PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT - A Long Engagement: How to Retain Top Performers

A Long Engagement: How to Retain Top Performers

By understanding and adopting practices to promote long-term employee engagement, leaders can improve their ability to retain top talent and support broader business objectives.

Think about the average individuals who make up the workforce. Are they engaged and motivated? Do they look forward to coming to work, or do they leave their passion for excellence in the car every morning as they walk in from the parking lot?

Engaging and retaining high-potential leaders requires more than traditional incentives such as competitive pay, benefits and good physical working conditions. Further, while pay-for-performance rewards and attractive career opportunities are certainly helpful, they are only one piece of the puzzle. Top talent can get competitive pay and benefits at many companies. Employers must earn the loyalty and discretionary effort of their best people, and a disciplined engagement strategy and consistent follow-through from senior management can help accomplish this objective.

Giving top performers challenging work and ensuring they believe in an organization’s mission are key motivators, according to a PDI Ninth House analysis of key motivators for thousands of leaders worldwide. The study contrasted responses from more than 9,000 leaders pre-recession (2006-2007) to more than 8,000 leaders post-recession (2009-2010). In both instances, fewer than 10 percent of those surveyed cited compensation and advancement opportunities as the critical aspects of a job.

Survey respondents were asked to rank, in order, the top five factors they consider most important in a job from a list of 19.

In both instances, monetary compensation ranked eighth and advancement opportunities ranked 10th, showing rewards traditionally thought of as most important are not perceived as such. Instead, respondents said stimulating, challenging work and influence on the organization are more critical to job satisfaction.

In the current economic environment everyone has more work on his or her plate. A company’s top leaders may be inclined to say, “I simply don’t have enough time or resources to focus on employee engagement.” But given the increasing competition to attract and retain top talent, companies can’t afford to ignore the issue. Further, pressure to act quickly is intensifying as employee loyalty hits a three-year low, according to the ninth annual MetLife “Study of Employee Benefits Trends,” released in March.

Measuring and Monitoring Employee Engagement

By common definition, employee engagement is the measurable degree of employees’ positive or negative emotional attachment to their job, colleagues and organization, which can profoundly influence their willingness to learn and perform.

Companies traditionally measure engagement through employee surveys. These can offer good insights on an organization’s engagement climate, but often happen just once a year and therefore present lagging indicators. By the time people are surveyed and the results are analyzed, the damage could already be done in terms of lost sales and productivity, faltering client relationships and top talent departure.

Instead, leaders should learn to continually watch for signs of employee engagement and — just as important — early warning signs of disengagement. Symptoms of disengagement can include increases in complaints, absenteeism or turnover, increases in conflict within and between work groups, lower levels of morale and productivity declines.

Diagnosing disengagement can be done and dealt with before there are costly consequences. Leaders can learn to read employees’ emotional well-being by simply paying attention to the cues that fill the workplace. Are employees optimistic and upbeat or discouraged and cynical? Are they energetic and animated or lethargic and lifeless?

Leaders must listen to and observe employees on two levels — what they say and what their unsaid emotions reveal. When leaders talk with and study their teams, do they see passion and energy or frustration and a sense of helplessness? Leaders can use these cues to develop customized engagement plans to meet the needs of their teams, departments or business units as well as to monitor the impact of these efforts.

Solutions could be as simple as leaders scheduling a round table discussion with employees when managers observe that spirits are down. This open dialogue can often head off much larger problems by taking the time to air employees’ concerns regarding the implementation of a difficult strategy or system change. It offers leaders a chance to create solutions to expressed challenges and communicates that management cares. Essentially, soliciting ideas and potential solutions from employee groups saps the focus from problems that may be driving disengagement and refocuses it on management’s willingness to listen and respond to employee needs.

Best Practices to Motivate Top Performers

Developing and retaining an engaged workforce, or rebuilding engagement after a difficult economic period, should start at the top. Employees look to their leaders for motivation and follow their example, often subconsciously. A leader’s attitudes, emotions and comments can be as contagious as their energy and stress levels.

