Beth SchaeferSeptember 26, 2022

Six Things You Can Skip to Improve Employee Engagement

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Beth Schaefer | IPD Director

Have you noted the uptick in employee engagement information since we started this series of articles?  Chicken or Egg?

Is everyone suddenly more interested in Employee Engagement – or – because we now have Employee Engagement on our radar, we notice it more?

Case in point: This article appeared in the Huffington Post, You Could Be ‘Quiet Quitting’ Your Job And Not Even Know It.

I heard this article being discussed on the radio and sought it out because when I was at a BBQ for the National Night Out, several of my neighbors and I were discussing a group of workers we were calling the slowly retiring.

I, of course, immediately connected ‘Quiet Quitters’ and ‘The Slowly Retiring’ to Employee Engagement.

My previous article in this series gave 6 actions that immediate supervisors could take to immediately increase employee engagement since they are the ones who have the most influence on engagement.

This article will discuss the 6 myths your organization should avoid if it wants to help those immediate supervisors maintain engaged employees.

Myth 1: Supervisors are too busy for training

Many supervisors are promoted for their technical skills and knowledge.   They are experts in the work, not necessarily, experts in researched proven aspects of leadership.  Research says that 70% of employee engagement is in the hands of the immediate supervisor, but only 26% of leaders say that employee engagement is part of their job that requires daily attention.

My note: Do the math: quite a gap between 70% and 26%.  If your organization believes that not taking time to train supervisors is doing them a favor, you should rethink.  Yes, they are busy – very busy, but if you structure your training so that it:

  • targets their needs
  • helps them solve issues they find challenging
  • provides time to interact and get to know each other
  • allows them to have some fun,

then, they will appreciate the new skills and knowledge.  They may gripe on the way into training, but they should be re-energized on the way out.

Myth 2: We all need to agree on the perfect definition and measurement of Employee Engagement before we begin

The ultimate measurement of employee engagement is to simply see if your employee retention rate improves.

My notes: Just start.  Share the 6 quick start tips with your supervisors.

With that said, having some training where you help your supervisors with engagement best practices and define what might be “in scope” or what might be “out of scope” on engagement tactics could be a helpful discussion for supervisors.   Help supervisors determine what is feasible, viable, and desirable for employee recognition. The intersection of those three is the sweet spot for engagement.

Myth 3: Engagement surveys are the first step for improving employee engagement

Actually, most engagement survey results have only a small impact improving employee engagement.

My notes: Move forward without the survey.  A common misstep of many organizations is to spend a bunch of time, money, and resources on an engagement survey and results sharing, but then run out of steam (or time, money, and resources) to form and implement an action plan that addresses engagement.  Suddenly, it is time for the next survey without any meaningful interventions having taken place since the last one was issued.  Interventions change survey results, not survey-taking.

Myth 4: Employee Engagement is fueled by high level inspirational speeches from CEO’s

Speeches do not do any harm, but no need to wait for a formal launch with the CEO.

My notes: Skip the speech.  Spend the time equipping supervisors and let them start.   Even if the CEO does not even believe in employee engagement, a supervisor can still implement the 6 quick start tips and have a positive effect on their staff and their engagement.

Myth 5: Internal branding and messaging will increase employee engagement

Research says that employees will stay and be engaged if they enjoy the people they work with.  They need coworker friends to connect them to the company culture.

My notes: Put your energy into creating spaces that allow for interaction and fun.  Do not think that the employee newsletter (while informative) will generate excitement needed for long-term employee retention.

Myth 6: Employees’ affection can be bought

If we have enough gifts and material incentives for achieving targets, employees will work hard to accumulate those things.

My notes: Focus on creating a career pathway.  While most employees would not turn away gifts and perks, these alone will not hold them to a position where they see no opportunity for growth and/or do not enjoy working with their team.  I know what you want to tell me: some employee do not want to move on.  That is OK.  The conversation will still acknowledge their talents and contributions to the organization. Still a win.

What Can the Organization Do?

If HR is not excited about leaving employee engagement to immediate supervisors, one action item they can do to help (besides training and equipping immediate supervisors) is to ensure that supervisors write individual employee performance goals that connect to the organization’s performance goals.  That way, if most individual employees are meeting their performance goals and the organization is under-performing, leaders will at least know that it is not an employee performance or employee engagement issue.   No survey needed.

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Beth SchaeferJuly 28, 2022

Are We Moving Employees from Stakeholders to Customers?

Beth Schaefer – IPD Director

Note: This is the third blog in the Employee Engagement Series.

