employee engagement in turbulent times by, mr. deepak bharara director hr – lanco infratech ltd
TRANSCRIPT
Employee Engagement InTurbulent Times
By,
Mr. Deepak Bharara
Director HR – Lanco Infratech Ltd
1990’sThe Policy Changes
2000The Dotcom
Bust
2005Terrorism &
Security
2010The Great Recession
Testing Times
Should the context of TIME be our Focus? Or
How We proactively & productively engage employees?
Fast Growth
Cut Throat
Competition
Increased
Market
Share
Global
Presence
Testing
Times
Land Acquisition
Project Finance
FUEL LINKAGES(Coal/Gas)
Project Management
CapabilityAvailability
of EPC Contractor at Remote Locations
Poor Health of Discoms/
SEBs
Cost of Power - State
control on selling of
Power
Local Agitations
Challenges of Power Sector
Challenges of
LANCO
Regulatory Challenges
Succession planning- creation of leadership pipeline
Capability Development to meet dynamic business scenario
Effective Project
Management- Timely Completion
Fuel Availability & Logistics
of Fuel Evacuation
Value Based
Leadership
Ensuring system
effectiveness
• Insecurity – Downsizing/Salary cuts/ withdrawal of benefits
• Unable to anticipate the future• Heavy workload with limited resources and/or salary
Low Engagemen
t
• Direct correlation between the level of employee engagement and the productivity/success of the business organization.
• Difficult economic phases create pressure to optimize resources and results
Low Productivit
y
Impact of Economic Slowdown on Employees
What makes good companies great is their ability to attract, retain, and engage the right employees – in difficult times, even more so.
Environment/Time[Non
Controllable]
Factors that Influence
• The Cascading effect : Engagement starts at top, and without engaged senior leadership, companies are not be able to engage the hearts and minds of their employees.
• Turbulent times call for bold leadership in all sectors and in spheres
• It is essential to learn leadership fundamentals, in order to maintain high morale.
• Make sure that all individuals are in the correct positions and have strong leadership skills in place in order to face challenges.
• Engage with leaders who have successfully thrive during difficult economic times.
• Develop a strong leadership pipeline in an organization.
• Engaged managers are more likely to build engaged teams
Leadership drives Engagement
Distinctive Leadership practices influencing Engagement
Connecting with employees Effectively communicate the organisation’s goals and objectives
Consistently demonstrate the organisation’s values in all behaviours and actions
Appropriately balance employee interests with those of the organisation
Fill employees with excitement for the future of the organisation
Performance focussed Effectively communicate the organisation’s goals and objectives
Empower managers and employees and instil a culture of accountability
Set aggressive goals at all levels of the organisation
Future and development oriented Communicate the importance of spending time on feedback and provide performance coaching
Fill employees with excitement about the future of the organisation
Effectively communicate the skills/capabilities employees must develop for future success
Invest in long-term growth opportunities, even during difficult times
*Source: Aon Hewitt
Re-Engagement in Tough Times
Stay Centred to your Core Values
Explicitly Support your Employee
Solicit Employee Feedback
Communicate Up Front with Employees
Commit to Your Employee’s Employment
Enhance Career Growth , Learning & Development
Increase Recognition
Demonstrate a strong commitment to employee well being
Innovative and sustainable business practices
Engagement – Responsibility at different Levels
Employee Engagement is the responsibility of the entire work force and at all
levels in the organization
Individual Level
Managerial level
Executive level
Responsibility at Individual Level
Engagement is fundamentally an individualized equation – reflects each person’s unique relationship with work
Individuals must: Own their engagement – they are ultimately responsible for their personal and
professional success
Be clear on their core values and goals – if they do not know what is important to them, they will not find it in their current job, or potentially in any other
Take action –need to take Initiative
To Build their skill sets
To Articulate their interests
To Satisfy their core values
To Identify ways to apply their talents to achieve organization’s goals
To Have conversations about reshaping their jobs
To Clarify their work priorities
To Get the support they need from Managers
Responsibility at Managerial Level
Managers matter – they work in the core where employee engagement happens – or does not – their sphere of control is limited – they can’t change direction if the organization is stumbling, and they can’t actually make employees Engaged
Managers must, however: Take control of their own engagement – remember they are individual employees first,
managers second
