Getting top leaders on board with engagement efforts

June 25, 2009 – 8:50 am

by Julie Gebauer, Towers Perrin

Getting top leaders on board with engagement efforts is a must-do, especially in today’s environment. We’ve found that the best tactic to bring leaders into the process is to build a compelling business case linked to your larger business strategy.

There are many studies you can use (including the one we discussed in our recent webcast) to demonstrate how significantly employee engagement levels influence business outcomes. It’s also useful to highlight performance differences across different units in your own company and illustrate the change in business outcomes if all of your units moved to higher levels of performance.

A few other tactics that are effective in gaining commitment include:

  • Providing benchmarking/best practice information on top competitors in your industry and region
  • Relating employee engagement and key behaviors to customer engagement and buying patterns
  • Focusing on one or two top leaders who “get it” to champion the effort
  • Holding an executive work-out session to identify untapped opportunities for business improvements.

If engagement is viewed as something “nice to do” that only HR is championing, leaders and managers will tend to go through the motions rather than making a genuine commitment to execute differently.

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Engaging Words from Tony Dungy

June 8, 2009 – 12:50 pm

by Don Lowman, Towers Perrin
A friend of mine was recently on a flight and realized that Tony Dungy, the recently retired head coach of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League, was seated next to her.

For those of you who don’t know who Tony Dungy is, he was a remarkably successful football player and coach — he won the Super Bowl as a player with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1978 and he was the first African American head coach to win the Super Bowl when he led the Colts to victory in 2007. He retired with many coaching records at the end of the 2008/2009 season, including most consecutive playoff seasons (10) and highest average number of regular season victories (10.7). Tony not only knew how to win, but he won with grace and he garnered respect from players, fans and his fellow coaches.

My friend, a devout football fan, couldn’t resist the opportunity to hear Tony’s ideas first-hand about leadership and what lessons he had learned from coaching that might apply to business leadership. Here’s what Tony told her when she asked him about his philosophy on leading a team, which she then shared with me:

  1. His parents were both teachers and they believed that it was their responsibility to make every student an “A” student. But not every student learns the same way, so you have to tailor your style to each individual to bring out the best in them.
  2. You have to make each player on the team understand that the good of the team is greater than that of any individual, and that you can only be successful as a team. 
  3. You have to earn your players’ trust — this is foundational to the first two. They have to trust that your coaching and advice is what is best for them and for the collective team.

So to paraphrase one of the most successful and respected coaches in the National Football League over the past 10 years, there are three simple rules to coaching and effective leadership: Know the individual needs and learning styles of the people on your team and customize your approach to growing them; make sure that all the members of the team are focused on what is good for the team and what success looks like; and commit to building and maintaining their trust.

Tony’s tips are consistent with many of the lessons we learned from the Engaging Eight in our book, Closing the Engagement Gap. These coaching lessons apply to any competitive endeavor involving people, be it sports or business. We should all be so lucky to apply them as successfully and with as much passion and grace as Tony Dungy.

–Don

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Webcast Available On-Demand: Reengaging the Workforce to Get Back to the Future

May 15, 2009 – 1:33 pm

If you missed Don and Julie’s Webcast on May 14th, it is now available on-demand. This recorded Webcast, as well as others in the Towers Perrin’s Cost, Risk and Performance series, is available here:

Towers Perrin’s Cost, Risk and Performance  series

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Upcoming Webcast: Reengaging the Workforce to Get Back to the Future

May 7, 2009 – 9:09 am

Don and Julie will be presenting ”Reengaging the Workforce to Get Back to the Future.”

We’ll explore what leading organizations are doing to:

  • Keep top performers and pivotal talent engaged and motivated
  • Leverage the current economic environment as a platform for positive change
  • Position themselves to move quickly into growth mode once recovery is in full swing. 

Join us for this Webcast on May 14th at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT.

Click here for more information or to register

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The Informality of Engagement

May 6, 2009 – 1:50 pm

by Don Lowman, Towers Perrin
Some of the best meetings I have in business — whether they be with our clients or with the people who work with our firm — are the informal ones.

Although our hectic schedules don’t allow for too many unscheduled “drop by” meetings, these informal meetings typically have a subject line on the calendar that says “catch up” and the absence of a formal agenda allows for a pretty free-wheeling conversation.

What I like best about these meetings is that they feel more relaxed, I feel more open with my own thoughts, and I feel like I can connect on a different level than a more formal meeting seems to permit.

