Mission Impossible? Maintaining motivation and engagement in challenging times

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1 Sharedexperience. Mission Impossible? Maintaining motivation and engagement in challenging times We want to feel like we belong and that our presence contributes something worthwhile. We want to know that when we contribute and are recognised for having done so. Most of us want to know that we can learn something new as we go. If we can tick all these boxes, we are motivated, productive and engaged. However, in order to understand how to improve motivation and engagement we must be clear on what they both are. Increase organisational resilience through employee engagement In 2012, Gallup found that business or work units that score in the top half of their organisation in employee engagement have nearly double the odds of success when compared with those in the bottom half. TWO THINGS CONTRIBUTE TO MOTIVATION FOR ANY TASK; WHAT YOU EXPECT FROM YOURSELF AND WHAT VALUE YOU PLACE ON ACHIEVING YOUR GOAL The Financial Times reported that a typical workforce shows paralysis and anxiety in the face of possible redundancies. Performance falls off, exacerbating the effects of recession. Highly engaged employees in contrast are much more resilient whether or not redundancies actually take place. Page 1 Jim Harter, who studies workers commitment to jobs at Gallup, was quoted in The Wall Street Journal in an article about the critical role employee engagement plays during tough times Businesses right now... they re trying to survive. And to survive you ve got to have some psychological resilience. You ve got to have employees who are positive despite the negative situations around them... What is motivation? In psychology, motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviours. Having a motivated workforce leads to: Increased output as a result of discretionary effort from workers; Improved quality as staff take pride in their work and require less supervision; Better staff retention and less absenteeism - workers want to stay with the organisation and are reluctant to take unnecessary days off work. There are two main methods by which managers can influence employee motivation: Monetary factors such as fair pay, overtime, bonuses, reward schemes, incentives, commission, performance related pay and share options. Non monetary factors such as improved working conditions, the chance to win promotion, job enrichment and enlargement, empowerment, team building and flexible working. There are several theories on motivation, however, American psychologist, Frederick Herzberg s Dual Structure Theory is most appropriate for the not-for-profit sector. His Motivation factors were the areas that he found could create high levels of satisfaction, and therefore would be motivators. He found that what he called Hygiene factors were reasons for dissatisfaction when they were not met. However, when they were met, this did not translate into satisfaction - simply no dissatisfaction. For example, someone who was very dissatisfied with their low pay would not necessarily identify high pay as a cause of satisfaction. So it s not just about the money. According to this model, money is not a motivator, but is a hygiene factor, which means it is probably a pretty big cause of dissatisfaction if it s not right. The theory suggests that satisfaction and, therefore, motivation, can be increased by enabling workers to take responsibility for what they do and giving them scope to achieve and develop their skill base. Intrinsic rewards can be derived from the work itself but only if the basic hygiene need of fair reward is taken care of. All the theories tell us that workers are different and that money is not the only motivator! Also in 2010, Ashridge Business School published the results of a survey in which they had suggested a list of key motivators and asked c. 1,400 respondents to rank each element in relation to (a) importance to themselves and (b) in terms of how their organisation viewed these as motivators for employees.

2 Motivation factors and hygiene factors are highlighted below. Motivation factors Achievement Recognition The work itself Responsibility Advancement and growth Hygiene factors Supervision Working conditions Interpersonal relationships Pay and job security Company policies The table below shows the rankings: Ranking of What we want The seven key factors for motivation and engagement 1 Challenging/interesting work 2 2 Opportunity to learn continuously and develop skills and knowledge 3 A high basic salary 6 4 Having the authority to run my own show 15 5 Clear career advancement within the organisation 6 Knowing my decisions have an impact on the organisation 7 Performance-related pay/incentive schemes 1 Ranking of What we think organisations rely on As can be seen there is a significant discrepancy between what managers want and what they believe their organisations rely on. What is engagement? The AON Hewitt 2012 report on Trends in Global Employee Engagement suggests that ensuring that employees invest discretionary effort in the right behaviours will be critical in delivering the business results needed in conditions of recession, stagnation, or rapid growth. Their model is very simple: Engagement is an individual psychological and behavioural state. Engaged employees: SAY - Consistently speak positively about the organisation to co-workers, potential employees, and customers STAY - Have an intense desire to be part of the organisation STRIVE - Exert extra effort and engage in behaviours that contribute to business success The CIPD suggests that successfully fostering employee engagement requires working with all areas of the business. Employers should especially pay attention to: Giving employees meaningful voice by facilitating upwards feedback, having respectful, adult-to-adult conversations and responding to employee views. Effective communications that keep employees well informed and reinforce the organisation s purpose. Acting as role models, so that employees can see that managers are committed to the organisation and uphold its values in how they act. Fair and just management processes for dealing with problems and supporting employee wellbeing. Forbes magazine says: Having the right engagement practices powered by understanding the drivers most meaningful to employees can work towards creating a more motivated and high-performing workforce. Committing to an intentional culture that s open, transparent, and enables employees to thrive is important for retaining top performers. Whether it s participating in community events, celebrating co-workers or fostering more open communication, organizations that build a culture where employee involvement matters can nail employee engagement and create a great place to work. Characteristics of engaging organisations Many will have come across the 2010, government-sponsored Employee Engagement Task Force report Engagement for Success, also known as The MacLeod report. Although there is no one size fits all approach and no master model for successful employee engagement, four common themes emerged from the extensive research captured in the report. These four enablers of engagement have proved to be useful in helping organisations assess the effectiveness of their approaches. Visible, empowering leadership providing a strong strategic narrative about the organisation, where it has come from and where it s going. Page 2

