Employee Engagement Survey | Towers Perrin

The Study on Employee Engagement surveyed nearly 2,600 workers in public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. The results showed nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce is “unengaged.” This means employees are not acting in ways that create positive customer experiences, which is detracting from organizational success, performance, and profitability. This “unengagement” costs businesses $300 billion a year in productivity losses.

The study, the largest of its kind today, was conducted by Towers Perrin’s HR Services business in August 2005 among more than 85,000 people working for large and midsize companies in 16 countries on four continents. It shows that there is a vast reserve of untapped “employee performance potential” that can drive better financial results — if companies can successfully tap into this reserve.

“For the first time ever, we’ve given a voice to the workforce worldwide,” noted Donald Lowman, a Managing Director of Towers Perrin HR Services business and a member of the firm’s Executive Council. “What we’re hearing is that people want to contribute more. But they say their leaders and supervisors unintentionally put obstacles in their paths. The insights from our study give management a very clear road map on how to remove these obstacles and unleash the full potential of the workforce to deliver superior performance.”

According to the survey, employee engagement — the measure of people’s willingness and ability to give discretionary effort at work — varies dramatically worldwide. The highest recorded levels are in Brazil (31%) and Mexico (40%). The lowest recorded levels — in the low single digits — are in the four Asian countries in the study. Across Europe and North America, engagement levels fall in between these extremes.  Employee Engagement Survey continued…

 

 

 

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Starting a Mentoring Program | Leadership Mentoring Programs at Work

How do you retain and prepare your best talent to lead?  Mentoring programs are one of the most effective tools in achieving business results.  The authors of the book, War on Talent reported, “Of those who have had a highly helpful mentoring experience, 95 percent indicated it motivated them to do their very best, 88 percent said it made them less likely to leave their company, and 97 percent said it contributed to their success at the company.”

Many organizations have discovered providing a mentor for high performing employees not only helps them settle into their job and company environment, but also contributes to a lower employee turnover rate and greater job satisfaction.

A mentor, basically, is someone who serves as a counselor or guide.  Being asked to serve as a mentor is an honor.  It indicates the company has faith in the person’s abilities and trusts him or her to have a positive impact on the situation.  The use of a mentor may be an informal, short-term situation or a more formal, long-term assignment.

In an informal mentoring program, the mentor usually helps the mentee for a limited period of time.  Advice from the mentor may include the most basic of information about everyday routines including tips about “do’s and don’ts” not found in the employee manual to helping the employee learn job responsibilities and prepare them for future roles in the organization.  A mentor who is available to answer questions and provide leadership development also saves time for the supervisor or manager.  In addition, mentees often feel more comfortable asking questions of their mentor than their supervisor.

In a program of this type, mentors often are volunteers.  Forcing someone who does not want to serve as a mentor to do so can quickly create problems.  Obviously, someone with a negative attitude, who might encourage a new employee to gripe and complain, should not serve as a mentor.

A more formal version of mentoring occurs when an organization appoints a senior manager with extensive knowledge and experience to serve as a mentor to a professional the company feels has excellent potential for growth.  The mentor’s role usually lasts for an extended period of time.

Effective mentoring programs must have senior level support from the beginning, otherwise it will fail to get the attention and support it needs to become part of the organization’s culture.  Experience shows the most effective mentoring programs are run by senior level executives, not just the human resources department.

Whether informal or formal, both parties need to understand the parameters.  These may be more important in a long-term, formal mentoring situation, but can also influence the success of short-term, informal mentoring.

• Select the right mentor.  Not everyone makes a good mentor.  A mentor is someone who is respected, successful and understands the culture of the organization.  They must be willing to make a commitment of their time and knowledge.

• Ensure proper pairing and create an emotional bond.  It is helpful to conduct a behavioral assessment on both the mentee and mentor.  This insures proper matching and helps both parties understand each other’s communication styles, strengths and limitations.

• Establish goals and a purpose.  The mentor needs to outline these areas at the beginning.  The goals should be in alignment with the strategic plan.  Just as important, the protégé should outline their objectives as well.

• The mentor’s role is to coach and advise the mentee.  The mentor does not interfere with the supervisor or manager’s decisions.  The new employee, while expected to seek the mentor’s advice particularly on critical issues, is not bound to accept that advice.

• Confidentiality is important.  Both parties need to feel confident that discussions remain between them–not immediately relayed to a supervisor or manager.

• Decide in advance how you will communicate.  Will you have regularly scheduled meetings?  Will discussion be face-to-face, over the telephone or even via e-mail?  Both parties need to make their preferences known at the beginning and reach an acceptable compromise if they are different.

• Discuss time limits.  If the mentoring period has a time limit the mentor should state that at the beginning.

• Discuss time commitments.  Again, this may be more critical for long-term, formal mentoring.  The mentor must expect to give the employee adequate time, but the newcomer should not expect excessive amounts.  Setting a schedule at the beginning (example: meet once a week the first month, then once a month after that) avoids irritating misunderstandings later.

• Build openness and respect.  Both the mentor and the person being mentored need to be open and honest, yet respect the other.  A mentor who withholds important information or comments does not contribute to the other person’s success.  However, such feedback should be delivered with tact and courtesy–and (even if somewhat hurtful) received with an open mind.

• Establish a professional relationship.  The relationship between the mentor and his or her protégé is a professional one, not a personal one.  This is particularly important for the mentee to understand.

