MY LATEST BOOK JUST PUBLISHED

 

PRIME TALENT ISN'T LOOKING FOR A JOB: THEY WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!

20 POINTS TO PONDER : BEYOND “ENGAGED @  WORK” SURVEYS

There are several characteristics that are typical of an engaged employee.  These characteristics are a combination of inherent personality as well as their emotional growth as your employee. Engaged employees feel a strong emotional bond to the organization that employs them. Here are 20 questions  to reflect upon: 

1.    Does your employee  understand the strategic goals of the broader organization?

2.    Does your employee know what he should do to help the company meet its goals and objectives?

3.    Does your employee see a clear link between  his work and the company’s goals and objectives?

4.    Does your employee tell friends and family about new job openings in your company?

5.    Does your employee passionately supports your brand’s mission, vision, and values?

6.    Does your employee look for ways to help promote the fair name of the employer brand?

7.    Do employees find meaning and  purpose in their  jobs?   Does  their  work make  a difference for others?

8.    Do employees have  freedom, self-governance, and  an ability to make  choices about their  work?

9.    Does  the  job provide development and  growth opportunities.  Does  the  work challenge and  stretch employees to grow  and  improve?

10. Do employees feel like they  are successful in their  work?  Do they  see  that their  effort makes a difference and  contributes to the  success of the  organization?

11. Do employees have  a personal connection with the  people they  work with, their  boss, and  the  social community of the  workplace?

12. Does your employee volunteer to accept more work?

13. Does your employee  see the job as a channel to promote their personal ambitions and careers?

14. Does your employee feel the team  climate inspires & support  him to do the best Quality work?

15. Are your employees having conversations with their managers about how they’re going to get their goals – including their career goals – accomplished?

16. Does your employee have the appropriate resources to make correct decisions about  work?

17. Does your employee have a good understanding of informal structures and processes at the organization?

18. When something unexpected comes up in your work, do you usually know who to ask for help?

19. Does your employee seek to further the success of your company?

20. Does your Employee feel a sense of happiness in their occupation and who foresee a future with their company as well?

Instead of having elaborate employee satisfaction surveys and resorting to some sensational initiatives to steal employees hearts or improve employee satisfaction survey scores;  train managers to informally solicit their team members opinion The is the natural complement to  today’s performance management system; which  revels in regular feedback and coaching based support 

Hyper-competition has put a premium on ensuring that hi-potential talent is performing to standards (given today's high compensation costs) and serving the strategic need of the business to keep a lean workforce.

                                        GUIDE   TO   SELECTING
          SCARCE   MANAGERIAL   TALENT



New technologies, rapidly changing business models and globalization of markets and a growth oriented economy  have all increased the demand for talent. This problem is acute ... in certain critical job families where the attrition is high or the competency set is scarce . Hyper-competition has further put a premium on ensuring that hi-potential talent is performing to standards  (given today's high compensation costs) and serving the strategic need of the business to keep a lean workforce. Therefore selecting, retaining, and developing talented people is the biggest challenge for any business today.

The following  few  guidelines help you design and implement effective talent attraction and selection approaches:

A WELL-DEFINED STRATEGY. The foundation of any recruiting effort is a clearly defined and communicated strategy that illustrates the brand message, target candidates, primary sources, and most-effective closing approaches (the who, what, when, and how). Poorly defined or communicated strategy elements results in wasted resources and weak hires. In addition, the best strategies have the capability of “shifting” as the economy and the demand for candidates change.

 PIPELINE APPROACH. The most effective recruiting approach is to build a steady stream of applicants (a pipeline). In order to build a continuous “talent pipeline,” use a “pre-need” approach that includes workforce planning, branding, continuous sourcing, and onboarding. 

EMPLOYMENT BRANDING. The approach with the highest impact and the only long-term recruiting strategy is employment branding, the process of building your external image as an excellent place to work. By proactively making it easy for potential applicants to read, hear, or see the factors that make working at your firm exciting, you can dramatically increase the number and quality of your applicants over a long period.