The first article looked at the origin of the Employee Engagement theory, and the second article defined the concept.

During this ongoing time of The Great Resignation, have your staff and employees moved from being stakeholders in the work of the organization to being customers of your organization?

I mean becoming customers in the sense that their voice is becoming a stronger and stronger consideration and factor in how you do business and structure your policies and work.

Attracting and retaining employees appears to be a stumbling block to many businesses attempting to return to pre-pandemic levels of building products, managing supply chains, and/or serving customers.

Just in my suburban neighborhood:

  • The DQ does not have enough employees to open its indoor service – Even though post-Covid would allow them to open indoor seating, they still offer only drive-thru, and in this heat wave, that line is 20 cars deep. I have yet to get in line.
  • The Papa Murphy’s in my neighborhood closes at 6 pm. Correct, no pizza after 6 pm.  I seldom get my pizza ordered on time.
  • My local pub is no longer open on Sundays and Mondays so that their team can have “a weekend.” I miss Sunday dinners and not having to cook after a day of working in the yard.
  • Target had checkout lines 6 deep early on a Sunday morning and many empty shelves. For the past month, I have been trying to purchase legal pads only to find the shelf empty.  And, I admit, when they were finally there, I hoarded and took 3 instead of just the 1 I needed at the moment.
  • Help Wanted signs, banners, and flyers are on pretty much every large and small business in my suburb. Yes, I am considering a side hack to add some extra income…

I am sure that you also have examples of supply chain shortages, shorter hours, and longer lines due to an employee shortage.

This is not just a dilemma for retail and hospitality, I know from talking with friends, family, and coworkers that many are burned out in their roles in teaching and child care, healthcare, IT, and marketing as they continue to cover for unfilled positions for many months at a time.  Taking a vacation requires planning months before you depart and a month of catch-up when you return.

These shortages have many employers rethinking what they can offer employees.  At some point, the hourly pay or weekly salary rate may not be enough; you need to have something extra special to retain talent – is that something extra special in Employee Engagement?

If you have not sipped from the cup of Employee Engagement yet, this may be your time to give it a try.   Here is a starter kit from the experts with notes from me.

  1. 70% of the most effective employee engagement occurs with the immediate supervisor.  If you are an immediate supervisor, you can use these ideas to start building employee engagement with your team.

My note:  If you manage immediate supervisors, you may want to loop them in with some engagement training or some engagement information or… use these tactics with them to increase their engagement levels…

  1. Thank your employees for the work they do. Be specific.  Be in the moment.  Be real.

My note: To me, this would include publicly praising your team and giving them credit while you take a step back from the spotlight.

  1. Communicate as much as you can, as soon as you can, with as much detail as you can about the business, the problems, and the achievements.

My note: I think this demonstrates trust and respect; however, you also need to be respectful of the messaging your organization wants you to send.  I am also a fan of well-orchestrated messaging.

  1. Bring employees in on problems, listen to them, and foster a solution-centered or solution-focused department and team.

My note:  I think this demonstrates trust and respect and helps to create a workplace based on reality, but positive.

  1. Keep your promises. Do not promise something you cannot deliver.  If you say you are going to do it, do it.

My note: I would add – do it promptly.

  1. Create downtime for employees to get to know each other on a personal level. When a crisis occurs, people who care about each other are more likely to pitch in and help one another – whether one person is having a tough day or the whole team is having a tough day or it’s your busy season.

My note: You also need to take time to get to know your team members and staff.  I have more to say on this topic, but realize that it needs its article.  Look for an upcoming article on The Power of Workplace Chit Chat.

Using Employee Engagement tactics to create an environment where people want to work may be your next best strategy for retaining your people – especially if you cannot afford a salary bidding war.

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Beth SchaeferJune 30, 2021

Return-to-Work Phobia

What can leaders can do to ease the fear of returning to work after Covid?

Many people are dreading the return to work: the commute, unnecessary in-person meetings, sitting a cubicle, eating lunch at their desk…

 

For over a year, public health messaging has been that the safest place to be is your home, so it is hard to turn off that messaging just because your cubicle wants you back. Only 44% of workers are comfortable going to a workplace outside their homes.  2/3 thirds have anxiety over returning to work.

