Thank you for yet another insightful post. The limitations you point out of surveys are real. The Hawthorne Effect is certainly one of them. Also, people's biases: low self-awareness, self-preservation (If I score myself low, there may be negative consequences), etc. can (do) skew survey results. The proxies you mention are the top reasons we care about engagement anyway, so we certainly want to look at them; and you point out the cautions of using those. Who would have thought that actually talking to employees could give you insights into their engagement?! And who would have guessed that employees want to know the results of surveys they've participated in?! What groundbreaking news! Ha! You've done us a great service by pointing out what should be obvious--but too often isn't. "There is no value to measuring employee engagement just to measure employee engagement." So, ask people their opinion, share the results, make a plan to improve, carry out the plan. BINGO.
Ha Ha! Yeah. Who would have thought that manager’s taking an interest in their satisfaction if there people would be the biggest influence on their engagement?!
A few years ago, Dr. Bob Sutton wrote "The No Asshole Rule." It was a best seller and has remained on for years. The moment you read the title, you know exactly what the book is about, and for most of us, names and faces come to mind. For 25 years, we have engaged with our client's employees, and the number one thing we hear is "bullshit." If the "you" refers to HR, the battle is already lost. Leadership is always the problem, and neither the EE/EX services providers nor HR is positioned to force disinterested leadership to take action. You are correct; this has been a focus for decades. There are not dozens of solutions; there are hundreds. What is almost impossible to find is evidence that an EE/EX initiative improved business metrics. Without a solution to the blockers from the culture, politics, and siloed groups, the survey and measurement are of little value. Get the CEO to ask the question and use a third-party reporting to the CEO to collect the data and fight the blockers. We've had results in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and HRis never involved. It's the bullshit that no one wants to talk about, except the employees if they believe you will do something about it. But, you have to ask.
Great thoughts, thank Je. I would add that I think team leaders have an effect here as well. Bob also talked a lot about "boss as human shield" in bad cultures. And while good manager's can't change an organization's culture of engagement levels overall, they can shape the culture of their team.
When the day you leave your supervisor says, "is there anything we could have done to make you stay?" Uh, if you're asking me on my last day, it's just a mandatory question you had to ask to fill out some paperwork somewhere.
Love the stats and data used to back your video!
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
Thank you for yet another insightful post. The limitations you point out of surveys are real. The Hawthorne Effect is certainly one of them. Also, people's biases: low self-awareness, self-preservation (If I score myself low, there may be negative consequences), etc. can (do) skew survey results. The proxies you mention are the top reasons we care about engagement anyway, so we certainly want to look at them; and you point out the cautions of using those.
Who would have thought that actually talking to employees could give you insights into their engagement?! And who would have guessed that employees want to know the results of surveys they've participated in?! What groundbreaking news! Ha!
You've done us a great service by pointing out what should be obvious--but too often isn't. "There is no value to measuring employee engagement just to measure employee engagement." So, ask people their opinion, share the results, make a plan to improve, carry out the plan.
BINGO.
Ha Ha! Yeah. Who would have thought that manager’s taking an interest in their satisfaction if there people would be the biggest influence on their engagement?!
A few years ago, Dr. Bob Sutton wrote "The No Asshole Rule." It was a best seller and has remained on for years. The moment you read the title, you know exactly what the book is about, and for most of us, names and faces come to mind. For 25 years, we have engaged with our client's employees, and the number one thing we hear is "bullshit." If the "you" refers to HR, the battle is already lost. Leadership is always the problem, and neither the EE/EX services providers nor HR is positioned to force disinterested leadership to take action. You are correct; this has been a focus for decades. There are not dozens of solutions; there are hundreds. What is almost impossible to find is evidence that an EE/EX initiative improved business metrics. Without a solution to the blockers from the culture, politics, and siloed groups, the survey and measurement are of little value. Get the CEO to ask the question and use a third-party reporting to the CEO to collect the data and fight the blockers. We've had results in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and HRis never involved. It's the bullshit that no one wants to talk about, except the employees if they believe you will do something about it. But, you have to ask.
Great thoughts, thank Je. I would add that I think team leaders have an effect here as well. Bob also talked a lot about "boss as human shield" in bad cultures. And while good manager's can't change an organization's culture of engagement levels overall, they can shape the culture of their team.
When the day you leave your supervisor says, "is there anything we could have done to make you stay?" Uh, if you're asking me on my last day, it's just a mandatory question you had to ask to fill out some paperwork somewhere.
Yep. And that’s the core reason exit interviews fail.