 ENSURE A SPEEDY PROCESS. Making fast hiring decisions is essential whenever a candidate in high demand decides to make a job switch. Top candidates must be hired using “their” decision timetable. Research shows that top candidates are off the market in less than half of the normal corporate time to fill. 

BUILD A CULTURE OF INVOLVEMENT. The most effective approaches build a corporate-wide “cultural of recruiting” where every manager and employee is a recruiter. Because of their continuous contact and interaction with outside talent, everyone must play an important supplemental role in identifying talent and in spreading the employment brand. The most effective recruiting strategies convince employees to be 24/7 talent scouts, making every employee a recruiter. 

A CANDIDATE-CENTRIC APPROACH. Focus the process on the candidate’s needs, their job selection criteria, and the candidate experience. A significant part of recruiting is “selling” the candidate on applying for and accepting the job. At least in part, recruiting must follow the customer relationship management (CRM) and the sales and marketing models. Often, the number-one reason why candidates reject job offers is the way that they were treated during the hiring process. It’s also important to note that candidates may be current or future customers, so treating them poorly can directly impact future revenue. 

LINE MANAGERS ARE THE DELIVERY SYSTEM. Although corporate HR DEPT  designs the process, managers “deliver” and execute a significant part of that process. As a result, hiring managers must understand its elements and support its precise execution. You must effectively demonstrate to individual hiring managers that they will suffer whenever a bad or “butts in chairs” hire is made. managers that convinces them of the importance of executing the process Therefore, recruiting must make a strong business case to individual hiring precisely. The most effective way of influencing hiring managers is by converting recruiting results into their dollar impact on that individual manager’s revenue and profit.

TOP QUESTIONS TO EVALUATE  MANGERIAL POTENTIAL

·         You have been assigned a project but you have not been given a clear picture of it; its pretty hazy. Can you still proceed and complete it? Did you do something like this in your earlier jobs? 
·         Are you a good implementer, an action person? Are you also a good thinker and planner? What is more important for you? Why? 
·         Can you give an example of any process improvements you achieved recently and what was its impact on various factors? 
·         Tell us about an important assignment you handled. How did you manage it and what were the results? 
·         What is more important to you; processes or results? What ever is your answer, why do you think it that way? 
·         How do you set up the priorities for your day-to-day work? 
·         Do you like to take the challenges involved in fire fighting or would you rather be more cautious and eliminate such emergencies? 
·         Have you worked on any cross-functional project? What were your experiences on it as compared to a purely internal or departmental project? 
·         How do you rate yourself as a decision maker? Can you describe any decision making situation where you were at cross roads; a dilemma situation, and you came out as a winner? 
·         If any of your projects derails, goes behind schedule, how do you pull it up to bring it back on track? 
·         Can you construct your decision making process and share with us? Take your time to think and then tell us. 
·         Can you confidently communicate with your superiors your professional ideas? Do the persons high up in the organization hierarchy intimidate you? 
·         How do you update your knowledge and skills? Do you have any specific approach to it? Can you elaborate it? 
·         Do you encourage participation of your team members or do you push your decisions through them? Provide some examples to illustrate your style. 
·         Can you describe your conflict handing process? Give an example. 
·         Did you ever have significant difference of opinion with your boss? What was it? How did you deal with it? 
·         Has it ever happened with you when your basic values were put to test in an organizational situation? What did you do? 
·         What are your leadership qualities? Do people work for you with enthusiasm by taking initiatives? Then, you must also be delegating lots? 
·         Sometimes it happens that if you work for perfection or 100% quality, you may lose an opportunity, time is of essence. Would you rather push an imperfect product or solution so as to make the most of the opportunity? What's you take on it? 
·         Can you narrate the problems you faced in implementing any solution that you recently introduced? How did you tackle them? 
·         Can you sell your concept, ideas and solutions to others who matter? Share your experience with us on this. 
·         Do you have any experience of conducting or coordinating the meetings, either in a room or using teleconferencing facilities? Give one such example and how did the meeting go on various counts?

