This past weekend I took in an evening showing of the much anticipated sequel to The Hangover. The Hangover Part II is a carbon copy of the first installment and for the most part, I found it rather enjoyable. My personal review, along with sentiments shared by critics, is that it lacked the surprise, delight, and most of what made it an original hit.
I might offer the same review of the modern day employee engagement program. Far worse than a sequel; most employee engagement programs reinforce the original constructs and principles of the American workplace, which by the way aren’t so modern. In fact, those principles remain mostly unchanged since adoption from the Prussian military. It’s really pretty amazing when you take a moment to consider how dramatically we as individuals have changed our approach to job search, job function, and on the job communication. On the flip side, hiring practices, compensation, and employer to employee communication remain almost universally unchanged.
So how do companies re-engage their employees and move away from the sequel mentality? It is actually quite simple; it just requires a more current approach. That approach starts with rethinking about how engagement is communicated within the walls of your company. You might call it the “liberation of data.” Companies’ large and small conduct annual employee opinion surveys. Most of those organizations capture data that reflects a single moment in time and then share those results just once during the fiscal year. The next step is usually formal (or informal) action planning to address low scores. Then the effort retires until the cycle repeats.
This approach simply isn’t enough to address the growing undercurrent of dissatisfaction in the workplace. A significant opportunity exists during this annual gap to communicate with employees about what a culture of positive engagement actually looks and feels like. In respect to the sharing of this data, companies with a formal recognition program are ahead of the curve. They have access to valuable information about participation, recognition, and performance. The opportunity is to begin sharing this data—and not just at a management level—but peer to peer. This notion is based on the impact of social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. These sites allow individuals to present and consume incredible amounts of data real-time and make decisions based on comments, likes, and timely communication. More importantly it allows individuals to feel a sense of connection to their personal community. It is impossible to deny the impact of social networking and that we are indeed part of a “me too” culture. People inherently want to belong. Companies need to ask themselves “what does it mean to be part of our organization,” “to belong,” and “to recognize involvement.” Sharing data frequently and asking those questions puts companies on track to grow, evolve, and engage their employees. In fact, engagement builds engagement. Simply knowing that your peer received recognition, sent recognition, or met a performance objective drives interest in being part of the corporate culture; it creates a sense of belonging, and takes your organization beyond the sequel.