning to find your administrative assistant looking blue and just going through the motions. How do you perk him or her up and make them excited about their day-to-day tasks?

“Communicate the purpose of their work; how it brings value to the end customer,” says Ayers. “Everyone’s job contributes value to someone. It is important to remind people of this. Focus on the purpose of the work rather than just job activities."

4: Listen

Have you ever worked for someone who came in, did their work, barked orders at subordinates and left? Chances are, you didn’t work there for long. Your dissatisfaction may have stemmed from their lack of listening skills.

“Business owners tend to be a little outspoken and aggressive,” says Ron Orleans, CEO of GiftsOnTime.com, an online gift service based out of Scituate, Massachusetts. “Without knowing it, they may not be letting employees get a word in. Next time you are talking to your employee, stop speaking and let them talk to you. It is vital to make an employee feel heard.

“Ask employees for their feedback and solicit their ideas for improving the business—regardless of their title. Every employee wants to feel valued and feel like they are an important member of a team.”

5: Invest in professional development

Many moons ago, I worked in a role where I yearned to better my skills. On my six-month anniversary, I asked Mr. Boss if I could attend a professional development seminar. He said no. I asked again and again until, finally, I just gave up. My productivity went down and I started developing feelings of apathy toward the organization.

“People are like bicycle riders; if you are not moving forward, it is easy to fall over,” Zenger says. “Educational opportunities are really important.

“You don’t have to spend a lot of money—start off with an internal training seminar and ask people to bring brown bag lunches. It will make people’s day to learn something new about their job or the organization.”

6: Say "thanks"

Think back to the last time you received a hand-written thank you card. Didn’t it make you feel great?

“Take time to recognize your staff’s hard work and let them know it is sincerely appreciated,” suggests Orleans. “Try to remember important dates such as work anniversaries. Then go over to them, in person, and say congratulations. Tell them how great it is to work with them. Or write them a thank-you note. That personal touch will go a long way.”

Here are a few great books on employee engagement.

• Engaging the Hearts and Minds of All Your Employees: How to Ignite Passionate Performance for Better Business Results by Lee J. Colan

• Employee Engagement: A Roadmap for Creating Profits, Optimizing Performance, and Increasing Loyalty by Brad Federman

• Carrots and Sticks Don't Work: Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT by Paul L. Marciano

Join the conversation ( 4 )

• Channing Smith 2 months ago

  

  Best video on improving employee engagement
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch5m-U7uvYk

  • Katie Morell 2 months ago

    

    Thanks for your comment, Channing. Great video!

• Kathy Klotz-Guest 10 months ago

  

  I enjoyed the article, thank you.
  
  I would also like to add to point number 3 above and I recognize this article wasn't meant to be exhaustive. It's not enough to communicate job purpose to employees; increased engagement involves letting employees have some say in defining what is meaningful to them and having some say in how they perform that work. Dan Pink in his book, "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us," has it right based on my experience: employees want mastery, purpose and autonomy in order to feel engaged.
  
  Employees want to be creative in *how* they do their work. Everyone is creative because creativity does not mean artistry. Companies that give employees a degree of creative autonomy in their work have seen engagement rise (IDEO, 3M (the 15% rule that many companies have adopted), etc., the list goes on). Employees also need to be doing work that they feel is meaningful and, thus, has a greater purpose - not just because their boss says it is so. Employees need to see executives walk the talk and live out the values on the company letterhead and coffee mugs! This gets to the heart of being respected. Don't tell employees how much they are respected; SHOW them. Prove it! Show me how much my work matters and is appreciated.
  
  Finally, the issue of mastery becomes very important. In all my years of managing people and products, I never met anyone who didn't want to do work that was challenging and helped them to grow professionally. People also want to do work that uses their talents. Talented people in the wrong job (for their skills) can become disengaged because of the misalignment.
  
  Moreover, some of the most important ways/tools to increase employee engagement are free. Praise, thanks, and recognition don't cost anything, and yet companies are stingy with them! Engaged employees create happier customers. Go figure!;-)
  
  Employee engagement is such a key issue. Thanks for the important reminder.
  
  
  
  
  

  • Katie Morell 2 months ago

    

    Glad you liked the article, Kathy. Thanks for your additional comments.