Best of luck
Dr Wilfred Monteiro

1.      

1.      

Team Climate is the crucible in which talent is nurtured. If the team climate is not conductive the flame of enthusiasm and engagement blows out!!!

Keys to Building

 Hi-Performing  Work teams

“Teams share the burden and divide the grief.”

Where achieving targets and goals is concerned, the combined efforts of two or more people are always better than the effort of a single individual. In the workplace, where people tend to have diverse ideas, skill levels, and work attitudes and behaviors, a good manager must be able to foster an environment where business teamwork can flourish and succeed. 

THE ADVANTAGES OF USING TEAMWORK IN THE WORKPLACE.

It increases the likelihood of success - The most obvious advantage of fostering business teamwork in the workplace is the increased likelihood of a project's success. Since teamwork combines the strengths of all members of the team, there will be better ideas tossed around and considered as the result of brainstorming. At the same time, the strengths will form a combined advantage that can help the team address any complicated task at hand.

It provides motivation and sense of security- Business teamwork allows team members a sense of security in that everybody can share in the tasks at hand, avoiding the possibility of personal responsibility for any error or mistake that may emerge. At the same time, working in a team motivates the members to work together to achieve their common goals. With renewed enthusiasm and a stress-free environment in which to complete the tasks, there is no reason why the project should be a resounding success. The only way to achieve a stress-free teamwork environment is with a great leader. A bad teamwork environment can add stress to the workplace, which is exactly the opposite of what you want to accomplish.

It divides the work that needs to be done- As we all know, a major task can suddenly seem much easier to accomplish when broken down into segments or sub-tasks. In an environment where business teamwork is fostered, team members can divide the tasks among themselves (or with the mediation of a manager), thus making it easier for the entire team to achieve the target result.

It allows the team members to learn from one another- Last but not the least, the most important advantage of teamwork within a group is that it serves as a venue where team members can share information and exchange ideas and opinions. In this manner, everyone learns from the skill sets and expertise of each other.

Fostering teamwork is a top priority for many leaders. The benefits are clear: increased productivity, improved customer service, more flexible systems, employee empowerment. But is the vision clear? To effectively implement teams, leaders need a clear picture of the key elements high-performance teams have in common. So what are the essentials in successful teams?

KEY ELEMENTS HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAMS

1. COMMITMENT 

Commitment to the purpose and values of an organization provides a clear sense of direction. Team members understand how their work fits into corporate objectives and they agree that their team's goals are achievable and aligned with corporate mission and values. Commitment is the foundation for synergy in groups. Individuals are willing to put aside personal needs for the benefit of the work team or the company. 

To enhance team commitment leaders might consider inviting each work team to develop team mission, vision, and values statements that are in alignment with those of the corporation but reflect the individuality of each team. 

2. CONTRIBUTION

The power of an effective team is in direct proportion to the skills members possess and the initiative members expend. To enhance balanced participation on a work team, leaders should consider three factors that affect the level of individual contribution: inclusion, confidence, and empowerment. The more individuals feel like part of a team, the more they contribute; and, the more members contribute, the more they feel like part of the team. To enhance feelings of inclusion, leaders need to keep work team members informed, solicit their input, and support an atmosphere of collegiality. Another way to balance contribution on a work team is to enhance employee empowerment. When workers are involved in decisions, given the right training, and respected for their experience, they feel enabled and invest more. It is also important to have team members evaluate how well they support the contribution of others.

3. COMMUNICATION

For a work group to reach its full potential, members must be able to say what they think , ask for help, share new or unpopular ideas, and risk making mistakes. This can only happen in an atmosphere where team members show concern, trust one another, and focus on solutions, not problems. Communication --when it is friendly, open, and positive --plays a vital role in creating such cohesiveness. Positive communication impacts the energy of a work team. When members talk about what they like, need, or want, it is quite different from wailing about what annoys or frustrates them. The former energizes; the latter demoralizes. Too often people are so obsessed with being heard that they always want to speak. The reality is that real success potential is unlocked when people really listen.