3 Engaging managers who focus their people and give them scope, treat their people as individuals and coach and stretch their people. There is employee voice throughout the organisation, for reinforcing and challenging views, between functions and externally, employees are seen as central to the solution. There is organisational integrity the stated values are reflected in day-to-day behaviours. There is no say do gap. One size does not fit all Employee engagement is organisation specific. What makes people tick, what problems they have, the challenges to and opportunities for building employee engagement vary depending on organisational culture (and that of the wider sector). Employers who achieve high scores on engagement tend to have developed a clear brand with an underlying culture which employees can experience and describe. There will be a set of clearly articulated values which are consistently communicated and are demonstrated and modelled by the top team and line managers. Assess your needs first You need to assess and measure employee attitudes in your organisation. This data can be used to identify areas in need of improvement and understand the particular drivers of employee engagement in your organisation. Surveys are the mainstay of employee insight, but some organisations have started to move away from them to what are considered to be more engaging methods including social media platforms where employees can interact with each other as well as with management. They can read and comment on their colleagues opinions in real time and gathering employee insight becomes a more active process, closely linking it to collaboration. PEOPLE JOIN ORGANISATIONS, BUT THEY LEAVE MANAGERS You can assess employees perceptions of qualities of work settings that play a role in determining whether they experience work engagement or burnout using a tool such as the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which addresses emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment to measure an individual s burnout. Work engagement can also be measured with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale where it is positively related with, but can nevertheless be differentiated from, similar constructs such as job involvement and organisational commitment, in-role and extra-role behaviour, personal initiative, Type A, and workaholism. Engaged workers are characterised by low levels of burnout, as well as by low levels of neuroticism and high levels of extraversion; also they enjoy good mental and physical health. The Job Demand-Resource Model assumes that every occupation has its own specific working characteristics, which can be classified in to two general categories: job demands and job resources. This constitutes an overarching model that may be applied to various occupational settings, irrespective of the particular demands and resources involved. The central assumption of the model is that job strain develops, irrespective of the type of job or occupation, when (certain) job demands are high and when (certain) job resources are limited. In contrast, work engagement is most likely when job resources are high, also in the face of high job demands. The model can be used as a tool for human resource management. Whichever tool you use, once you have identified the issues, you need to develop and communicate an action plan. If you do nothing in response to employee views this will seriously erode the trust you are building. An action plan for tougher times It is widely agreed that engagement arises from both personal and environmental sources as well as organisational factors, including values and culture, relationships with colleagues, environment and opportunities for development and growth. However, resources are tight, which means we are all depending upon significant discretionary effort from our people and this comes from engaged employees. In this difficult financial time we are all having to do more with less and change the way we operate. Two major factors which are said to impact engagement levels are challenging work and opinions being valued, neither of which has any cost associated. How competent are your line managers at dealing with issues of motivation and engagement? Identify those who may need additional training or coaching to improve their ability to engage successfully, particularly through regular open and honest dialogue with their team and having the confidence to empower direct reports to take ownership for adding value in difficult trading or operating conditions. If there is no money for pay rises, overtime, bonuses or incentive payments what else can you do? 1. Challenging work designed to build on strengths with opportunities for secondment, work shadowing, job rotation, flexible work, lateral moves, and on the job training to broaden and strengthen employee skills base thus building career agility and potentially job security 2. Clear targets and expectations and work related goals Page 3

