Building employee engagement

Written by
Ron Jones, Ron Jones Consulting
Workplace Management: Strategy & Advice

Almost every article on employee engagement refers to the importance of culture.

I have struggled at times with understanding how the culture of the organisation is really defined, since so much of it seems to come from the approach adopted by line managers. We constantly claim that ‘people join organisations, but leave managers’.

This suggests that the interpretation and practice of the corporate culture adopted by managers is a key determinant in the day to day experience of staff and how they describe the culture. The actions and behaviour of managers will influence each staff member’s description of the culture as they experience that behaviour.

My work with a wide range of organisations suggests that there are really 5 areas of influence which ultimately determine the level of engagement.

These are Purpose and Direction, Values and Behaviour, Consistent Treatment, Empathy and Responsiveness, Effective Communication.

For each manager, there is a fundamental need to build a level of confidence and trust with staff around their commitment to these areas of influence.

This will mean taking action to do the following:

Purpose and Direction - Be clear about the purpose and direction of the organisation
Managers should know what the business model is and how that impacts on the area they manage. Knowing how each component part of the business links to others is vital in creating a sense of involvement and excitement. All companies have a story about what they do, the name, their history: these should be told with passion.

Values and Behaviour - Be clear about the values and behaviours
Managers need to model and demonstrate behaviours that clearly associate them as having a strong values base which is aligned to the organisation’s core values and beliefs. The extent to which staff feel welcome and included is also a key outcome of the behaviour of managers.

Consistent Treatment - Be consistent in your treatment of staff
All treatment of staff should reflect the values and be capable of a test of consistency: this particularly applies to issues such as to the types of behaviour that are rewarded and those that are not.

Empathy and Responsiveness - Be engaged in the work issues that staff deal with or are concerned about
Managers need to enquire about what is happening and acknowledge and respond to the concerns of staff. Simple displays of recognition and communicating to staff about successes - and even failures – are important in demonstrating understanding and creating a strong sense of pride.

Effective Communication - Be open and authentic in your communication
Managers often need to be trained in how to be effective in their written and verbal communication. The ability to convey a message authentically is a vital feature of establishing and building trust.

There may be other equally important features of building and sustaining employee engagement, however these five areas have been the most significant in my experience.

The challenge within our organisations is to recognise their importance and establish the basis on which we appoint people demonstrating these characteristics into leadership roles.