Improving Employee Engagement

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1 IBM Analytics Whitepaper Improving Employee Engagement Key Lessons From Repeat Surveys By Cameron Dougall

2 Improving Employee Engagement Introduction IBM builds long-term relationships with our clients to help improve employee engagement. Through these long-term relationships and through the use of workforce science and analytics, we have a deep understanding of how employee engagement changes over time in organisations. This paper outlines key lessons we have observed about improving employee engagement from conducting repeat surveys with our clients. Sample We analysed a sample of organisations from IBM s WorldNorms database who conducted repeat surveys with IBM between the years of 2012 and For the purpose of this paper, only organisations in the United States of America were included to minimise any between-country differences on engagement levels 1. Over 4.5 million employees completed engagement surveys across close to 400 survey projects, representing over 150 unique clients. Lesson #1. Use a Long-Term Solution for a Long-Term Problem We understand that deeply entrenched cultural issues and practices within an organisation mean that improving employee engagement is a process occurring over time rather than a once-off event. Indeed, our data reveals that larger improvements in employee engagement are generally observed between an organisation s 2nd and 3rd survey administration than between an organisation s 1st and 2nd survey administration. This finding is likely due to several processes: Organisations have a greater understanding of how to use the survey to build engagement over time (e.g., in terms of action planning). Increased buy-in from Senior Leaders, Managers and Employees over time as they realise the value of the survey process. Organisations have a better understanding of how to tailor the survey process to meet their specific needs over time. Greater time has passed allowing the organisational development initiatives to take effect. The result we see in our client data reinforces that organisations should take a long-term approach to the measurement and improvement of employee engagement. Use experience from previous survey administrations to: Refine, replace or add survey items so that the survey reflects the current and future needs of your organisation. Make improvements to the survey administration and action planning process to ensure that Senior Leaders, Managers and Employees are on board with the survey process, and actions are taken as a result of the survey. Improve the organisational initiatives undertaken as a result of the survey to ensure they are effective at improving employee engagement. 2

3 Lesson #2. Improve Employee Engagement by Acting Upon Feedback IBM can provide you with the feedback you need to increase employee engagement in your organisation. However, unless this feedback is acted upon, employee engagement levels are unlikely to improve. One predictor of change in employee engagement is whether employees believe positive change has taken place as a result of previous surveys. As shown in Figure 1, those organisations whose employees held a more favourable view on positive change post-survey tended to have greater improvements in employee engagement. Acting upon feedback is not only important for improving employee engagement but also for preventing its decline. Those organisations whose employees held the least favourable views on positive change post-survey tended to have declines in employee engagement. Figure 1. Relationship between belief in positive change as a result of survey and changes in employee engagement Improvement in Employee Engagement unless [survey] feedback is acted upon, employee engagement levels are unlikely to improve. There are two ways in which perception of positive change as a result of the survey could lead to increased engagement. First (and perhaps most obviously), it suggests that positive changes have indeed taken place within the organisation, and in areas that matter for people s engagement. The second process through which this belief may drive engagement is because it could indicate that employees feel they have been listened to and have had involvement in decision making in the organisation through the survey process. Research has shown that having a voice and being involved in decision making itself can be an important driver of employee engagement. 2 IBM has helped many of our clients undertake effective action planning resulting in meaningful and positive change. Many of the success stories can be boiled down to the following best practices: Carefully examine your survey results to understand the strengths of and opportunities for your organisation. Focus on your drivers of employee engagement, as these are what matter the most for your people. Based on your analysis, choose a limited number of key priorities to focus on (we recommend 2 to 3) for improvement. Positive Change as a Result of Survey Note: Two-tail Pearson correlation, r =.51, p <.001, n = 57 organisations 3

