Today we round out the 13 Obstacles to Employee Engagement. And it's not even Friday the 13th yet!
A
good sales manager invites even her star salespeople to recount losses.
Listening to problems, mistakes, and foul-ups causes us to generate
solutions. That's our purpose this week: listing obstacles so you can
generate ideas to get past them.
Share your solution idea in the Comment box and receive the e-book version of my book, KAPOW! 64 Blasts to Blow the Lid Off Your Job Performance.
Here are the final four of our 13 Obstacles to Employee Engagement.
Managers Don't Model.
All
the talk in the world about Employee Engagement falls on deaf ears if
employees do not see their managers modeling their messages.
No Big Picture.
An
employee may know no more than the extent of her work. She may not how
her work fits into the entire company's operations. She may have no
sense of being an integral part of the hole.
Non-Contribution.
Working
for a company that seems an island separate from its community may
bring up the question, "What do we matter?" That may bring up the
question, "What's it matter if I do 'just enough'?"
Performance Mis-management.
Too
often annual performance reviews do nothing more than determine dollar
distribution among employees. That is not managing (or developing)
performance, nor is it stimulating long-term employee engagement.
chance to offer a solution for any of this week's 13 Obstacles to
Employee Engagement. Drop it in the Comment box below and I'll send you
the link to the e-book version of KAPOW! 64 Blasts to Blow the Lid Off Your Job Performance.
Performance Mis-management solution:
Connect EVERY objective for EACH employee to a stated goal of the business leader. If my objectives tie directly to the objectives of the Owner/President, and my daily work ties directly to my performance objectives, my review becomes a business review rather than a necessary process to complete the year. There is also the positive non-verbal feedback this creates by daily affirmation of moving forward on behalf of the Greater Good. Keeps the gas tank full!
Comment by David Rose — February 14, 2009 @ 5:42 am
My solution is two fold regarding the obstacles ‘Performance mis-management’ and ‘Managers don’t model’. If managers were to invite innovative ideas from employees and as a result managers began to model those ideas and behaviors, employees would be more engaged because they’d see their input put to work. This could be done in staff meetings, calling informal lunches to promote open communication, mini surveys, or consistent check ins.
Additionally, I believe part of manager modeling has to do with taking performance reviews seriously as a true performance management tool that can assist in driving the mission and vision of the department and organization. If managers used performance management tools to develop employees (by having what might be difficult conversations that can lead to growth) then they would be modeling behaviors and standards for performance just by using the tool in the way it was intended. As a result employees would be more engaged because they have a new purpose for making their work meaningful and for growing for the greater good of the organization.
That simple. Ha!
Comment by Audree — February 16, 2009 @ 6:40 pm