4. COOPERATION

Most challenges in the workplace today require much more than good solo performance. In increasingly complex organizations, success depends upon the degree of interdependence recognized within the team. Leaders can facilitate cooperation by highlighting the impact of individual members on team productivity and clarifying valued team member behaviors. When people are genuinely interested in each other, they look out for each other. For me this means helping people when they are struggling or facing a challenge

5. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT 

It is inevitable that teams of bright, diverse thinkers will experience conflict from time to time. The problem is not that differences exist, but in how they are managed. If people believe that conflict never occurs in "good" groups, they may sweep conflict under the rug. Of course, no rug is large enough to cover misperception, ill feelings, old hurts, and misunderstandings for very long. Soon the differences reappear. They take on the form of tension, hidden agendas, and stubborn positions. 

On the other hand, if leaders help work teams to manage conflict effectively, the team will be able to maintain trust and tap the collective power of the team. Work teams manage conflict better when members learn to shift their paradigms (mindsets) about conflict in general, about other parties involved, and about their own ability to manage conflict. Three techniques that help members shift obstructing paradigms are reframing, shifting shoes, and affirmations.

6. CHANGE MANAGEMENT 

It is no longer a luxury to have work teams that can perform effectively within a turbulent environment. It is a necessity. Teams must not only respond to change, but actually initiate it. To assist teams in the management of change, leaders should acknowledge any perceived danger in the change and then help teams to see any inherent opportunities. They can provide the security necessary for teams to take risks and the tools for them to innovate; they can also reduce resistance to change by providing vision and information, and by modeling a positive attitude themselves.

7. CONNECTIONS

A cohesive work team can only add value if it pays attention to the ongoing development of three important connections: to the larger work organization, to team members, and to other work teams.

When a work team is connected to the organization, members discuss team performance in relationship to corporate priorities, customer feedback, and quality measures. They consider team needs in light of what's good for the whole organization and what will best serve joint objectives. Leaders can encourage such connection by keeping communication lines open. Management priorities, successes, and headaches should flow one way; team needs, successes, and questions should flow in the other direction.

Teams that connect well with other work groups typically think of those groups as "internal customers". They treat requests from these colleagues with the same respect shown to external customers. To compete effectively, leaders must fashion a network of skilled employees who support each other in the achievement of corporate goals and the delivery of seamless service. 

8. HAVE THE MISSION ALWAYS BEFORE YOU.

There is likely to be more than one role that you could take on a team. The key is to get everyone doing what they do best. If you get everyone focusing on their area of excellence they are going to really deliver great results.It is sometimes hard to take responsibility and be accountable for what you said you would achieve, especially if it has not worked out quite as planned. At the same time being accountable creates a huge amount of respect.

Sometimes the end goal or outcome can seem just too big. It is easy to get disheartened or believe that it is impossible. To overcome this natural feeling, break the end goal or outcome into small attainable wins. We are often fast off the mark to criticize when things don't go to plan. By celebrating success, we motivate and inspire people to deliver more. And the really good news is that it can be really easy to do..

Best of luck

Dr Wilfred Monteiro

The TALENT MASTER works steadily and proactively on a few simple but effective practices which aim at increasing employee loyalt and reducing attrition

9 PRACTICES  FOR

  INCREASING TALENT RETENTION

How should companies work to increase employee satisfaction Here is a summary of my findings both through my consulting assignment as well as my academic research. The work best if applied in a low profile but genuine manner... quite unusual since a lot of HR best practices are lost in media hype and not sustained in the long-term

Here is a summary of my ideas:

1.BALANCE WORK AND PERSONAL LIFE 

I have place it first not by accident but by intent...Balance work and personal life - HR professionals are  battling to the challenges of a transforming workforce reality the need to be aware of certain trends which impacts efforts to attract and retain talented employees. Work-life balance application to a person's effective work-life and personal life wasn't as important in the past as it is today because, in the past, people often are able to attend easily to every major role in their life. Family is very important to all of us, when work begins to put a significant strain on one's family no amount of money will keep an employee around. So a small gestures of allowing an employee to take an extended leave once a month to watch with his daughter's or son's schools activity will likely be repaid with loyalty and extended employment with an organization.