Some of the reasons for this anxiety are:

  • Fear of infection – Many households have someone vulnerable to Covid due to underlying health issues
  • Grieving – 600,000+ people died of Covid, which means many more of us are still adjusting to life without a family member compared to a non-pandemic time
  • Distrust of medical institution recommendations – Changing science recommendations as we learned more about the virus, plus a history of inadequate care for Black and Brown people, lead some to distrust any recommendations, including the Covid vaccine
  • Daycare shortage – Many in-home daycares went out of business, and large centers are having trouble hiring staff
  • Isolation = depression – The isolation needed for the pandemic could have led to undiagnosed or unidentified depression, so for some, anxiety about returning to work may be a symptom of something larger
  • Resistance to change – Always a certain percentage of people who just do not want change or are not sure what they want their post-pandemic normal to be – Read more about this in the article Yes, We are There! Or Are We There Yet?

 

Many people are voting with their feet by leaving jobs that require them to transition back to the cube lifestyle and choosing jobs that offer a more flexible hybrid model or to not work at all.

 

While many decisions about the transition back to the office are made by the organization, many of those decisions focus on the physical environment: protective plexiglass, higher cube walls, new barriers, mask rules, installation of numerous sanitizer dispensers, reduced room occupancy rate, temperature screenings, etc.

 

This means that supervisors and managers need to focus on the emotional needs and recognize the true trauma that many faced and are still facing because of the pandemic.  While many leaders may feel that handling staff emotions falls outside their roles, research will tell you that employees who feel their concerns and well-being are being addressed by employers are far, far less likely to seek new employment.  And, having flexible policies to accommodate the transition will help you hire all those people leaving their inflexible roles.

 

Five Actions for Leaders to Manage Return-to-Work Phobia After COVID

 

Proactively address concerns with your team members:

  • When you sense or hear statements that relate to Return-to-Work anxiety, have a conversation with the person and ask that person to bring the root cause and suggestions for addressing it to you.
  • If someone proactively brings up concerns, be honest and sincere about finding solutions within the organization’s policies.
  • Remind employees about Employee Assistance Programs.
  • Encourage employees to know and pay attention to their stress warnings: clenched jaw, quick breathing, fidgeting, neck or shoulder pain, etc.

       

      Rethink your communication plan:

      • Communicate the organization’s return-to-work expectations to your staff. Even if the organization sends a mass message, reiterate what that means for your team.
      • If the organization’s expectations are not clear to you, request more communication from your leadership.
      • Update frequently. We are still in a time of new information and new guidelines; keep updating as necessary.
      • If you have some people still working from home, make sure you include them in all communications. One of the biggest complaints from remote workers is lack of information from their leaders.
      • Consider daily check-ins with staff, not on work getting done, but on how they are feeling. Keep your finger on the pulse of their health, families’ health needs, caregiving to extended family, changes in daycare, and school situations.  Let people know that it is OK to not feel OK.

       

      Experiment on working models, if you can:

      • If you do not need to nail down a new working model, take time now to try out different modes, schedules, and combinations to find the one that works best for your team.
      • Offer the option of an iterative change back to the office.
      • Invite your staff to provide suggestions and feedback on creating a safe workspace to add a sense of control.
      • Be prepared for special accommodations, flexible work time, modified work schedule. If in a union environment, also pay attention to contract constraints, and know that accommodations for one person without official paperwork may need to extend to all.
      • Be flexible and realistic with expectations. Even though people are returning to the familiar, it is still a change, and normal change curve phases (Denial, Resistance, Acceptance, Commitment) will apply.

         

        Be optimistic:

        • Optimism, joy, gratitude, and humor can spread the same way that fear and anxiety is spread.
        • Reinstate the fun aspects of being in the office together. Celebrations, ordering lunch in, wearing jerseys for game days, etc.
        • Consider how to virtually loop in those who work from home to have fun too.
        • Give your team time to interact without you. Colleagues are more excited about seeing each other than they are for more face-time with their boss.

           

          Focus on wellness for yourself (and encourage your staff to do the same):

          • As always, practice a healthy diet, get plenty of sleep, and get some exercise.
          • Fear can weaken your immune system. Eliminate or limit activities that increase anxiety, such as:
          • Watching a news show (look for 5- minute news summary option)
          • Having conversations that only focus on negativity and fear

             

            Using these 5 strategies can help you reduce your concerns and the concerns of your staff as you transition back to the workplace.

             

             

            Beth Schaefer,

            IPD Director

             

            Sources
            • After a Year of Remote Life, New Anxiety Emerges; Returning to Work by Paul Caine from PBS in Chicago
            • Back to the Office Anxiety? How to Keep Your Fears in Check by Dr. Margie Warrell from Forbes
            • Child Care Crisis will Linger After Pandemic by Pat Baustian and Heidi Omerza from Star Tribune
            • Do You Have a Fear of Returning to the Office? By Emma Beddington from The Guardian
            • Why fear is the greatest obstacle to Returning to Work? by Allison Velex from SHRM
            • Years of Medical Abuse Make Black Americans Less Likely to Trust Covid Vaccine by Dan Royles from the Washington Post
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            Beth SchaeferFebruary 11, 2021

            Build Bridges Within Your Village

            By: Beth Schaefer    Director, Institute for Professional Development

            I believe mentoring can help Minnesota build a competent workforce for all generations of workers by satisfying the workplace needs and personality traits that every generation has.

