Engaging Employees

1. Engaging Employees Impacting Employees to Stay, Perform, Influence and Recommend Kelly Groehler, APR

2. “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” • “If you are going to treat customers first, you must treat employees more first.”

3. Employees More First? • 83% of workers plan to look for a new job when economy heats up • 35% of “top performing” employees are at “high risk” of leaving their jobs • 60% of workers feel pressure to work too much • 83% of employees want more time with their families • 56% of workers are either somewhat or completely dissatisfied with their jobs Source: 12/2003, “CNN/Money”, based on data from Society for Human Resource Professionals, Sibson Consulting, Gallup, Monster.com

4. Learning Objectives • Strengthen the value of employees • Discover the prevalence of communication opportunities • Understand how effective communication strategies build engagement and achieve outcomes

5. Today’s Environment Presents Significant Challenges… • Performance-driven everything… “what have you done for me today?” • Relentless pressure for profitable results • RIFs • Higher compliance costs • Escalating health care costs • Performance-based environments and systems (e.g. compensation) • Increasingly intense competition • Products & services • Talent • Investment capital • Battered institutional trust, credibility and reputation • Ultra access to information (or misinformation) • Everybody is a communicator • Altered lifestyles • Intense mind-share competition

6. …In Which Communication Opportunities Are Prevalent “Top 10 Barriers to Effective Supply Chain Management” 1. Inadequate information-sharing 2. Poor/conflicting measurement 3. Inconsistent operating goals 4. Organizational culture 5. Resistance to change - lack of trust 6. Poor alliance management practices 7. Lack of supply chain vision/understanding 8. Lack of managerial commitment 9. Constrained resources 10. No employee passion/empowerment “Achieving World-Class Supply Chain Alignment” Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies

7. Effective Communication Builds Engagement, Achieves Outcomes INFORM & EDUCATE BELIEVE & DO Awareness Understanding Acceptance Engagement Engaged employees significantly more likely to achieve desired outcomes

8. Attitudes of U.S. Workforce 100 million employees Engaged Employees Main Source of Profit Increase Cost of Retaining Actively Disengaged = $300 billion Why Engagement Matters! • 38% higher customer satisfaction • 22% higher productivity • 27% higher profits Source: Gallup Organization

9. Perform Stay Influence COMMUNICATION PROCESSES LEADERSHIP CULTURE Recommend Effective Communication Builds Engagement, Achieves Outcomes Engagement

10. HOW CAN I CONTRIBUTE/HELP? • Engagement • Actions • Results HOW AM I DOING? • Skills assessment • Performance review Communication Framework to Drive Employee Engagement Performance effectiveness is maximized when all five information needs are successfully communicated Source: Roger D’Aprix HOW ARE WE DOING? WHERE ARE WE GOING? • Financial results • Market results • Operational results • Strategic direction • Local • BU/group • Company Organizational WHAT’S MY JOB? DOES ANYBODY CARE? • Reward & recognition • Total compensation • Career development • Affiliation/loyalty • Satisfaction • Job clarity (across roles/units/groups) • Aligned objectives • Skills development Individual

11. Engagement Factors Impacted by Communication Effectiveness Effectiveness of Supervisor Open, two-way Communication Communication Priority Integrity/ Trust Understanding Business Strategy Teamwork & Collaboration Attitude Toward Job, Company Commitment// Personal Action Reward & Recognition Source: Padilla Speer Beardsley

12. Key Performance Metrics Driven by an Engaged Workforce • Retention • Affiliation • Recruiting • Internal job movements • Performance ratings • Employee satisfaction Stay Perform Influence Recommend • Growth • Profitability • Productivity • Service levels • Quality • Speed • Innovation • Customer satisfaction • Organization achievement and momentum • Growth • Profitability • Productivity • Service levels • Quality • Speed • Innovation • Customer satisfaction • Prospective customers and partners • Prospective employees • Prospective investors • Public opinion

13. Effective Communication and Engaged Employees Accelerate Adoption Late Majority Early Adopter Early Majority Innovator Laggard Source: Everett Rodgers

