Employee Engagement The Key for Sustainability Implementation! Leadership and CSR Conference March 6, 2014 Kevin Wilhelm, CEO Sustainable Business Consulting
What is employee engagement? I m making a difference : Create real meaning, not mission statements Motivating jobs Good relationships A compelling future Loyalty is earned, not bought Designing motivating jobs one employee at a time Accenture 2011, What Executives Really Need to Know about Employee Engagement
What is employee engagement? cont. My company has my back : Cultivate a culture of trust and respect Safe environment Dependable colleagues, you can count on them! We re in this together : Actively balance effort and recovery Energy boosters Sane expectations Pulling the right levers
Most employees Not Engaged 71% of American workers are "not engaged" or "actively disengaged" in their work, meaning less productive. Gallup (2011) Majority of American Workers Not Engaged in Their Jobs
Benefits of engaged workforce Gallup found that business can secure greater profitability by actively engaging employees. Comparing top-quartile to bottom quartile engagement % difference. 16% in profitability 18% in productivity 49% in turnover for low-turnover companies 12% in customer loyalty 37% in absenteeism 60% in quality (defects) (those with 40% or lower annualized turnover) Gallup (2009) The Relationship Between Engagement at Work and Organizational Outcomes
Additional Benefits 2:1 Employees who can make an impact while on the job report greater satisfaction than those who can t Majority of students (65%) expect to make positive social or environmental difference at some point through their work Over half of the student population (58%) would take a 15% pay cut to work for an organization whose values are like my own Net Impact 2012, Net Impact Talent Report: What Workers Want in 2012
Sustainability s importance to Gen Y/Millenials 88% of graduate students and young professionals factor an employer s CSR position into their job decision. 86% would consider leaving a job if their employer s CSR performance no longer held up. 2011 PriceWaterhouseCoopers study, Millenials at Work: Reshaping the workplace Almost 50% of respondents between the ages of 18 to 24 would choose a position with a socially responsible company, even if they had to take a pay cut. 2010 Penn Schoen Berland, Corporate Social Responsibility Branding Survey
Barriers that need to be overcome Overworked. Too much on plates already and another thing to do No perceived senior buy-in Boss doesn t appreciate additional time away from my job People don t know what to do. Need training to think differently Extra capital required to fund events People don t feel empowered Apathy. Loss of momentum for attending events, people stop reading communications, taking action Middle management and department managers don t see value
Types of Management 1. Hierarchical 2. Egalitarian/ Flat 3. Mixed Model 4. Functional 5. Product 6. Geographic Top-down, clear lines of authority Few structural layers and intermediaries Dual hierarchy; has multiple lines of authority with some employees reporting to at least two managers. Centered on job function By product line: Chevy, GMC, Buick North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific
Types of Management 1 Hierarchical Top-down, clear lines of authority 2 Egalitarian/ Flat Few structural layers and intermediaries 3 Mixed Model Dual hierarchy; has multiple lines of authority with some employees reporting to at least two managers. 4 Functional Centered on job function 5 Product By product line: Chevy, GMC, Buick 6 Geographic North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific
Change Management Methods Collaborate Oriented Facilitate group brainstorming sessions Develop or improve the employee suggestion and feedback system Develop an online internal collaboration platform Create Oriented Use social media and crowd sourcing to generate new ideas faster Create a training program to cultivate creative thinking Empowered intrapreneurs Control Oriented Understand relevant regulations and associated risk exposure Analyze or audit existing processes and environmental impacts (e.g., life cycle analysis) Review existing policies for procedural inefficiencies and opportunities for sustainability Compete Oriented Establish goals, objectives, and measures based on company vision and standards Benchmark performance against initiatives of key competitors Use competitive means for project idea generation, such as a contest between individuals and teams
Change Adoption Curve
Personality and Learning Styles Personality Styles Personality Styles Introverts vs. Extroverts Introverts vs. Extroverts Social (interpersonal) Solitary (intrapersonal) Social (interpersonal) Solitary (intrapersonal) Learning Styles Auditory Visual Hands on/physical Logical (reasoning)
Engage The Skeptics/Naysayers Find Common Ground When you run into resistance, ask questions differently to find out what is behind their resistance, and try to seek common ground. Group vs. 1 on 1 Outsider Help Realize that it is actually very rare when you need to have everyone in the room. Most of the time it s best to have little side meetings offline If you cannot make any headway, sometimes a solution is to bring in an outside consultant or facilitator.
Engage the Skeptics Position Typical comment Response Investor Relations Maximize shareholder value. The DJSI has outperformed the S&P 500 for 10 years. Accounting This is going to cost more Sustainability initiatives tend to save money both short/long term Legal Don t want to disclose You don t. But you should track, it s risk mitigation Operations I know how to do my job! Yes, but this is how it ll be different, easier, save $ Sales Market unproven, fad Ability to sell new products to top line. PR Supply-Chain Don t want to greenwash We re too small to influence change Opp to leverage all company efforts Just start the conversation. Create procurement guidelines HR Can t afford benefits Look at what you offer, you could switch to options/flex.
Activity: Break into groups of 3-4 Come up with a few more examples of Expected Barriers Then possible Strategic Responses for each of them.
Ground rules on break outs Identify the barriers Then ways to overcome them Share stories Feel free to be vulnerable, nobody has 100% done this If you ve struggled or failed, it s okay, what did you learn Record ideas, know that you ll be reporting out. And only have 3 minutes
Your Group Expected Barriers Strategic Response
11 keys for successful sustainability implementation 1. Define Sustainability 2. Make the Business Case 3. Stakeholder Engagement What s important to them 4. Baseline - Measure what matters, metrics and KPIs 5. Aligned Vision and Goals 6. Mgmt Support & Resource Commitment (Time, Money, People) 7. Understand your Org & People How best to do change 8. Employee Engagement: Train, empower, intrapreneur 9. Implement: Create policies and procedures 10. Institutionalize: Job descriptions, evaluations, compensation 11. Communicate Most importantly, HAVE FUN!
What needs to be done Goals that are clear and integrated throughout the company Frequent Corporate-Wide Communication so employees know what & why Resource Commitment (Time, Money, People) Departmental/business division/facility: Middle management (budget, eval) - Goals should match impact Individual: (performance, eval, bonus) Metrics could be: - % of employees trained in sustainability - % employees evaluated on sustainability Job Descriptions Integration with evaluations: Set targets and measure Make the Business Case Gamification & competition is necessary