4 Improving Employee Engagement It may be useful to conduct stakeholder interviews or focus groups to understand the root cause of the results and the meaning of the results within the specific context of your organisation. Where possible, involve staff in the action planning process. Action plans should consist of clear steps that the executive, managers and employees can take away and execute to solve the issue. For accountability, assign a specific owner and timeline to tasks. You should also have an idea of how you will measure whether the action plan was successful (e.g., follow-up survey feedback, focus group feedback or improved business metrics). Action plans should be developed at both the organisationallevel (for issues that are organisational-wide) and work area level (for issues that are team-specific). Empower managers to complete action plans for their own area. Be aware of and plan for overcoming common barriers to actioning survey feedback, such as maintaining momentum and communication, gaining executive/leadership sponsorship, having sufficient resources and holding others accountable. See our publication Barriers to Survey Follow- Up 3 for more information. Don t forget to celebrate and maintain strength-areas. Clearly communicate to employees actions that have taken place and explicitly link these actions to feedback received in the employee engagement survey. Lesson #3. Achieving Change Does Organisational Size Matter? IBM surveys a wide range of different-sized organisations, from those with less than 100 employees to those with hundreds of thousands of employees. One concern of larger organisations is how realistic or achievable it is for them to achieve change when faced with unique challenges such as potential communication barriers, multiple levels of decision making and inflexible processes. Our data does indeed show that on average, the largest improvements in employee engagement (top 5% of organisations) seem to occur in smaller organisations (2,600 survey respondents vs 13,300 survey respondents). However, across the entire sample there is no consistent relationship between organisational size and either changes in employee engagement or employee feedback regarding whether positive changes have taken place as a result of the survey. This means that while the largest changes achieved may be observed in smaller organisations, change is achievable for small, medium and large organisations. It is more likely the implementation of change rather than organisation size will determine change outcomes. One important aspect of change implementation is effective change management. For example, as shown in Figure 2, organisations are more likely to show improvement in employee engagement when employees feel they have been supported to adapt to organisational changes. 4

5 Figure 2. Relationship between being supported to adapt to organisational changes and changes in employee engagement. Improvement in Employee Engagement Supported to adapt to changes Notes: Two-tail Pearson correlation, r =.32, p =.02, n = 52 organisations To increase the effectiveness of change management within your organisation: Regularly communicate and consult widely with stakeholders who will be affected by the change to (a) Understand whether the change process may have unintended consequences and to (b) Manage stakeholder expectations regarding the likely outcomes of the change process. Genuinely listen to and respond to any stakeholder concerns raised throughout the change process. Provide stakeholders with the necessary resources, tools and/ or training for them to effectively adapt to changes taking place within the organisation. Understand the common challenges when implementing changes and think of strategies to mitigate these risks. For example, challenges around changing mindsets and attitudes; corporate culture and poor project management. See our publication Making Change Work 4 for more information. Evaluate the success of the change process on intended outcomes over time. Lesson #4. Engagement Survey Results Better Reflect the Here and Now, but Perception Matters A common question asked by organisations is to what extent are employee responses in the survey affected by the here and now versus the past. Clearly communicate the reasons behind the change taking place, including explaining what outcomes the changes are likely to lead to and how they fit within the broader organisational strategy. 5

6 Improving Employee Engagement Our data suggests that employee engagement levels in any given time have a stronger relationship with employee attitudes and perceptions in the present rather than in the past (see Figure 3 for an example). However, present attitudes may reflect attitudes of the past if employees do not perceive change has taken place. It is employees perceptions that will impact their engagement, and perception does not always completely align with reality. Thus, to drive engagement in your organisation simply executing change is not enough. The changes must be clearly communicated and evident so that employees can visibly see the change. Figure 3. Relationship between Trust in Senior Leadership at present and previous survey and employee engagement at present survey. A couple of simple but effective approaches to help ensure survey feedback reflects the current climate of an organisation include: Clearly communicate to employees changes in the organisation as they take place. Always link the changes back to people s feedback in the survey. Ask employees in repeat surveys to base their answers on their experience working in the organisation after the previous survey (e.g., the last 12 months). Summary To sum up, some of the key learnings we gained from examining repeat surveys are: Present Level of Employee Engagement Present Survey* Previous Survey Improving employee engagement is a long-term process and best achieved with a long-term solution (including repeat measurement and adjusting the approach over time). Employee engagement is unlikely to improve unless survey results are acted upon. Improvements in employee engagement are achievable for organisations of all sizes other factors (e.g., change implementation) are more important than organisational size for driving change outcomes. Employee engagement surveys better measure current attitudes than attitudes of the past (assuming change has occurred and employees are aware that change has occurred). Repeat surveys provide a useful channel for continuously listening to your people s voice, and help you measure the effectiveness of change efforts over time. Trust in Leadership Notes: Regression coefficient, B =.71, p <.001, n = 150 organisations 6

7 How IBM can help Today s human resources organizations need to attract and grow top-performing talent, create engaging social and collaborative cultures, and connect the right people to get work done. IBM solutions combine market-leading talent management and social collaboration tools with the power of workforce science and advanced analytics. We help organizations build impassioned and engaged workforces, and deepen client relationships that can lead to measurable business outcomes. To learn more about IBM Smarter Workforce solutions and services, please visit ibm.com/software/smarterworkforce References 1 IBM (2014). Many contexts of employee engagement. White Paper. 2 Rana (2015). High-involvement work practices and employee engagement. Human Resource Development International. 18(3), IBM (2014). Barriers to survey follow-up: Execution, importance, resources. White Paper. 4 IBM (2008). Making change work. White Paper. 7

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