In addition to the contents of this book, you can access some really great, related material online that you can access anytime at www.dummies.com/extras/recognizingandengagingemployees. These extra web goodies are shorter than the book, and give you quick bit of information and guidance on-demand.
The eCheat Sheet gives you a quick rundown of 14 different engaged workplace behaviors, and the ways in which you should recognize your employees to get them. Sometimes, when a recognition issue arises, you’re right in the thick of things at work and may not have time to go back through this book to find the right chapter. The eCheat Sheet articles present info like how to recognize and incentivize employees from different generations in an efficient way so you can solve the problem and keep moving. To access the eCheat Sheet, go to www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/recognizingandengagingemployees.
You can also access some additional helpful bits of information, such as how to get certain business results through recognition, ways to recognize core values, do’s and don’ts of workplace recognition, trends that impact managers’ roles today, and ten common questions about rewards and recognition.
One of the great things about this book (and most For Dummies books) is that it’s written in a modular format in which each chapter stands on its own, enabling you to jump around in the book however you prefer. Of course, you can also read it through from beginning to end as well!
Along the way, if you have any questions or comments about what is discussed, please send me an email at [email protected], and I’ll do my best to answer your question. If you’re potentially interested in having me present or consult on the topics discussed in this book to your management team, association, or conference, you can contact me directly about that as well. My direct phone number is (858) 673-0690, and I’m based in sunny San Diego, California, USA. Thank you!
Part I
Enhancing Employee Engagement through Recognition
In this part …
✔ Discover the current climate of workplace engagement and determine whether your company aligns with current trends
✔ Identify different methods of keeping your employees engaged at work
✔ Get the ins and outs on how to maintain open lines of communication, involve employees in decisions, and provide employees the autonomy they need to do their best work
✔ Understand how recognition drives employee engagement and how you can use this phenomenon to enhance your company’s culture
Chapter 1
The Quest for Engagement
In This Chapter
▶ Uncovering what employee engagement is
▶ Recognizing why engagement is important
▶ Exploring ways to best impact engagement
Employee engagement has become an ever elusive holy grail in the management of human resources. It seems that the more companies strive to attain it, the more it slips from their grasp. But the quest continues because the topic is too important to ignore. Without an engaged staff, managers have a tough time accomplishing anything‚ let alone the best work possible. To reach and surpass business goals, managers and executives must make sure their employees are active, inspired, and feel good about their work.
Despite its importance, few organizations understand what employee engagement is and how it can drive business outcomes. According to the Aberdeen Group (a research firm specializing in employee engagement), engagement levels are dangerously low for many organizations. Now is the time to fix that. In this chapter, I give you a general overview of employee engagement and explore how some of the best organizations are addressing this topic with much success.
Some say that employee engagement is simply the use of discretionary effort by employees. Others say it’s all about employee connection or productivity or retention. Still others say that it’s simply a score on a survey. I feel employee engagement is the alignment of individual and organizational goals and values to better drive business results.
Engagement leads to productivity
As human resources consulting company Towers Watson has noted, “Four out of every five workers are not delivering their full potential to help their organizations succeed.” A big reason for that is that workers aren’t fully engaged. According to the Gallup Organization, when you compare nonengaged employees to highly engaged ones, you see that the highly engaged employees are
✔ 27 percent less prone to absenteeism
✔ 62 percent less likely to be involved in job accidents
✔ 51 percent less likely to leave their jobs
✔ 31 percent less likely to leave in high-turnover organizations
Organizations that make employee engagement a priority see increased organizational productivity, flexibility, and employee retention. Productivity doesn’t depend on the number of hours someone spends at work; what really matters is how engaged your employees are during those hours. Employees who are engaged in their work have a greater desire to work harder and are thus more productive.
Engagement creates trust
Most organizations need greater flexibility and agility to handle a changing competitive landscape. Employee engagement creates trust between the organization and its employees so that employees are more apt to be flexible and adapt to changing business circumstances and needs.
Sixty-five percent of hires in a recent year were contingent employees, that is, part-time or project-based workers. This trend is projected to represent 30 to 50 percent of the workforce in the future. In addition, 75 percent of all current organizations have employees who work remotely, and 45 percent of companies anticipate increasing that number. This increase in independent workers is forcing organizations to consider how best to manage both full-time and contingent workers within the same organization. Regardless of how their work is structured, organizations will continue to need workers who are engaged and dedicated to do their best to meet or exceed the needs and expectations of their jobs (I talk more about engaging contingent and other nontraditional workers in Chapters 4 and 5).
Engagement helps you retain top talent
As the U.S. economy continues to improve, and as current employees seek new job opportunities, holding on to talent will be critical, and doing so can have a major impact on the success of any organization. Engaged employees are more likely to stay longer in their jobs and bring resilience to their organizations. Top employees who are truly engaged remain more committed to staying in their organizations and are less willing to seek other opportunities. Head to Chapter 17 for more on how to better engage and retain high-potential