It is common to get requests from clients who want to have a team building session as a way of boosting employee morale and engagement at work. And these clients should worry about employee engagement.
According to Gallup research, top 25% of teams - the best managed and engaged versus the bottom 25% in any work place - the worst managed - have nearly 50% fewer accidents and have 41% fewer quality defects. What is more, teams in the top 25% versus the bottom 25% incur far less healthcare costs. So having too few engaged employees means our workplaces are less safe, employees have more quality defects.
But whether a two day off-site that combines some ''here is what we want to accomplish'' presentations and motivational speeches is the answer is a different matter. In fact we know from our work that it is usually not the answer.
We let our clients know that the best teams are built during the week in the office. According to Gallup in it's Q12 employee engagement survey, employees are more concerned about the following than a day out at the beach. In the survey, respondents are divided into (1) Engaged (2) Not Engaged (3) Actively disengaged, based on their responses to the following statements;
1. I know what is expected of me at work
2. At work, my opinions seem to count
3. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my job
4. The mission and purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important
5. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday
6. My associates or fellow employees are committed to do quality work
7. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work
8. I have a best friend at work
9. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person
10. In the last six months someone at work has talked to me about my progress
11. There is someone at work who encourages my development
12. This last year I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow
So you maybe discouraged by the size of this list and give up on improving your employee engagement level. But not so fast. Thanks to the work of Teresa Amabile and Steven J. Kramer published in the Harvard Business Review May 2011 issue. In their work, we learn the power of the progress principle: ''Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work. And the more frequently people experience that sense of progress, the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run. Whether they are trying to solve a major scientific mystery or simply produce a high-quality product or service, everyday progress—even a small win—can make all the difference in how they feel and perform''.
And it is that sense of progress that most teams and organizations lack. At a recent keynote to a group of leaders at a local financial institution, we posed the question ''how many of you will play in a game when we don't keep score or we have no idea how we are doing?'' and the response was emphatic, ''we won't play'', ''I will check out'', etc. And these emphatic responses are similar to the behaviours you observe from ''not engaged'' or ''actively disengaged'' employees.
So how do we communicate this sense of progress? use a ''players scoreboard'' not a ''coaches scoreboard''. According to McChessney, Hulling and Covey in the 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX),People play differently when they are keeping score. Hulling demonstrated this at a recent 4DX certification workshop in Atlanta, Georgia. In Jim Hulling's view, the highest level of performance always comes from people who are emotionally engaged and the highest level of engagement comes from knowing the score—that is, if people know whether they are winning or losing. It’s that simple.
The scoreboard that will drive the highest level of engagement with your team is one designed solely for (and often by) the players. This “players’ scoreboard” is quite different from the complex coach’s scoreboard that leaders love to create. It must be simple, so simple that members of the team can determine instantly if they are winning or losing. Watch the following video from
http://4dxbook.com/#/videos/opryland to see how you can create a players scoreboard.
So it is the integrity to review the weekly scoreboard and hold each team personally to account for their commitments that will move the score or achieve small wins. Wins that are necessary to drive morale and let the team know that they winning or not towards the big most important priority of the organization. Each week the scoreboard is reviewed and concrete actions taken to move the score. And as the score moves, employee focus, engagement and accountability also moves in the right direction.
According to Gallup research, top 25% of teams - the best managed and engaged versus the bottom 25% in any work place - the worst managed - have nearly 50% fewer accidents and have 41% fewer quality defects. What is more, teams in the top 25% versus the bottom 25% incur far less healthcare costs. So having too few engaged employees means our workplaces are less safe, employees have more quality defects.
But whether a two day off-site that combines some ''here is what we want to accomplish'' presentations and motivational speeches is the answer is a different matter. In fact we know from our work that it is usually not the answer.
We let our clients know that the best teams are built during the week in the office. According to Gallup in it's Q12 employee engagement survey, employees are more concerned about the following than a day out at the beach. In the survey, respondents are divided into (1) Engaged (2) Not Engaged (3) Actively disengaged, based on their responses to the following statements;
1. I know what is expected of me at work
2. At work, my opinions seem to count
3. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my job
4. The mission and purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important
5. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday
6. My associates or fellow employees are committed to do quality work
7. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work
8. I have a best friend at work
9. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person
10. In the last six months someone at work has talked to me about my progress
11. There is someone at work who encourages my development
12. This last year I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow
So you maybe discouraged by the size of this list and give up on improving your employee engagement level. But not so fast. Thanks to the work of Teresa Amabile and Steven J. Kramer published in the Harvard Business Review May 2011 issue. In their work, we learn the power of the progress principle: ''Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work. And the more frequently people experience that sense of progress, the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run. Whether they are trying to solve a major scientific mystery or simply produce a high-quality product or service, everyday progress—even a small win—can make all the difference in how they feel and perform''.
And it is that sense of progress that most teams and organizations lack. At a recent keynote to a group of leaders at a local financial institution, we posed the question ''how many of you will play in a game when we don't keep score or we have no idea how we are doing?'' and the response was emphatic, ''we won't play'', ''I will check out'', etc. And these emphatic responses are similar to the behaviours you observe from ''not engaged'' or ''actively disengaged'' employees.
So how do we communicate this sense of progress? use a ''players scoreboard'' not a ''coaches scoreboard''. According to McChessney, Hulling and Covey in the 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX),People play differently when they are keeping score. Hulling demonstrated this at a recent 4DX certification workshop in Atlanta, Georgia. In Jim Hulling's view, the highest level of performance always comes from people who are emotionally engaged and the highest level of engagement comes from knowing the score—that is, if people know whether they are winning or losing. It’s that simple.
The scoreboard that will drive the highest level of engagement with your team is one designed solely for (and often by) the players. This “players’ scoreboard” is quite different from the complex coach’s scoreboard that leaders love to create. It must be simple, so simple that members of the team can determine instantly if they are winning or losing. Watch the following video from
http://4dxbook.com/#/videos/opryland to see how you can create a players scoreboard.
So it is the integrity to review the weekly scoreboard and hold each team personally to account for their commitments that will move the score or achieve small wins. Wins that are necessary to drive morale and let the team know that they winning or not towards the big most important priority of the organization. Each week the scoreboard is reviewed and concrete actions taken to move the score. And as the score moves, employee focus, engagement and accountability also moves in the right direction.