 2.WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY 

Be flexible whether that means specifically giving your workers the option to work flexible hours, do some customize schedule rotations or a self-scheduling thru coordinating with some other staffs in-charge are good ways to promote positive employee morale or you could allow your staff to leave work early for a personal matter when appropriate. Workplace flexibility is hard to manage, because you need to meet operational demands. But it has to manage so the flexibility policy should be well defined and be implemented accordingly so its' good intent will not be lost.

3. TREAT EACH EMPLOYEE WITH RESPECT AND AS AN INDIVIDUAL 

Treat each employee with respect and as an individual, recognize the team member's contribution in front of members of management. This can reduce the tendency for employees to feel that their supervisors take all the credits. Know how to recognize your staff, not all employees want to be singled out at a gathering of hundreds of peers. The approach to recognizing team members can vary greatly by generational group. You might humiliate unintentionally a baby boomer by having them stand up in front of their colleagues while discussing their recent achievements conversely a Young Gen will appreciate the opportunity. A simple "thank you" or "nice job" or a pat in a back given in regular basis or frequency can significantly boost employee morale. Often times a team member will greatly appreciate the time you spent to find him at his desk and deliver the message personally.

4.POSITIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT 

While compensation, benefits are important, the primary reasons workers leave a company are unorganized work environment, toxic workplaces, bad bosses and difficult co-workers. Every employees want is a clean, organized work environment in which they have the necessary equipment to perform well. When people and resources are not organized, physical barriers are stand in the way of being able to work efficiently, obviously it causes stress. Try to arrange things so that people have easy access to the people and resources they need. This normally works best by organizing workspaces around the people operating the process, or the types of work that they do. The idea is to make it as easy as possible for people to do their jobs. Some employee need a personal space but none is available, try blocking off areas with furniture, screens or blinds.

If noise is an issue, plants can help to soften it. Make sure that you explain to your workers why you are doing this emphasize the benefits of making the change. The quality of supervision and mentorship, by a "bad bosses" has been said so often that, people leaves people, not their jobs. Supervisors play the largest role in a team member's development and organization successes. All employees want to have Boss who's respectful, courteous, and friendly. Workers are more likely to remain with a company if they have a good and positive work environment.

5. ERADICATE FAVORITISM 

The better person can see a question from all sides without bias-Cunfucius" The so-called "inner circle club or good ole boys" can create unpleasant organization culture and can promote bitterness among team members, which can results devastating effect on some valued team members. The results of employee favoritism are destructive in natures because the following idea are unavoidable (Why should I perform if It will get me nowhere? Why do this if others will not? Why put in the effort if I will not be recognized? Why trust the boss if they are not fair?)

As a result, employees' morale, productivity, and relationship with the manager will diminished thus creating a disengaged employees which eventually create disengage customers. So equally treat all employees and avoid favoritism at all costs. Individuals want a perception that each employee is treated equivalently. Device or create a policy, a behavioral guidelines, or methods for requesting time off, and on any other work related decisions you can think about.

6. COMMUNICATION AND AVAILABILITY 

The Human Resource department needs to be very responsive to employee questions and concerns. In many companies, the HR department is perceived as the policy making arm of management. In fact, in forward thinking HR departments, responsiveness to employee needs is one of the cornerstones. You can easily do this by actively listening to your Employee's. Give them honest feedback, both positive and negative. Clearly communicate expectations, goals, and new rules to be followed.

