RECAP of Leadership Quick Tip: preview our new employee engagement survey

Our new employee engagement survey

R U Engaged?

Has found its wings!

It’s off the ground and flying

Thanks to encouragement and wisdom

Of several of the 22 female executives

Interviewed for our recent book

INSPIRING WOMEN . . . BECOMING Courageous, Wise Leaders

For example, Georgia Power executive Leslie Siebert

Reminded us that “Motivation is the key to engagement”

Our work here at Belief System Institute

Began in 1991 around just that—motivation

So we’ve built our employee engagement survey

Around what we know best and what we know works

First, we know what works because

We’ve collected data from clients

From day one and the numbers don’t lie

Seventy percent (70%) of the employees

Who have completed our programs

Became more motivated and more engaged

And quickly improved their performance

Oh, and job satisfaction shot up too

70% is a staggering number

Second, the employee engagement survey

Is based on something we did to get

70% of the people to improve their results

The survey is not anonymous

And for good reason

It doesn’t help you as a leader

To know that 60% of those you lead

Want more feedback

Or more independence

Or more structure

If you don’t know who by name wants what

That only leaves you guessing

And resorting to blanket approaches

Like treating everybody the same way

When it’s a simple fact that

Everybody is different

Hence, R U Engaged? is not anonymous

Third, our employee engagement survey

Is based on the fact that

Employees are better at

Coming up with solutions to their own problems

Than we as their leaders usually are

They know why they are not engaged

And they know solutions that will work for them

This is how we’ve maintained the 70% rate over the years

We always let employees come up with solutions to their own problems

Then they present them to their leader who makes final decisions

But our experience is that employees

Come up with solutions that are simple

Easy to implement

And low cost

Employees know solutions that will work for them

And they generally know their manager will support

Fourth, our employee engagement survey

Is based on theoretically sound principles of motivation and leadership

That we’ve been using for nearly 20 here at Belief System Institute

Specifically Victor Vroom’s expectancy of motivation

And the Belief System of Motivation and Performance

(For more information go to our website )

In other words R U Engaged?

Was developed on a solid foundation

It is a streamlined vehicle

Not like a homemade automobile that runs (sometimes)

But is not a valid and reliable means of transportation

What follows now is a sneak preview

Of R U Engaged?

First we’ll show you a sample of statements to be rated

Then you’ll get an explanation of the double-rating scheme

Followed by how employees come up with solutions

To the issues that are holding back their motivation and engagement

Here is a sample of statements

From  R U Engaged? :

My job requires

Knowledge beyond what I possess

My job does not allow me to

Do what I’m good at doing

No one takes time

To instill confidence in me

My job does not have

Clear-cut measures of performance

My job does not lend itself to having rewards

Tied directly to my performance

Praise and recognition are reserved

For those who perform well

My job does not allow me to do what I like to do

Nobody notices if I am unhappy

No one recognizes that we’re all different

Each statement is rated in two ways

“How important is this statement to you?”

On a scale of 1-10

Then “How much do you agree with the statement?”

Again on a ten-point scale

When the second rating is lower than the first

The magnitude of the gap shows the degree of the problem

For example, “My job allows me to do what I’m good at doing.”

If the “importance rating” is a 9

And the “agreement” rating is a 3

There is a big problem

This helps explain a low level of engagement

And needs to be addressed

And how does that happen

When the employee engagement survey is completed

Results are tallied and a report sent to the employee

Indicating the items that are “Problems,” “Potential Problems”

And items where there is “No Problem”

For the former two categories

A template is provided for the employee

To indicate what is causing the problem (or potential problem)

And a solution that will work for them

This becomes the basis for the final report

For employees to share and discuss with their manager

Often with a coach present leading the discussion

So if you’re looking for improving employee engagement

R U Engaged? is a great employee engagement strategy

This approach has been working effectively since 1991

The only difference now is that we have converted

Our time tested approach into an online employee engagement survey

For more information go to our website

Or call us at 678.576.5207

Martha Forlines and Thad Green

Tags: employee engagement, employee performance

Follow responses to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.