Is Employee Engagement Passé?

By Peter Barron Stark and Jane Flaherty

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3. Set New Goals

Today it’s business as “unusual.” Your work may have slowed down and project priorities may have shifted. There is a tendency to just hunker down and wait out the recession, hoping for mere survival. Unfortunately, hanging out, waiting for something to happen, is demoralizing. Now’s the time to set clearly defined goals, identify measurements of success, and then hold people accountable for accomplishing the goals.

To energize your team, get your employees involved in setting new goals. Give people a reason to come to work. Having clearly defined goals and measures of success helps people believe in the importance of their team and the work they do individually to contribute to the team/company’s success. Get enthused and be a role model of commitment to successfully achieving the goals.

4. Hold People Accountable

It’s hard for employees on the team to be fully engaged when they feel they are carrying a “slacker.” Coach the employee who isn’t pulling his/her fair share. If the coaching isn't effective, work with HR to help move that employee on/out so they can strategically undermine the success of one of your competitors. Working short-handed is much better than being held hostage by an under-performing employee. Effectively dealing with performance issues raises team morale and clearly shows that you are serious about your expectations.

5. Recognize Success and Find Reasons to Celebrate

Look for opportunities to celebrate team success, even small successes. Ask your team for their ideas about how to celebrate. Look for opportunities to uniquely recognize high performers. Get beyond the typical “great job” and find out what motivates that particular employee. To keep people engaged, get to know your employees’ career aspirations and help them achieve their goals. Remember, the high performers you recognize are the ones taking care of your customers, ensuring customer loyalty and profitability.

6. Ensure That Everyone Learns and Grows

So many things have changed in the business world. In this new environment, there is an opportunity to unlearn some old, less-effective behaviors and learn new ones. When people are learning and contributing, they feel positive and motivated, knowing that they are making a contribution. Expect learning and recognize employees who demonstrate growth.

—Peter Stark is president of the Peter Barron Stark Companies. Jane Flaherty is a senior consultant with the firm, which works with organizations to create a culture where employees love to come to work and customers love to do business. They offer a complete range of services, including employee opinion surveys, customer service surveys, leadership training, negotiation skills training, and management consulting. Their latest book, Engaged! How Leaders Build Organizations Where Employees Love to Come to Work, was published in March 2009. They can be reached at 877-727-6468 or peter@pbsconsulting.com.

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