4by anthony raja devadoss and Charles bedard

reasons to improve employee engagement

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Why Worry about employee engagement?

With all the numbers and statistics that pass

across executives’ desks, it’s no wonder the

employee engagement score feels like one

drop in a very large ocean.

But it’s not. Employee engagement is a

business measure like no other.

‘Engaged’ employees work harder, stay

longer with their organisation and deliver

better customer service. The greater the

proportion of your staff that make it into

the ‘engaged’ category, the higher your

performance is likely to be on almost

every count.

So, if you’d like to live in a world where more

of your employees do all of these things, this

paper gives you the tools to make it happen.

No matter what your legacy issues may be,

or what your employee engagement results

have been in the past, it is possible to create

a highly engaged workforce quickly, easily

and without disproportionate investment in

time, money or technology.

Engagement is NOT an annual survey.

Engagement is frequent, relevant and

meaningful feedback and recognition. And

the right tools will deliver exactly this.

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There are four key reasons to get

engagement right in your organisation:

to raise your productivity

to reduce your turnover

to improve your customer service, and

to engage every employee, regardless

of age or experience level.

here’s how to do it…

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raise your produCtivity Engaged employees are two times more productive than satisfied employees.

If we know that engaged employees are

more productive, and that one in every

three employees is actively disengaged, we

know there’s a compelling reason to increase

engagement across all areas of a business.

making it Work

1. don’t ignore the lowest performers:

Take a workforce solutions approach to

engagement tools and strategies so that

the various behaviours of each group of

employees, even those that are highly

disengaged, can be improved.

Behaviours/attitudes to work Output per employee

Average % employees in organisations

Fullyengaged

Passionate about their work/organisation; will do what ever it takes to deliver results; feels like a true owner; delivers consistent, high-quality results; finds innovative solutions to the toughest problems; seen as a role model and leader

122% 10-15%

Somewhat engaged

Selective about where they put their energy; spends a lot of time doing things that are not helping customers or the organisation; deliver when they have to, or when management is watching; does what it takes to get by; a master at distracting others

75% 30-40%

Disengaged

Only works when they have to, they really want to be doing something else; results are NOT meeting the standard; has a we/they approach; negative about the organisation, as well as in their interactions with co-workers and customers

50% 20-30%

here’s a snapshot of what the different engagement levels look like in terms of

employee behaviour, and what they mean for productivity.

2. look to improve compliance: Seek

engagement tools and techniques that also

address compliance gaps in your current

HR and management practices so that

low-performing employees are appropriately

and consistently managed.

3. don’t overdo the technology: As we

all know by now, technology alone cannot

replace good management. So, if you

intend to implement more technology to

address engagement across the organisation,

seek a solution that is fast and easy to

implement, and which aims to support

(rather than supersede) the exiting manager–

employee relationship.

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reduCe your turnover Four out of every five employees are dissatisfied with their performance review and feedback processes.

most of the reasons people leave

organisations are solvable.

It’s often said that employees don’t leave

organisations, they leave managers, and

around one-third of employees say they leave

because of poor line management.

Turnover is often a symptom of deep

disengagement between managers and

their staff. Solving this requires more than

just great leadership training. It requires the

tools and mechanisms to facilitate a more

productive and helpful relationship between

managers and their staff.

To reduce turnover, organisations must

seek to improve the feedback mechanisms

they use. Eighty per cent of employees say

they do not get the feedback they need to

perform, and this is a serious impediment

to engagement. If you can improve the

feedback mechanisms, you can improve the

experience of 80% of your staff immediately.

making it Work

1. make it employee driven: Any solution to

successfully reduce turnover must be driven

by the employee. Many solutions look to add

tools to the HR toolkit, but do not necessarily

provide a solution to empower the employee

to succeed. Don’t add a new ‘process’

or technology unless it’s going to help

employees understand exactly how they’re

performing against the corporate plan/goals

(not just the goals their manager may

have given them) and exactly where

things are going wrong. This will improve

objectivity and ensure high-performers

really get the tools they need even when

management is lacking.

2. beware the warning sign: If you’re

already having requests to speed up the on-

boarding and off-boarding processes in your

organisation, and this can’t all be explained

by business growth, consider how you might

address engagement at the same time. Some

tools allow you to do both: improve your

employee engagement while improving the

oversight and ease of on-boarding and off-

boarding at the same time.

