What is “employee engagement” and why should you care about it? The Gallup organization has done extensive research on employee engagement over many years.  According to their definition, “engaged” employees are those who “work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company.  They drive innovation and move the company forward.”

Gallup also tells us that companies with highly engaged employees have as much as

• 65 % less turnover
• 21% higher productivity
• 22% greater profitability

than companies with lower levels of employee engagement.

To measure employee engagement, Gallup has developed their Q12 Survey.  It’s a questionnaire designed to gauge an employee’s emotional attachment (or lack thereof) to the company, its culture, and its mission.  The overall company results are compared to Gallup’s database of many millions of Q12 surveys.  Also, results for discreet groups within the company (departments, locations, shifts, teams, etc.) can be compared to the overall company results.

How do we develop an “engaged” workforce? We believe the fastest, most direct path to employee engagement is by giving them a significant role in the company’s decision-making and problem-solving processes.  We call this “employee involvement.”  To learn more about employee involvement, click here.  We achieve employee involvement through a 9-step process.

• Conduct the Gallup Q12 Employee Engagement Survey with all employees to establish an employee engagement baseline.
• Assess the results with top management.
• Train selected managers, supervisors, and leaders in a disciplined, proven process for solving problems.
• Train selected managers, supervisors, and leaders in the skills they will need to conduct effective problem-solving meetings.
• Assemble employees into logical teams (by department, by shift, by location, etc.), each team to be led by one of the newly trained managers, supervisors, or leaders.

• Assign each team Q12 Survey problems to be solved. In other words, their introduction to employee involvement will be to participate in deciding what to do about problems uncovered by the Q12 Employee Engagement Survey.
• Monitor and critique these meetings and offer remedial training to the managers, supervisors, and leaders as may be needed.
• Schedule regular team meetings to begin operational problem-solving, decision-making, and continuous improvement programs.
• Monitor these meetings periodically to ensure continuity and to ensure the skills of the team leaders are where they need to be.

We conduct the Q12 Survey again every six months to measure progress as compared with the baseline survey.

If the prospect of a more engaged workforce that will deliver less turnover, higher productivity, and greater profitability is exciting to you, employee involvement is the way to do it.  It’s based on a simple truth: “If you want to know how to get a job done better/faster/cheaper, ask the people who do it every day.”

If you would like to discuss employee engagement in more detail, call us at (847) 382-0403 or complete the Request Form below.  We’ll be happy to spend some time with you, at no cost or obligation, to explore what a more highly engaged workforce can do for you and your organization.