When was the last time your own boss stopped by for more than a few minutes just to catch up and to ask how things were going or to ask your opinion on a few issues he or she had been thinking about? When that happens with me, I know that my own engagement level goes up a lot, and I would bet you feel the same way when it happens with you.

And this in turn reminds me that I don’t do it enough with the people who report to me or, just as importantly, with people outside of my direct line of sight who I don’t often see. Make time in your schedule every week for a few of these meetings. They don’t take tons of time or preparation, but they can strengthen relationships and they definitely help build engagement.

And you will also find that you can get a better feel for what is really going on than formal meetings seems to produce.

By tpengagement | Posted in employee opinions, feedback, management tactics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Boards of Directors — It’s time to engage!!

April 28, 2009 – 10:30 am

by Don Lowman, Towers Perrin
Readers of this blog may not realize that I am an executive compensation consultant.   I have been for most of my 27 years at Towers Perrin.  In today’s environment — with all of the bad press about “grossly overpaid” CEOs and words like “shameful”, “outrageous”, “inconceivable”, etc. being used to describe various aspects of executive pay — you may wonder why I would even admit that I consult in this area.  But I am proud to be an executive compensation consultant.

Critics argue that  a central issue with respect to the problems of executive compensation — and, much more significantly, with respect to the crisis that has sent the world’s economies into a tailspin — is one of governance and a failure to understand and oversee risk. 

The responsibility for assuring effective corporate governance resides principally with a company’s board of directors.  And in many recent cases of company failures one of the root causes was the failure of company boards to fully engage and dig into the true economic and financial circumstances of the companies they were responsible for governing.

So what do great boards of directors do?  They fully engage!  What does “full engagement” mean in the context of a board of directors and overall corporate governance?  Here are some things that great boards should do:

  1. Don’t overcommit and underdeliver. Being an outside director today requires more time, attention, and commitment than many board members can realistically devote . Twenty-five years ago, many outside board members served on six, seven or more boards.  Today, three board assignments is a stretch for most.  It may feel prestigious to have a longer list of board appointments, but this can put the board member and each of the companies he or she serves at significant risk.
  2. Do your homework and pay attention.  Board members need to insist on receiving information for Board and committee meetings at least  a week in advance of the meetings, and they need to study the materials and prepare good questions in advance of the meetings.  Board members can no longer fulfill their responsibilities by simply skimming documents as they travel to the meeting.  And the chairs of board committees need to work with management to ensure that sufficient relevant background information is prepared and distributed to committee members.
  3. Ask lots of questions — even if the question may seem stupid.  For many years, board members would sit politely and listen to management presentations and quickly vote “Aye” when the resolutions were read.  And the meetings would be pretty brief and remarkably smooth and comfy.  Today, board members have to raise questions when issues aren’t explained to their satisfaction, when unfamiliar terms are used, or when there seems to be incomplete discussion of potential risks.  It is too risky not to ask.
  4. Insist on executive sessions.  Boards and their committees must reserve time to discuss issues without management present.  Executive sessions allow for a more open dialogue and enable Board members to raise issues and concerns they may feel uncomfortable raising with members of management present.
  5. Get to know the next generation of leaders. At some point, often before it may be planned. senior executives need to be replaced.  It is very costly to go outside the organization for new leaders, both in recruiting costs and make-whole payments, as well as in opportunity and transition costs.  Insist on meeting the next generations of leaders and ensure that there is an organized process for their development.

- Don

By tpengagement | Posted in management tactics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Bloom Where You’re Planted

April 21, 2009 – 10:34 am

by Julie Gebauer, Towers Perrin
Accept the job you’re in – even if it’s not perfect – and do it really well. That’s the advice Macy’s CEO, Terry Lundgren, is giving today’s workers.  It worked well for him and he thinks it is one of the keys to building a successful career.  He believes that doing good work will simply lead to more opportunities. 

At first blush, this advice for employees appears outdated, especially for the Gen X and Y workforce.  Why wait around in a job that’s not as challenging as you’d like?  Why not let your boss know you’re ready to do more?  There are actually some good reasons to follow Mr. Lundgren’s advice.  In fact, managers and leaders should actively consider how this advice applies to their employees – especially given today’s economic crisis.  Here’s why: 

  • From a practical perspective, the perfect job – or even a better job – may not exist.  The global economic crisis is certainly impacting job availability in the short-term and may do so for the longer-term as people who were otherwise intending to retire are rethinking their plans.  If there’s not a way to make the current job engaging, companies are likely to have suboptimal performance.
  • There are ways to do things better in almost every job.  Taking a job beyond it’s stated boundaries can be demanding and rewarding.  Employees who are in a job that doesn’t seem challenging enough on the surface can look for ways to streamline processes, improve products, or develop new business models.  
  • Considering the longer-term, employees with a strong and broad foundation in their business are often better equipped to move to more senior levels in an organization.  With a weak foundation, the career ladder will become wobbly at some point, limiting an employee’s ability to move past a certain rung. 
  • Employees who have first-hand experience in a variety of areas within a business can often develop win-win solutions for all stakeholders impacted by an issue.  For example, a Regional Sales Director who also spent time in entry-level R&D and marketing roles is better equipped to establish and sustain an important market feedback process to inform new product development and marketing campaigns. 