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sustainable engagement segments aCross the global WorkforCe

highly engaged

unsupported

detaChed

disengaged

35%

26%

17%

22%

Source: Towers Watson Global Workforce Study

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improve your Customer serviCe Less than one in five managers is a coach.

Hiring the right person does not mean

hiring the best person. Often the difference

between an employee that delivers great

customer service and one that doesn’t comes

down to whether or not they have the right

coach. Given how few managers successfully

fulfil this coaching role, and that only around

one in every five managers inspires their staff

to perform, organisations wanting to improve

service capabilities face significant barriers.

Regular, routine communication between

managers and their staff is critical to ensure

staff get the feedback and coaching that they

need to deliver better service.

If your managers have not been validated

to inspire their staff, what other tools and

programs are being used to achieve this?

Many organisations rely upon developing

specialist leadership, development

and training programs, which can meet

some of this need. Yet, organisations

must consider what happens after

that training or development course is

complete. How well equipped will the

employee’s manager be to coach them to

continue improving their service skills?

making it Work

1. match benefits to psychographics:

Several high-performing companies use this

tool, including Intel. One size does not fit

all, so think about different benefit packages

and incentives for different segments of the

employee population.

2. look for a solution that coaches in

real-time, rather than critiques over the

long term: Improvements in customer

service require regular, real-time coaching

(or as close as possible). Being told

you’ve done something incorrectly is

fine, but understanding how and why, as

well as what the result has been for the

customer, is far more effective if it takes

place while the customer experience

is still fresh in the employee’s mind.

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hoW engagement affeCts final results

Same-year operating margin: study of 50 global companies

Source: Towers Watson normative database

Low traditional engagement companies

9.9%

High traditional engagement companies

14.3%

High sustainable engagement companies

27.4%

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engage every employee, regardless of age or experienCe level

Millennials will constitute 40-45% of the workforce by 2014.

The foundation of the Millennial employee

mindset is different from that of older

generations. Generation Y (and all those

coming after them) have been parented and

educated differently, and the technology that

may have influenced us all has fundamentally

shaped who they are. Broadly speaking,

Millennials tend to value and expect:

• constantfeedback

• connectivity

• self-expression

• opportunityandreward

for a job well done.

Millennials are unlikely to feel that long years

of effort at any one company in exchange

for a series of incremental raises and

promotions is pointless. To them, success 

is not defined by rank or seniority, but by

what matters to them personally.

Given the different expectations and

motivations of the four generations that are

now working together in many organisations,

a 2D staffing model is no longer good

enough. If your hiring and management

practices do not fit with the demographics

and psychographics of today’s workforce how

will you compete for new talent and retain

what you’ve already got?

The organization is now flat and social.

Networks and virtual teams mean that the

way we manage work and workers has

changed. Above all, management needs

to be adaptable and flexible, yet it still

must be fair.

To develop a truly engaged workforce

that includes all generations,

organisations will need to focus on

measuring performance, not hours.

making it Work:

1.Expectbetter:Stop believing the bad

press about younger generations – with

the right tools and approach, they can be

among the most valuable talent you have.

There’s no reason to expect poor results

from an entire generation of workers, nor

should it be put down to attitude, age or

experience. The right tools and approach

will deliver results for all generational

mindsets. It will be flexible but fair.

2. know what they want: Understand

what drives individuals first, but be aware of

trends that can be applied more broadly. For

example, Millennials prefer ongoing rather

than periodic feedback. So, performance

management systems should be built to

facilitate this without unduly increasing the

administrative burden for managers.

3. don’t isolate engagement from

other measures: Look for a system

and/or process that links these critical

elements together seamlessly:

• Communication

• Engagement

• Performance.

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our story (What Worked for us)

We have been talking with our clients about

the challenges they face with employee

engagement for some time. We are always

looking for tools and approaches that help

solve productivity, turnover and service

challenges, so we often test solutions on

ourselves first.

In 2010, we started using the

BullseyeEvaluation system in both Asia-Pacific

and the Americas. This is the employee

engagement and productivity tool that we

rely on to drive results for our business, and

the numbers here will

show you why.

kelly Client Corporate performanCe Compared to publiC indexes

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

kelly 2+ year Client average

s&p 500

doW jones average

gdp average performer

88

2012 Global Workforce Study from Towers Watson http://www.towerswatson.com/research/7177

USCensusBureauhttp://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/

Mercer June 2011 http://www.mercer.com/press-releases/1418665

Globoforce 2012 report based on SHRM Membership Study http://go.globoforce.com/rs/

globoforce/images/SHRMWinter2012Report.PDF

The Importance Being Known from BlessingWhite http://www.thesocialworkplace.com/

2012/08/21/the-importance-of-being-known/

BlessingWhite. (2008). The state of Employment Engagement – 2008:  North American overview. 