4 3. Performance measurement processes that are transparent 4. Flexible work systems offering work/ life balance that meet employee needs 5. Participative management that keeps employees informed and involves them if possible 6. Positive reinforcement/recognition, fair treatment, empowerment 7. Coaching and mentoring 8. Learning and development opportunities, support and encouragement in-house knowledge sharing, lunch and learn, it doesn t even necessarily have to be on work related issues Engagement starts at the top Research surrounding employee involvement suggests that the root of employee disengagement is poor management where employees do not have good working relationships with their managers they are denied the opportunity to communicate and be involved in decision-making. Employees need managers who care and who are seen to be committed to their organisation. Only then can managers engage employees into putting discretionary effort into their work. However, the problem is that managers themselves need to be engaged before they can engage their subordinates; so levels of engagement need to rise in management before they can be expected to rise in the workforce. An employer cannot create engaged employees. However, they can set an organisational tone and provide the opportunities, impetus, and culture that encourage employees to be engaged. To be passionate about and have a real psychological contract with their organisation, to go the extra mile, to help their colleagues and to act as ambassador for the organisation, its cause, and what it is trying to do. Engaging Managers for Success MacLeod posits that Visible leadership can also be critical for engagement. An engaging manager is at the heart of success in engaging the workforce. Accenture s internal research has shown that 80% of the variation in engagement levels was down to the line manager. As a result, employees most important relationship at work is with their line manager; people join organisations, but they leave managers. The role of the manager is also key to the engagement levers with the greatest impact on discretionary effort identified by CLC research on this topic: understanding how to do one s job, a belief in the importance of it and understanding how to complete one s work. These are more critical in driving effort than any other day-to-day work factors including resources, job quality, suitability for role and personal goals. From a rich and varied set of submissions for this report, MacLeod concluded that three things are required from managers so that they become, and are seen to be, engaging managers. 1. Engaging managers offer clarity on what is expected from individual members of staff, which involves some stretch, and much appreciation and feedback/coaching and training; 2. They treat their people as individuals, with fairness and respect and with a concern for the employee s well-being; 3. Managers have an important role in ensuring that work is designed efficiently and effectively. Authentic desire to engage is crucial When employees fully understand the business strategy and where they fit in, they can focus their effort on achieving the organisation s goals. When organisations invite views, feedback and ideas from their people, they can find new ways of improving the business and making more of their resources. And when an organisation does what it says it will, and lives up to its values in practice, employees are more likely to deliver a compelling and consistent experience for customers. In order to convince your people this is not just a box-ticking exercise, engagement must be a cultural commitment, not a one off event. Leaders need to show their people how keen they are to involve them in the business. Engagement isn t about presentations or surveys; although these tactics have their place, they need to form part of a wider commitment to share information, seek feedback and encourage ideas from employees. Employees need to see that their views and opinions are wanted and that they are heard and responded to. Real engagement is underpinned by a belief in, and respect for, the role that employees play within the organisation. Page 4

5 Tips to improve employee engagement: 1. Face-to-face time and contact 2. Practical responses to feedback 3. Formal consultation embedded in day-to-day communication 4. Role-modeling behaviours consistent with values 5. Conversation: listening and responding - not telling and imparting 6. Trusting relationships need groundwork and take time to flourish 7. Size, structure and geography matter there is no one-fits-all 8. Design for the future of day-to-day communications 9. Training and development programmes 10. Engage with everyone; not just the loud shouters 11. Celebrate! 12. Keep managing performance Mission complete? It is hard to know when motivation and engagement have been achieved as there is no single outcome from effective engagement. You may notice it in a number of ways, from improved productivity to lower absence rates, enhanced customer service to increased employee retention. You may see any or all of these benefits. But you ll certainly notice the difference between a workforce that is engaged, committed and eager to help your goals, and one that is simply not at this level. The numerous ways that are available to motivate and engage as well as measure the improvement all work together to make motivation and engagement mission possible. At Buzzacott we can help you work with your people to improve motivation and engagement and make your mission possible. For further information please contact: Kimberly Bradshaw Managing Director, HR Consultancy e bradshawk@buzzacott.co.uk t This document is prepared to keep readers abreast of current developments, but is not intended to be a comprehensive statement of law or current Page 5 practice. Professional advice should be taken in light of your personal circumstances before any action is taken or refrained from. No liability is accepted for the opinions it contains, or for any errors or omissions. Buzzacott LLP is a limited liability partnership and is registered in England and Wales with registered number 0C Registered office is,. Buzzacott LLP December All rights reserved.