Let them know what is expected of them. Get them involved and keep them informed - give them any information that tells them how their work fits into the overall company effort. Let's face it. Employees really want is to have a face-to-face communication time with both their supervisors and managers. This communication helps them feel recognized and important. For the managers; You may have a lot of things to do and attend to and surely your time maybe full. But, a manager's main job is to support your peers towards the success of organization. With this act managers' leads and magnifies organization success.

7. EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT 

Empowered personnel have a sense of responsibility and a sense of ownership, and their ideas are often recognized. So a workplaces that promote employee empowerment, power over what and how things are done, and the knowledge that they are important to the organization have enormous productivity results and less complaints. When employees think that they need their organization as much as the organization needs them, that need became best appreciated more than a paycheck and all benefit package that made them to stayed and remained at the company longer.

8. PLACING THE RIGHT TALENT FOR THE RIGHT JOB 

Placing the Right Talent in the Right Job dramatically increases Employees retention and enhances the organization success by reducing costs in many business aspects. Discover the way in which you can improve your employees, place them in environment that they can be truly useful. A new car behind glass is just a mass of metal plastic and glass, but a car being driven is truly what a car should be. The same goes for people once developed, one should use what they have learnt so that they can make the world around them a better place for themselves and others. And with this you shall not forget to provide them training, show them advancement opportunities and help them turn a job into a career.

9. CELEBRATE SUCCESSES, BIG AND LITTLE AND MAKE THE WORKPLACE FUN. 

Sharing small successes with your Employees' is a great way of making the workplace fun, not only by a small office party of coke & cakes … do anything novel so long as it is good enough, but you have to do what works best for you, If your immune system has taken a hit then maybe you can celebrate successes with a cup of coffee or hot tea with a loaf bread, it warms you up and still sets the tone of the celebration or maybe celebrating positive momentum for some time by just whistling a happy tune or tapping out as affirmation of an enhanced gratitude.

I am preparing a research paper on what makes the Model Workplace and the Employer-of-first choice in Indian companies .... You could share with me your findings and observations... I am looking for not just hollow jargon but authenticated case experiences which have brought about marked improvement in your company. 

With best compliments

Dr Wilfred Monteiro

MUMBAI- INDIA

www.synergymanager.net

managing talent is the strategic priority #1 from the CEO's corner office to the frontline manager ...YET HOW MANY HAVE A STRATEGIC AND SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO TALENT MANAGEMENT ???

DON'T LET THE BUSINESS RIVALS CHECKMATE YOU WITH A SUPERIOR TALENT ATTRACTION AND  RETENTION STRATEGY

PRIME TALENT DEMANDS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ENGAGMENT ... THEY DON'T MERELY WORK FOR MONEY BUT FOR INTRINSIC REWARDS

CAUTION: PRIME TALENT DEMANDS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT

Over the past few years, there's been much written about employee engagement . What it is, what it isn't, is it important and (assuming it is) how do you get it? However the notion of employee engagement is simple. Individual contribution of employees (including managers and leaders) in the workplace is very much influenced by the strength of their respective emotional connection to their employer. The stronger and more positive that connection, the more likely it is that the employee will give their best effort - in fact, go the proverbial "extra mile" - for the sake of their organization. While the vast majority of recent experiences  supports this idea, capitalizing on it requires a very disciplined strategy of measurement and response, as well as a long-term commitment of resources and talent. More significantly, it may also require some organizational soul-searching.

At its core, employee engagement is based upon the basic concept of reciprocity. The employer works to create a work environment that is so emotionally satisfying and rewarding for employees, that it literally invites them to become similarly invested (engaged) in its long-term success. Like the any sport like cricket or football, it is conceptually simple to grasp, but not necessarily easy to execute well. One of the challenges is that emotional connections can be difficult to measure and are prone to shift (in some cases quickly) in response to changes in the work environment. More confounding is that these relations are typically forged one employee at a time, yet are influenced by multiple variables (reporting manager relationships, organizational mission and values, workload, peer relationships, etc.). Add to this the cost/resource challenges created by the recession  or business cycles facing the industry employee engagement  as a business improvement initiative  can quickly become a "nice to do" for better times.