Princeton, NJ:  Author. Accessed online on March 1, 2009 from www.blessingwhite.com/

EEE__report.asp

“The Relationship Between Engagement at Work and Organizational Outcomes.” August 2009.

A 2009 Gallup Inc. study of over 1,000 US based employees shows the impact of different

kinds of feedback on employees. http://gmj.gallup.com/content/124214/driving-engagement-

focusing-strengths.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/150383/majority-american-workers-not-

engaged-jobs.aspx

 “Employee Work Engagement: Best Practices for Employers.” June 2009 Volume 1 Issue 2,

from Research Works, a Partnership for Workplace Mental Health Journal. http://www.concern-

eap.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=XTwQrS0tLvQ%3D&tabid=69

referenCes

TowersPerrin.Seethe2006report,TenStepstoCreatinganEngagedWorkforce:

Towers Perrin Global Workforce Survey.  http://www.towersperrin.com/gws

Towers Perrin. (2008). Employee Engagement Underpins Business Transformation. Stamford,

CT: Author. www.towersperrin.com/tp/getwebcachedoc?country=gbr&webc=GBR/2008/200807/

TP_ISR_July08.pdf

2011 Survey of Sustainability Executives by Green Research. http://greenresearch.com/2011/11/30/

corporate-sustainability-leaders-to-focus-on-employee-engagement-and-supply-chain-in-2012/

US Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t04.htm

QuotefromTerryStockham(SPHR,GPHR)during“TheFutureofWork”presentation.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/terry-stockham/11/8a8/bb2 http://blog.bullseyeevaluation.

com/?tag=the-future-of-work

A study by Reuters found that 80 percent of workers are dissatisfied with their performance

reviews and would like to see them better reflect their real work.  http://www.reuters.com/

article/2009/04/15/us-usa-workplace-reviews-idUSTRE53D6WV20090415

TheSocialWorkplaceBlog:WhatisaDisengagedEmployeeCostingYou?http://www.

thesocialworkplace.com/2012/03/06/when-employese-arent-happy-then-the-company-isnt-happy/ 

http://www.thesocialworkplace.com/2011/08/08/social-knows-employee-engagement-statistics-

august-2011-edition/

EXIT

about kellyoCg

KellyOCG® is the Outsourcing and Consulting Group of workforce solutions provider, Kelly Services, Inc. KellyOCG is a global leader

in innovative talent management solutions in the areas of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Business Process Outsourcing

(BPO), Contingent Workforce Outsourcing (CWO), including Independent Contractor Solutions, Human Resources Consulting, Career

Transition and Executive Coaching, and Executive Search.

KellyOCG was named to the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals® 2012 Global Outsourcing 100®

list, an annual ranking of the world’s best outsourcing service providers and advisors.

Further information about KellyOCG may be found at kellyocg.com.

about the authors

Anthony RAjA DevADoss is currently the vice President – APAC with the outsourcing & Consulting Group of Kelly services. From

network services, engineering to e-business solutions, Anthony Raja has worked in both India and Malaysia, in roles ranging from

technical to Ceo. he has received his Bachelors degree in science and his MBA in Marketing and a Postgraduate Diploma in Computing.

he holds membership in various local and international associations such as the MIM, human Capital Institute and Association of Career

Professionals International. he is the head of Policy enablement and Government Liaison with outsourcing Malaysia and a member of

the Industry Advisory Board for the Graduate school of Business, UnIRAZAK. he was recently appointed to the hR Capacity Building

taskforce by the Ministry of human Resources, Government of Malaysia. Anthony is also a member of the hRoA APAC Chapter Board.

http://my.linkedin.com/in/anthonyraja http://twitter.com/anthonyraja

ChARLes BeDARD is vice President of Global strategy, Bullseyeevaluation and has extensive knowledge of technology and outsourcing

options for today’s business. he serves as a strategic Advisor, Chief strategy officer, and Global strategist to B2B technology and

outsourcing providers. Previously, Charles served as a Director for multiple fast-growth companies in BPo, It, hR/human Capital/hRo,

technology/software, and Professional services. he has earned his Bachelor of Arts from southwestern University and his Masters of

Business Administration from texas Christian University.