            As an example, I am a Gen Xer.  According to experts, that makes me independent, innovative, and a strong communicator.   While at work, I am likely to seek problem-solving opportunities and enjoy working with competent colleagues; because of this, mentoring provides a clear outlet for me to meet my Gen Xer needs.

            The Y’s (aka Millennials) are tech-savvy, collaborative, and focused on the greater good; they want meaningful work.  Mentoring fits their traits and provides the meaningful work they seek.

            Baby Boomers, along with being optimistic and hard-working, enjoy mentoring. The opportunity to mentor others is often listed in their workplace needs, so a connection to mentoring is obvious for them.

            So, all the generations agree (on this one thing, anyway), that we should find more ways to mentor in the workplace.

            Being a part of the Village is more than just giving, it is receiving.  A new generation of workers is entering the workplace, and as much as we can teach them – there is a lot we have to learn.

            Gen-Zers have plenty of skills to contribute.  Just some of their noticeable workplace traits are:

            • digitally fluent (and who could not use that during a pandemic)
            • practical (and who could not use that during a pandemic), and
            • flourish in diverse workplace settings (and who could not use that – always).

            They will be seeking culturally competent employers.  Is your workplace culturally ready to recruit and onboard this next generation of valuable workers?

            Consider mentoring as a rewarding step to build the cultural competency of all the valuable generations in your workplace.

            Generation traits and needs from Hobsons Associates.

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            Beth SchaeferJanuary 19, 2021

            Look Beyond For Joy

            Look Beyond For Joy

            By: Beth Schaefer    Director, Institute for Professional Development

            Normally, this is the time of year that I write about the “New Year, New You” and how training classes at IPD can help with that.

            However, 2020 was not a year of normal, and the first few weeks of 2021 have not started as normal either (I hope).

            While training brings joy to me – it is my passion and how I like to help others – taking a training course will most likely not fulfill your need for joy.  What does joy even mean in these extraordinary times?

            The most common definition of joy has not changed; Joy is a sense of well-being connected to living our convictions.

            In contrast, the common definition of happiness is; the result of an event or circumstance.

            While these times do not afford as many occasions for happiness, they do offer opportunities for joy; for what better time than now to reaffirm, recommit, and live your beliefs?

            To help, here are some action steps I learned while studying the practice of joy.  I hope they will help you better live out your convictions during these turbulent times.

            Express gratitude each day.

            What is something you can be thankful for today?

            Connect with others.

            Who in your life needs you to reach out to them with a word or note of encouragement?

            Look for a silver lining. Adversity brings opportunity.

            What opportunity do you have now due to the current circumstances?  What action can you take to bring that opportunity to fruition?

            I wish you peace and joy in 2021.

            Please join our LinkedIn or Facebook pages for more information on upcoming events.

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            Beth SchaeferJune 13, 2019

            Featured Article in The Buzz Magazine

            Thank you to Buzz Magazine for the awesome article featuring Metro State Institute for Professional Development and what we do for continuing learners in the Twin Cities.  Call us today for customized workplace training or continuing education courses in the Twins Cities Metro.  (article is on pages 32 and 33)

             

             

             

             

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            Beth SchaeferNovember 16, 2018

            Leadership – How do you encourage Agile and innovation in a Bureaucracy?

            How does Leadership encourage Agile and innovation in a Bureaucracy?

            By: Beth Schaefer    Director, Institute for Professional Development

            Are you a leader supporting Agile efforts in a large traditional or bureaucratic organization? Let’s help each other.

            I have Agile going on two fronts now – well, three if count our Agile training programs.

            1. My department is designing and building new business architecture courses with an agile or iterative approach. More on this in the next pocket agile blog.
            2. On the university org. chart, my department has been housed in the Center for Education Innovation (CEI) for the last two years. We are in talks of how to be agile in a government institution like a university.

            What is the Center for Education Innovation (CEI)?

            The Center is comprised of what I consider the most entrepreneurial of the university departments (although I am sure some would argue otherwise) because they are departments that say, “yes” to new ideas and then figure out a way to do it.  As department leaders, we are all calculated risk takers.