14. Application - Case Studies Case Study Disclaimers • Learn from failures and successes • Be careful about “trying this at home” #1: Culture Change #2: Critical Issues #3: Operational Efficiency

15. Case Study #1: Culture Change Outcomes (metrics): • Revenue growth (with future product mix) • Profitability (re-allocate resources to new product lines) • Employee sat, Customer sat (define new culture; adapt to change) Key Engagement Factors: • Financial services industry • Specialized segment • Top 5 player, competing against industry heavyweight • Initially family-owned, now led by new team of “outsiders” • Strong employee ownership history • Profitable on ongoing basis, led by diversification strategy • Downsized operations Understanding Business Strategy Attitude Toward Job, Company Empowerment/ Line of Sight

16. Case Study #1: Culture Change Communication Strategies: • Assess employee engagement factors on regular basis • Work with leadership development group participants to analyze and build roadmap • Correlate (systemic) with customer satisfaction data • Ongoing counsel with senior leadership • Determine degree of internal and external change, both in business operations and culture • Identify and execute their leadership communication roles • Dialogue-based teaching with employees and customers • “New” business strategy: What it is? Why this is our path now? • Culture reset: What stays? What is new? How will we cross this bridge?

17. Case Study #2: Critical Issues Goals (& metrics): • Maintain service quality (customer sat, quality) • Move ahead with new central library, consolidate facilities and services (productivity, “profitability,” et al) • Expand services (customer sat, recruiting/retention) Key Engagement Factors: • Municipal service • New $100 million-plus central library • Improve efficiencies and cost-savings • Approved by voter referendum in 2000 • Recommended branch closings, subject to approval vote • Driven by loss of state-funded revenue • “Save our library” vs. “Save our library system” • New director with public policy background, no library background Organizational Trust Communication Priority Understanding of Business Strategy

18. Case Study #2: Critical Issues Communication Strategies: • Involved all employees in change process, with regular updates and input roles in the planning process • Developed facilitated scenario planning (with employees and Library Board) • Extensive outreach to key external constituencies (patrons, elected officials, media), again involving employees • What services are most critical and beneficial • Leverage the “fresh” perspective and public policy experience of new library director • Internally  significant visibility, empathy, demonstrated ability • Externally  key spokesperson

19. Case Study #3: Operational Efficiency Goals (& metrics): • Decrease production costs (productivity, profitability) • Improve quality and safety (customer sat, safety) • Be a Top 5 player (market position) Key Engagement Factors: • Food and beverage industry • Top 10 player, competing against industry heavyweights • Industry being globalized and consolidated • Opportunity to improve efficiency, thereby making company stronger • Ongoing focus of continuous improvement Communication Effectiveness of Supervisor Attitude Toward Job, Company Teamwork & Collaboration Reward & Recognition

20. Case Study #3: Operational Efficiency Communication Strategies: • Messaging to be “simple, relevant and redundant” • Build the “burning platform” and avoid “program of the month” language • Reach (access and understanding) everyone in the organization • Develop influencing and teaching skills of key implementers and enablers • To build process change, there’s need to drive behavior change • Transfer lessons learned and success stories • Build on culture of relationships and recognition • Openly discuss setbacks; celebrate early wins • Focus on pride and respect of workforce in contributing to significant organizational effort

21. Summary • Strengthen the value of employees (more first!) • Discover (and act on) the prevalence of communication opportunities • Focus on outcomes (not outputs!) • Make consistency more important than “volume” • Be genuine & real • Courageously advocate for discomfort regarding communication “The basic problem with communication is the illusion it’s completed.”- George Bernard Shaw

22. Suggested Readings • “The Leadership Solution” (Jim Shaffer) • Absolute Honesty (Larry Johnson, Bob Phillips) • “Execution” (Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan) • “Fish!” (Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, John Christensen) • Amusing Ourselves to Death (Neil Postman) • You’re In Charge – Now What? (Thomas Neff, James Citrin)

23. Questions? Thank you!