Greg Smith’s cutting-edge keynotes, consulting, and leadership development programs have helped businesses accelerate individual and organizational performance.  As President and founder of Chart Your Course International he has implemented professional development programs for thousands of organizations globally.  He has authored nine informative books including his latest book Fired Up! Leading Your Organization to Achieve Exceptional Results.  He lives in Conyers, Georgia.  Sign up for his free Navigator Newsletter by visiting www.ChartCourse.com or call (770) 860-9464.

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Greg Smith on SHRM Television: Retention & Job Satisfaction

Greg Smith’s television interview about five things HR managers need to do to improve employee retention and job satisfaction. SHRM National conference in San Diego. http://ow.ly/27Jf7          

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Employee suggestions programs. How to ru

Employee suggestions programs. How to run and manage. New article posted. http://ow.ly/22qMX

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Zappos: A Sales Giant Powered by Passionate People

Zappos is a true American success story.  Not only are they a financial powerhouse, but an amazing place to work. 

Zappos is an online retailer that sells shoes and other merchandise.  They have ap

Greg and some of the Zapponians!

proximately 1500 employees and are located in Las Vegas and at their distribution center in Kentucky.

For several years now, I have been reading about and watching Zappos.  In 2009 they were listed at Number 23 on Fortune magazine’s Top 100 Best Places to Work.  I wondered…are they a good place to work, or is it just a bunch of media hype and over blown exaggeration?  I was invited to take a tour and see for myself.

An enthusiastic Zapponian picked me up at my hotel in Las Vegas and drove me to their headquarters.  From the moment I entered their office until they returned me to the hotel, I was blown away.  For the few hours I was there, I felt like I was part of a family.  You could feel the electricity, the pride and a work culture so radically different than most organizations I have worked with.  This is no typical organization — they are Fired Up!

There are many things they do right at Zappos, but for sake of space I will highlight a few of them.

Leadership

Tony Hsieh is the CEO and co-founder.  I ran into Tony in their parking lot talking to some of his employees.  He is a down-to-earth, practical, non-pretentious kind of guy.  In fact, his cubicle sits in the middle of one his departments along with his employees.  He drives an ordinary car, wears t-shirts and looks and acts like everyone else at Zappos.  This was amazing to me when you consider Tony is worth over a billion dollars.  This Harvard grad understands creating a great place to work is not just about him—it is about creating a positive, customer-focused work culture that generates results.

Positive Work Culture

The genesis of the positive work environment at Zappos is driven by 10 guiding values they live and breathe every day.  These values guide the direction of the organization like the sails on a sailboat.

1. Deliver WOW through Service

2. Embrace and Drive Change

3. Create Fun and a Little Weirdness

4. Be Adventurous, Creative and Open-Minded

5. Pursue Growth and Learning

6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication

7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit

8. Do More With Less

9. Be Passionate and Determined

10. Be Humble

The important difference between these values and others is how they were created.  Instead of a top-down driven approach like many other organizations, the employees themselves helped refine, shape and provide their own opinions.  When the employees have a say, there is alignment, acceptance and total employee engagement.

Consider the value, Pursue Growth and Learning.  Tony and his team believe in continuous learning.  They encourage everyone to read business books.  I saw stacks of business books on almost every desk I visited.  The interesting point I recognized is the culture and how they run their company is based on the modern management principles outlined in these books.  To reinforce their values and support ongoing learning, they invite speakers and authors to come speak at their “all hands” meetings. 

Hire the Right People

According to one of their HR managers, it is easier to get accepted at Harvard University than to get a job at Zappos.  Based on Jim Collin’s book, From Good to Great,” they believe if you hire the right people you will create a great company.  Not everyone is a match for Zappos.  The right people are.  Applicants may have four or more interviews before they are hired.  Then they must attend a four-week training program.  Finally, new employees are offered $2000 to leave if they decide Zappos is not the place they want to work.  I was told less than 2% take the money.

The Final Results

The principle is simple.  If you hire the right people, treat them well and put them in a high performance culture, your people will generate amazing results.  The results are clearly evident at Zappos.

Their sales figures are phenomenal.  In the past ten years they have grown from $1.6 million to $1.1 billion in sales. Seventy-five percent of their sales is based on repeat customers.  Despite their financial success, their number one motivation is not making money, but to deliver happiness to their customers, employees and vendors.  From my point of view, they do that better than most.

I would suggest you get Tony’s powerful new book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose.  It is available on Amazon.

Go to this webpage to see pictures from my visit at Zappos and a video about the organization.

http://www.chartcourse.com/zapposphotos.html

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Zappos.com: A Cool Place to Work

Just returned from Zappos.com and met Tony Hsieh. See photos. Fantastic place to work. http://www.chartcourse.com/zapposphotos.html

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Bosses Need to Communicate More During Bad Economic Times

An interesting article appeared in the April 5 edition of the Wall Street Journal, “CEOs Welcome Recovery to Look After Staff.” According to the article, now that the economy is improving, more CEOs are taking time to communicate about issues employees have about their work environment. Well, it is about time!

Most businesses have been struggling for the past couple of years. Employees have been doing the jobs of two and three people. For some, the efforts could be too late. Bridges have been burned. Companies and CEOs should have been communicating throughout the downturn. Taking care of people is not just something you do when the economy improves.

I think the TV show, Undercover Boss, has done a lot to enlighten bosses on the importance of appreciating and understanding life on the frontline. Many companies have regrettably forgotten about their people.

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