            • The CEI Current status?

            Up until now, despite being under the same org. chart umbrella, our departments have largely worked independently of each other or, at best, done some ad hoc, as-needed collaborations.   We do talk about making sure we maintain a culture of innovation, and we have loosely defined what the elements of that culture need to be.

            • CEI Future state?

            As often happens on the organizational maturity continuum, we are looking at moving from ad hoc to standardizing or making our innovation efforts more intentional.  We have started informal discussions on what the value proposition of the CEI should be, who the CEI customers are, and who (what other departments or roles) might be necessary to enable CEI to be Agile and innovative amid a large bureaucracy.

            So, here are my big questions –

            1. If the Agile approach is a necessary component of innovation, how does one blend Agile with bureaucratic processes?
            2. If we start formalizing our CEI to better navigate existing processes, at what point, is the CEI no longer entrepreneurial and just another branch of the bureaucracy?

            What is your best lesson learned to share with the rest of us? I am curious to hear from you.  

            To help, I found this snippet in a longer article in the Harvard Review called Agile at Scale.  I think it provides an interesting intersection between agile pockets and traditional organizational structure.

            When leaders haven’t themselves understood and adopted agile approaches, they may try to scale up agile the way they have attacked other change initiatives: through top-down plans and directives.

            The track record is better when they behave like an agile team. That means viewing various parts of the organization as their customers—people and groups whose needs differ, are probably misunderstood, and will evolve as agile takes hold.

            The executive team sets priorities and sequences opportunities to improve those customers’ experiences and increase their success. Leaders plunge in to solve problems and remove constraints rather than delegate that work to subordinates. The agile leadership team, like any other agile team, has an “initiative owner” who is responsible for overall results and a facilitator who coaches team members and helps keep everyone actively engaged.

            I have sent this article to the other directors under the Center of Education Innovation umbrella, and await their thoughts as to our next steps.

            In addition, I am interested in knowing other leaders successes or failures.

            Please comment on our LinkedIn or Facebook pages.

             

             

             

             

             

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            Beth SchaeferFebruary 28, 2018

            Do You Cultivate Trust?

            Do You Cultivate Trust?

            By: Beth Schaefer    Director, Institute for Professional Development

            Last week, I attended a seminar by Daryl Connor, Building a High Impact Change Practice.  It was sponsored by the Minnesota Change Network – a great group.  Check them out if you love leading change or have a passion for organizational development.

            Mr. Connor presented on what he calls a High Impact Trusted Advisor (HITA). The role of the HITA is to help leaders make informed decisions; it is not about being responsible for leaders’ decisions.

            The presentation was in the context of the HITA being a change consultant. His discussion was about criteria that a consultant (either internal or external) could use to determine if they were truly a HITA or if they were more in an operational role, and what actions one should take to become a HITA.

            I left the session with much to ponder, and where my pondering led me was that his message applies to a much broader audience than just change consultants or organizational specialists who want to be HITAs.

            Disclaimer: I should be clear here that Mr. Connor may disagree with my observations and conclusions. I encourage you to research Mr. Connor’s theories for yourself.

            Instead of thinking about Connor’s questions and whether or not my organization considers me a HITA, I thought more about my leadership style and started wondering if I, as a leader, create the space for HITAs to flourish. Should all the onus of honing HITAs be on the advisors themselves? I think not. Organizations should be creating the space for HITAs to flourish.

            What would the question list look like for leaders to evaluate their ability to cultivate HITAs? This is a list I came up with based on Connor’s presentation:

            1. Do I seek input on important decisions?
            • Do I take responsibility and make “the call” based on the input, or do I continually spin?
            • Do I give credit to my advisors when the call is a good one?
            • Do I take the heat when I make the wrong call?

            2. Am I open to honest input?
            • Do I seek out input from the people who are “experts” or have expertise in areas where I need input?
            • Do I provide opportunity for people to build expertise and earn credibility?
            • Do I value input that contradicts what I expected to hear or wanted to hear?

            3. Do I share information? Note: As always, time and place should always be factored in when sharing information; however, the best advice needs to be given within a context, so as a leader, provide as much context as you are able.
            • Do I trust my people with information that provides the whole context?
            • Do I try to provide information in a nonbiased manner so that my advisors can offer their unique perspectives?
            • Do I share information early enough in the process to take bold recommendations forward?

            Mr. Connor finished the presentation by telling HITA, “Who You Are is as important as What You Do.” I would say the same would apply to leaders. If you want to be submersed in a culture full of HITAs, start with evaluating your character and actions.

             

             

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