Given the continued importance of learning and development as an engagement driver in today’s economic situation, managers will be well-served to recognize these concepts. 

Based on the opinions of the millions of people we survey each year, we know that an increasing percentage of people have a positive view about their long-term career prospects (up to 68% favorable in Q1 2009 from 60% favorable in Q1 2008).  However, fewer people believe their company provides the information and resources to help them manage their careers (down to 58% favorable in Q1 2009 from 65% favorable in Q1 2008). 

Managers should be clear with employees about their development opportunities in their current role, and even set relevant goals in this area.  Managers should reiterate the long-term benefits to employees of blooming where they’re planted and be transparent about the path for moving ahead.

By tpengagement | Posted in management tactics, pay and salary increases | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Lower Pay, Higher Engagement

April 14, 2009 – 5:17 pm

 by Julie Gebauer, Towers Perrin

“I haven’t been this engaged in years.”

It was the last thing I expected to hear from an employee (whom I’ll call Jane) who was being asked to cut back her hours and her pay as part of a company’s efforts to manage labor costs. After asking her to repeat herself, I realized I wasn’t hearing things and needed to get her story.

Jane’s story was a straightforward one about an inspirational leader who involved employees to address a big business challenge. Business demand had started letting up near the end of 2008 and it got worse in the first few months of 2009. The leader of the business communicated results openly to all employees as they occurred. He enumerated the potential short-term and long-term implications and each employee’s role in influencing the outcomes. He and his leadership team also listened to employees about future business demand to incorporate these views into their best estimate of longer-term results.

Jane said that her business leader painted a very clear picture of the future for employees. Employees could see that the short-term would be difficult. They also saw the potential for future success later in the year. Everyone saw the need to reduce the overall cost of operations over 10% almost immediately to meet shareholder expectations. And they understood the need to focus on generating sales that would flow through to revenue in the second half of the year.

With this picture in mind, senior management talked through the alternatives to decrease operating costs – from layoffs to travel policy changes. They explained the best alternative was for employees to reduce their hours and their pay in addition to some very pragmatic expense management tactics for the following reasons: 

  • The business would retain its full complement of skills.
  • They would be ready to respond to business demand as and when it returned.
  • They would not incur severance or outplacement costs typical in a layoff and, as a consequence, could keep people on payroll for more time.
  • They could offer employees flexibility in how they took their time away from work.
  • They expected that the senior staff would remain engaged and work some of the hours for which they weren’t being paid in order to get the business back on track.

The communications were high touch. The business leader and his leadership team held a lot of one-on-one discussions and prepared front line managers for discussions with their employees.

Jane said most employees reacted as she did. She sees this as an interesting and challenging opportunity to work closely with her team to solve a big problem. She sees the potential to learn a lot, develop new ways of doing things and collaborate with other people focused on the same goals. She feels like senior leaders were thoughtful in their assessment of the alternatives and she has confidence that they will come out of the downturn stronger than they were previously.

The leaders in Jane’s business set a terrific example for us to:

  • Create and communicate a compelling and realistic vision for the future in which all employees can see themselves.
  • Communicate openly and candidly.
  • Give employees credit for understanding relatively complex business issues .
  • Tap into employees’ collective wisdom.
  • Don’t just tell employees “what”, tell them “why” and “how.” 
  • Be visible and accessible – especially when rolling out programs that impact people significantly.

 It’s great to see how these keys to closing the engagement gap work in today’s environment.

By tpengagement | Posted in cost containment, management tactics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Book Signings as First-Time Authors

April 8, 2009 – 11:50 am

by Don Lowman and Julie Gebauer
We have both had the rather odd experience over the past couple of months of having various individuals and groups asking us to sign copies of our book. We are both quite willing to oblige, but it always feels a bit strange to think that someone is basically asking you for an autograph and to simply write your signature without some interaction.

