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• Assessing Employee Engagement Without Breaking the Bank Part 2 of 2

Assessing Employee Engagement Without Breaking the Bank Part 2 of 2

written on May 06, 2009 by Kenyon Mau

In our previous article, we looked at the basis and foundation of the EAGER Employee Engagement tool.  With that, we can move onto how this process works andhow it may be of benefit to your business.

The hallmarks of engaged employees are innovation and collaboration.  They're more than just cooperative or adaptable.  They actively generate new ideas and creative solutions that contribute to the organization's growth, as well as building on and advancing the ideas of their co-workers. T hey self-manage, stay with the company, and do word-of-mouth recruiting.

Is this rare?  Absolutely.  Gallup research found that roughly two thirds of American workers are disengaged.  But high engagement companies exist - and they're more successful.  Studies show higher productivity, greater profitability, and better growth in earnings per share among companies with highly engaged employees.

Recognizing problem behaviors as symptoms of disengagement, understanding the instincts that drive behavior, gives you the chance to intervene effectively. 

How EAGER are your employees?

Want to know how engaged your employees are?  Take the EAGER test!

Rate each behavior, based on your own observations and what has been reported to you about your employees.  No employee interviews are needed, although you can invite other employees or leaders in your organization to take the test (or even keep a tally of these behaviors in their department). 

0 = Not observed

1 = Mild

2 = Moderate

3 = Severe or High

ESCAPE/AVOID:

___ High turnover

___ Excessive absences

___ "Us/Them" splits between management and line staff, or between departments

___ Venting, griping, complaining

___ Doing the minimum

___ "Not my job"

___ Focused on the past

GET EVEN

___ Hostile communications

___ Undermining

___ Bad mouthing the company in person or on the internet

___ Employee theft of tangible or intellectual property

___ Employee litigation against the company

___ Workplace violence

RIVETED

___ High employee retention

___ Word of mouth recruiting

___ Creative problem solving

___ Collaboration

___ Self-management

___ Lively and interactive meetings

___ Focused on the future

For each behavioral category, what number shows up most often?

Escape/Avoid: ____    Get Even: ____    Riveted: ____

Escape/Avoidance behaviors indicate disengagement.

Get Even are retaliatory behaviors that work against your company goals and objectives. 

Riveted behaviors are signs that employees are actively engaged.

If Riveted = 0 or 1, disengagement is draining energy and resources.  If Get Even behaviors are also present, disengagement is high risk! 

If Riveted = 2 or 3, there is significant evidence of engagement.  You can build on this connection, to increase performance, resolve internal conflicts, and constructively direct employee energy. 

Scored a 2 or 3 in all categories?  This workgroup or organization is polarized into "us and them".  Drill a little deeper to examine the patterns - Apply the EAGER test to smaller groups of employees, then identify the factors that keep some employees "in" while others are outsiders. 

To assess your organization's readiness to improve employee engagement, ask yourself these questions:

• How high a priority is engagement to your company?
• What are the most important reasons why you want to improve employee engagement?
• Have you been able to improve engagement in the past?  How did you do it?  How can you repeat it?
• Are certain departments or workgroups more engaged?  What factors are contributing to the employees' dedication and enthusiasm?  How can you use them as a model for other parts of the organization?
• What barriers or obstacles do you face in trying to improve employee engagement?
• What support or resources can help you?

Hopefully this will give you a tool to measure the level of engagement your employees demonstrate.  In this time of economic turmoil, it is very important for small businesses to know how engagedtheir employees are for the time when things get better and employees all over Cleveland begin to set their sights on a new job.  For the employees you want to keep, this will be  important.

About the Authors

Charles and Susan Robinson are behavioral clinicians and the co-founders of Rivetmaker Consulting Inc.  They help executives to produce positive and lasting changes in workplace dynamics through engagement. 

A more extensive free version of the EAGER assessment is available online on their website at http://www.rivetmaker.com/eagerAssessment.htm