For example, let’s say a leader openly and passionately expresses frustration with the delayed status of a new product launch and its potential impact on the quarter’s billings. This is likely to negatively impact the morale and motivation of members of the product launch team. In a worst-case scenario, the leader’s behavior can undermine the engagement levels and efforts of more highly engaged employees on the team. Employees are drawn to leaders who offer optimism and new possibilities, not despair. Keeping an organization rooted in reality without undermining hope and enthusiasm for the future is a central leadership duty if true employee engagement is a goal.

By adopting the following behaviors, leaders can create a culture of high engagement, trust and mutual respect that is critical to retain and energize top talent.

1. Ask for — and actually use — employee ideas. Solicit employees’ opinions on business challenges and workplace issues. Follow those conversations with action to demonstrate that employees’ ideas are valued and will be taken into consideration in decision making — regardless of whether those ideas relate to a new strategic initiative or the type of coffee available in break rooms. Find ways to implement employee ideas and don’t forget to publicly recognize and even reward the sources of the ideas. Also, don’t discount employees whose ideas are not used. It is best to meet with them one-on-one, thank them for providing thoughts, and explain how their idea could lead to another initiative later on.

2. Create clarity. When big decisions are needed, don’t hold the executive team captive. They should not create action plans in a vacuum. This is another opportunity to involve employees in solving problems and making decisions. For example, if an organization is creating a strategic plan to break into a new market or product category, leaders should solicit input from people at multiple levels, in different locations and with diverse backgrounds. This cross-section of perspectives, garnered through a formal meeting or via solicitation of online feedback, likely will reveal valuable insights from key stakeholders while fostering organizational transparency, collaboration and engagement.

3. Convey understanding of career goals. Employees at all levels want to know they have been heard and understood. Start by actively listening and acknowledging their current roles as well as their aspirations for the future. Ask them what types of work they find stimulating and what they would consider a dream assignment. Next, take measurable steps to help them progress toward those career goals. For example, seek out new projects and development opportunities that directly support an employee’s stated performance goals. Make it possible for them to participate, such as temporarily adjusting their work focus by replacing certain responsibilities with others. That action has the added benefit of creating development opportunities for other employees. Finally, explain expectations and offer candid feedback upfront so employees understand what it will take to achieve their goals, whether those goals involve taking on new assignments or promotion to the next level. Feedback after the assignment is also important as this is a prime opportunity to discuss additional development needs.

4. Foster cooperation instead of competitiveness. Avoid placing one employee or department in direct competition with another. This can negatively impact morale and engagement levels. Instead, find opportunities for employees to collaborate for the common good. For example, rather than allowing fierce competition among business units to potentially impact customer service as they strive to close the most deals by year-end, encourage those teams to share best practices for pitching new business and quashing competitor claims. The most beneficial forms of competition allow employees to compete against their personal best, not against those whose cooperation they should be seeking.

5. Promote trust. Employees must trust in leaders’ values and actions. This is fundamental to promote and sustain long-term employee loyalty and engagement. Employees need to trust that leaders will advocate for their interests instead of just for their own or the company’s. Building this trust requires open, ongoing communication, active listening and timely action on employee feedback. Once people feel heard they are much more open to others’ influence.

6. Leverage nontraditional perks. By supplementing a strong benefits package with the right mix of nontraditional perks, leaders can promote outstanding performance at the individual and team level while creating a more engaging environment for all employees. While companies should carefully choose perks appropriate to their corporate culture, common examples include the ability to work remotely on a part- or full-time basis, volunteer programs in which project teams or departments come together for an afternoon to support a local food pantry or other nonprofit organization, and free on-site financial planning or fitness classes. Employers also can promote these perks to enhance recruitment and retention. Other less common but compelling perks might include providing one- or two-month sabbaticals to longtime employees, providing an extra day off at the close of a major project, or offering complimentary meals out for employees and their significant others.

When assessing an organization’s ability to retain the most engaged employees, remember that an employee’s perception of the company’s compensation and benefits package is merely table stakes. Leaders also must connect with top performers on a personal level to build trust, listen to and address concerns, champion their career goals and adjust motivators over time.

Active listening and open communication is critical to retain high-potential leaders. It is also the key to identify and re-engage employees who might be on the brink of departure. By understanding and adopting behaviors to promote long-term employee engagement, leaders can improve their ability to retain top talent and, ultimately, better support their broader objectives.

Source: http://humancapitalmedia.com