Facilitate team members’ unique engagement equations through coaching – understand each member’s unique interests, talents and aspirations – align individuals’ passions and proficiencies with clearly articulated organizational priorities and projects – keep the dialogue going by providing feedback, course corrections and development opportunities to ensure high performance
Build Relationships – drop the veil of your positions and become known to employees, sharing personal motivation for work, challenges, appropriate weaknesses, the reasons they came to the organization – and why they stay
Appreciate team dynamics – need to deal quickly with potential problems and also capitalize on the enthusiasm and work ethic of Engaged team members to ignite the team as a whole
Responsibility at Executive Level
Executive Behaviour sometimes matters more than manager actions – after all, they have the farthest reach
To fulfill their ‘individual’ and ‘manager’ responsibilities, Executives need to – Commit or quit – regularly reflect on why they joined and why they stay
Pay attention to engagement of their direct reports – if they expect leaders at all levels to coach their people to higher levels of engagement but do not do it themselves, they undermine their message
Executives also need to – Talk about engagement with passion – weave engagement into the daily workplace
conversations
Build a culture that fuels engagement – promote practices that propel High Performance and weed out practices that undermine performance
Inspire commit & trust – communicate ‘what’ and ‘why’ of decisions, demonstrate visible commitment to organization success in their ‘Actions’
Set a clear direction – Clearly Articulated Compelling Vision Strategy
LANCO Infratech Limited From 2006 - 2013
A Saga of High Growth to Slow Down
LANCO’s Rapid Growth (2006-10)
Levels Engagement Initiatives
Individual
1. Work on cross functional roles2. Taking new projects/ responsibilities3. Aligning oneself with the big picture
Manager
1. Rewards & Recognition2. Transparent Performance Management3. Aligning individual KRA’s with Business Goals4. Team Parties5. Celebration of special Occasions
Executive
1. Building Leadership Framework2. Working on Succession Management3. Building the Lanco Culture4. Organization Structuring5. Technological Up gradation
Levels Engagement Initiatives
Individual
1. Developing knowledge & skills Level2. Cross Functional Projects3. Participating in open sessions with seniors & HR4. Revisiting processes5. Cost Control initiatives
Manager
1. Carving out new roles for team members within function/other function /other group company
2. Town Halls3. Coffee Meetings4. Celebrating small successes5. Developing Team Members6. Cost Control Measures
Executive
1. Open & Transparent Communication2. Building organization Culture3. Focusing on Values of the organization4. Re aligning Organization Structure5. Cost Efficient Culture
LANCO’s Slow Down (2010-13)
Mistakes to be Avoided during Employee Engagement Initiatives
1. Consistently asking for feedback and not taking action once received
2. Glossing over the hard stuff, and without getting to the root of real issues. If an organisation focuses only on fun without addressing the core issues, fun activities are wasted
3. Not outlining clear ownership between HR, and business units, and within business units, or ensuring the action owners have the authority required to make critical changes
4. Connecting engagement to performance measures without monitoring the negative impacts it can create, e.g. Gaming. Although what gets measured, gets done, measuring the wrong things can create adverse effects
5. Trying to change the engagement score, rather than fix the issues that make up the score. Programmes focused on changing engagement must be connected to business core values, and tied to the operating principles and behaviour of the organisation
6. Misjudging the performance anatomy, culture or values of an organisation. How a company performs on engagement is in many ways tied to the performance anatomy of their organisation, its culture, personality and leadership
- DIAL/HIAL
Or
-Turnaround
aREAL TIME SUCESSS STORIES on Active Employees Engagement
POWER OF EMPLOYEES ENGAGEMENT
Top Trends Lead to Focus on Employee Engagement- Unprecedented Changes are happening in global market place
Employee-employer relationship evolving/changing to partnerships
Increased demand for work life balance
HR’s greater role in promoting the link between employee performance and its impact on business goals
Increasing focus on selective retention for keeping mission critical talent
Work intensification as employers increase productivity with fewer employees and resources
Acquiring and keeping key talent re-emerging as top issues of concern
Decline in traditional communication methods and increase in cyber communication
Needs, wants and behaviors of the talent pool driving changes in attraction, selection and retention practices