WHY EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT

¨     In times of economic doom and gloom, employees lose confidence and become fearful about the organization's future. If there have been staff redundancies within an organisation or targets aren't being met, there can be a downward spiral effect on employee productivity which can further eat into organization performance. However, when employees are emotionally and psychologically engaged with an organisation, it will perform more effectively. This has a flow on effect as employees become even more engaged. People take stronger ownership when they're involved in the organization's improved performance and future development. They also become more enthusiastic and supportive about what's happening in their work environment. They Bring a consistently higher level of commitment, creativity and energy to their jobs

¨     In creating a culture of service, performance, and operational excellence, employee engagement is the key that unlocks the door to customer loyalty. Unfortunately, the leadership skills needed to create an environment that fosters employee engagement, motivation, and trust are often elusive in many organizations.  In an environment of high engagement people can rightfully say… "I feel as though I make a difference. My job allows me latitude to make decisions and implement them in order to get the job done. At the end of the day I can look back and see what I have been able to accomplish with a great feeling of satisfaction."

HOW TO START WITH EMPLOYEE ENGAGMENT?

We can easily “guestimate” five common things that employees want, need, and expect from their employers need to be more productive, valuable, and promotable within the organization.

#1 - COMMUNICATION

Few employees feel that they get enough communication or information on company updates from their boss. Open communication is key to creating and sustaining a culture of excellence, as well as, increasing employee engagement and trust, customer loyalty, and ultimately improving bottom-line results.

Open communication can be in the form of: one-on-one updates with staff members; daily briefings with the entire team; company newsletters and intranet updates; or through regularly scheduled team or departmental meetings. Open communication does not mean sharing confidential company information, but it should include keeping your staff abreast of inter-company changes, financial results, customer feedback (good or bad), and aware of new products and services that will soon be launched.

Remember, from the employee's perspective, there is always something new to share, and when you open up the lines of communication, you lessen the likelihood of negative gossip.

#2 - INVOLVEMENT

Creating fully engaged employees, who have passion for driving excellence, also includes involvement. Most employees want to be involved in the planning of work that affects them. When employees are not involved it often contributes to misalignment, negativity, and low morale.

Involving employees doesn't mean getting their say on confidential business issues, but it does include soliciting their feedback on workplace issues, processes or procedural changes that will impact their work -- before they are implemented. When employees understand the "why" and are involved to some extent in the improvement process and implementation, you have a greater chance at creating sustainable change, a high level of trust, buy-in, and support.

#3 – THE RIGHT RESOURCES & RIGHT SUPPORT

When employees are provided with the proper tools and resources to do a quality job, it creates a great environment for holding everyone accountable for driving excellence. It also demonstrates that the organization is serious about creating a work environment where employees can thrive, be successful, and contribute to improving operational and financial results.

Basic  resources should include appropriate supplies and equipment, along with learning and development opportunities to enhance and grow employee competence, confidence, skill, and ability.

When was the last time you assessed where you stand (as a leader) in providing the basic tools and resources to ensure a job well done from your staff? If funding and budget cuts are barriers, use the wisdom of your team to surface resourceful ways to ensure they have what they need, while not causing a financial burden to the organization.

#4 - RECOGNITION

Even in organizations who profess that they do a good job in rewarding and recognizing staff members, there are still many employees starving for it. That's often because the level of recognition initiated often varies based on the departmental leader. I believe that there should be multiple channels of reward and recognition flowing throughout an organization; not only top-down recognition - which is manager-to-employees, but also lateral recognition - which is peer-to-peer.

When employees feel they are adequately recognized for a job well done, they become self-motivated to do more with less. And for the most part, a sincere "thank you" with a pat on the back from a manager or senior leader to a line employee can go a long way in creating and sustaining a culture of excellence.

What ever the workforce composition, employee engagement is strongly driven by the immediate manager and his or her ability to meet employees' emotional requirements. In this context, it is suggested that people are motivated more by intrinsic factors, such as personal recognition, rather than simply focusing on extrinsic factors, such as compensation. The following ideas can be executed with very little cost  for everyone and anyone….