And so with each book we sign, we try to find out a little about each person and what makes them interested in the subject of engagement.  These brief dialogues we have are pretty interesting.  Here are a few observations:

  1. It seems that most people have some notion about what employee engagement is, but few can really define it.  Some think it’s about happiness, some think it has to do with loyalty, and others think it’s synonymous with commitment.  But most seem to have a real interest in learning more — and not enough people say that they feel highly engaged personally at the moment.
  2. We hear great stories from some people about positive actions their companies, their bosses or their companies’ leaders have taken to drive employee engagement.  We also hear some pretty fascinating horror stories about what NOT to do!
  3. A lot of people wonder how to get their senior leaders to take an interest in this subject and feel resigned to the notion that unless there are changes in leadership, the workforce will not be engaged.
  4. Too many people are inclined to believe that you can’t drive employee engagement during a down economy or that there is no point in measuring it.  We really feel strongly to the contrary and tell them why we think it might be beneficial to reconsider their perspectives
  5.  Lots of people have asked when we are going to publish “Volume 2″ and we have heard some great stories about why their company should be featured if we do write another book.
  6. As I told one of my friends who is a successful author and does very popular book signing tours, Julie and I won’t risk getting writer’s cramp during any of our signings.

It has been fun to meet so many new people and talk to them about this topic.  Raising consciousness a little may help to make a difference, even in a few of those companies where we hear that “our leadership just doesn’t seem to get it.”

- Don and Julie

By tpengagement | Posted in employee opinions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Employee Engagement in Action

April 2, 2009 – 1:50 pm

by Don Lowman, Towers Perrin
I had a really cool experience a couple of weeks ago when I was asked to deliver a keynote address at an offsite meeting for the 225-person leadership team of a major global company. 

The subject of the presentation was the role of leadership in driving employee engagement, and they wanted me to discuss our book Closing the Engagement Gap and some of the key findings from it.

 I worked really hard on the presentation and this company pulled out all the stops to help me make sure everything went well.  One of those things was connecting me with “Dwayne,” one of their longest-serving employees, who was in charge of coordinating all of the speakers’ presentations.

Dwayne contacted me a week before the meeting and told me when he would need to have my presentation, what the A/V capabilities and requirements were, and how I could reach him if I needed anything.

I flew in the night before my morning presentation and Dwayne told me to call him when I landed so that he could know when to expect me at the hotel.  He wanted to get my presentation loaded onto their equipment, check how it would project in the meeting room, see how the video clip I was using would fit in, and note cues they would need for anything special I was doing. 

Dwayne met me in the lobby, waited for me to get my bags to my room, and got me one of my favorite sodas. He then personally escorted me to the meeting room while telling me all about the meeting.  I had never met Dwayne before and I didn’t expect any special treatment.   And the amazing thing to me is that as special as he made me feel, he didn’t give me preferential treatment — he treated everyone the same way.  He was very proud of his company, took his job very seriously and was there to help in any way he could.

As we ran through my presentation there was a slide that didn’t project as well as I wanted it to and the only solution was to add to some fairly complicated Powerpoint animation to it.  Dwayne told me not to worry, he would fix it and it would be no big deal. I wasn’t so sure, and I asked him to only fix it if wouldn’t take a lot of time.

I left the room to get ready for the dinner and realized about an hour later that I had left a folder I needed in the meeting room.  When I returned, there was Dwayne on his own working on my slide.  I told him to please not go out of his way and that I could talk my way through the original version.  But he said he knew how much I cared about this presentation and how much effort I had put into it and he really wanted to make it perfect.  He said it would just be a few minutes more.  And so he worked away.  He just asked that I come back after dinner to run through it one last time. 

When I got back to the meeting room after dinner, Dwayne not only had another bottle of my favorite soda but he also had a chilled glass of my favorite wine waiting.  We ran through the presentation together very fast and the slide he had worked on was now perfect.  And so I sat with Dwayne for an hour.  He told me he had been with his company for the same number of years I have been with Towers Perrin.  We talked about leadership and values and the importance of authenticity, integrity and respect.  We said good night and I felt like I had made a new friend. 

The next day, I returned the favor to Dwayne that he had done for me.  In part of my presentation, I referenced Dwayne’s important act of engagement in helping me out.  When I got to the slide he had fixed, I called it “Dwayne’s Masterwork” and told the audience about my experience with Dwayne and how what he had done for me reflected so well on the company and its leaders. I told them if they wanted to understand what engagement was all about and how leaders could drive it, they could probably learn as much about it by talking to Dwayne as they could by listening to me.  They gave Dwayne a standing ovation.  And he richly deserved it.

- Don

By tpengagement | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)