¨     Invite successful teams to present their project achievements  to top management.

¨     Start a staff appreciation program. Award points for positive traits. Points may be redeemed for small prizes or special privileges.

¨     Plan a surprise achievement celebration for a staff member or team.

¨     Pass on the praise. If you hear a positive remark about a person, repeat it to that person as soon as possible--perhaps via email. . Publish a "kudos" column in your newsletter. Ask staff to submit kudos for their peers.

¨     Call an employee to your office to thank them.

¨     Express interest in your staff members' professional development or personal accomplishments like Mohan participated in the Mumbai Marathon.

¨      Establish relationships between staff and upper management. One idea: send new employees out to lunch with the company president.

¨     Mail thank you notes to employees who work long hours  for a special project/crisis and start a program to curtail needless late working as well

¨     Allow employees to select their next assignments. If you can allow employees to choose their work, they will be more engaged and dedicated.

¨     Designate successful teams and employees as office consultants.

¨     Give employees an extra long lunch break on occasion or convert this into a surprise party or celebration of a company’s achievement

¨     establish a  real generous Award to recognize employees who consistently do their job well…. This should make the others jealous atleast !!!

#5 - TRUST

Trust isn’t something you can buy. Trust is something you earn. It’s based on a set of behaviors that can be learned, practiced, and mastered. It’s a commitment that fundamentally informs how people think about and interact with customers, suppliers, and coworkers. In time, it becomes an organization’s way of being. An interesting trend observed in most companies is that the employee perceptions drop after spending 6 months in the organization. It highlights the challenge in managing new hire expectations and the possible gap in employer brand promise and the actual experience. The  change is largely related to credibility of the commitments made by management, openness in communication with seniors and recognition of work.

When leaders work diligently to keep the lines of communication open, involve employees in the planning of work that impacts them, provide employees with proper tools and resources, and consistently recognize exemplary job performance - all of these elements contribute to creating a high level of trust on both sides of the fence. In a good company , trust  should manifests itself in every relationship. Managers believe that employees want to be productive, encouraging them to participate in the business. Employees act like owners. They’re enthusiastic and passionate about their work and the company’s mission. In a high-trust environment, people cooperate and collaborate, leading to positive workplace interactions, higher profits, and greater productivity.

MASTER KEY ….ONE SIZE /FITS ALL?

Please note that every organization is different. There is a crying  need to fine tune their engagement initiatives. employees in different demographic groups feel differently about what's important to be emotionally engaged with their employer. Three key differences are … career stage; employee gender and tenure of employment within an organization need special attention and appropriate action.

Career starters are more engaged emotionally through:

1.     professional support by their immediate manager

2.     organization communication about its direction

3.     organization values and behaviors that they support

4.     organization commitment to improving operating systems

5.     organization commitment to high performance

6.     organization focus on team performance

Employees with more established careers are more engaged emotionally through:

·        trust and respect for their immediate manager

·        high performance standards for the organization

·        understanding how organization strategies are met

·        fair HR policies and procedures

·        their organization reducing risk and acting responsibly

New starters are more engaged emotionally through:

·        the relationship with their immediate manager

·        effective communication in the organization

·        organizational performance

·        a customer service culture within the organization

·        the organization reducing risk

Longer serving employees are more engaged emotionally through:

·        the organization's long term strategies and aims

·        HR policies and practices

·        plans and projects for organizational  long term success

This is not an exhaustive list or a one lasting solution ….  EMPLOYEE ENGAGMENT is a moving target. Creativity & innovation ( a buzz word) today is needed also in employee engagement… Remember what Peter Senge mentions  in The Learning Organisation”… what is the best today will be common-place tomorrow…” GIVE ME YOUR FEEDBACK… we could have a compendium of best practices of Indian companies… To know how they  invent & reinvent ways to delight their employees. Best wishes

Wilfred Monteiro