How To Improve Engagement Levels  

,  we've all worked with someone who has literally "checked out". Maybe it was a coworker, manager or even you. The problem is that disengagement is like a virus that spreads quickly. It has immediate negative repercussions on productivity, communication, collaboration, innovation, morale, customer service, you name it! 

The 2011 Employee Engagement Report issued by global consultants BlessingWhite, shows that worldwide engagement levels are at an all time low with only 1 out of 3 employees reporting being fully engaged at work and 17% of all employees reporting they are completely disengaged. Ouch! Not surprising, it's also costing your company big time. The Gallup organization estimates that over $300 billion a year is lost due to disengaged workers. Think of all the POSITIVE CHANGES to be made with that money!

If you are reading this article and have high hopes that your people will hit those revenue goals this year, grow that new line of business or successfully shift the company in a new direction ~ now is the time to engage in a very simple strategy: STOP, LOOK  and LISTEN.  

STOP. Assess how often you check-in with your employees to provide them feedback on their performance, their team contribution or service delivery attitude. How can you do better? Consider the next available opportunity to ask employees their opinion on how to improve something that's been done the same way for years. Bring this conversation up in your next staff meeting. 

Management by walking around (MBWA) is not dead. As a matter of fact it's desperately needed to establish stronger, more trusting relationships with employees. Based on the survey results from BlessingWhite, it's just as important for Executives to do as it is for Managers.

LOOK. Take a look around at your next team meeting ~ are the same people always contributing? When's the last time someone came up with something truly innovative? Create a team environment where everyone feels comfortable speaking up. This might require new tactics for gathering feedback such as sending out an email ahead of time and asking for input prior to the meeting. You might also consider more brainstorming in your staff meeting using sticky notes where everyone throws their ideas up on a flip chart. 

Look at what is being recognized in your company. Do the behaviors and experiences you're recognizing align with your long-term goals and strategies for the business? Ask your employees what they believe gets recognized at your company. The answers might shock you.  

LISTEN. The simplest way to figure out if your employees are engaged and committed to the vision and success of your company is to listen to them.  What are they saying about your company? What do they tell new hires about what it's like to work for your company?  If you don't know, send out an all-employee email with one question ~ What 3 words would you use to describe our company to others? This is how you find out if you have a reputation in the industry that is attracting the best and brightest or scaring them away.

Addressing engagement levels can't be done through surveys and training. It's about something much deeper. It has to be a focused internal makeover of your organization, a fundamental shift in mindset across the company. One example is to begin defining the behaviors that encourage participation and collaboration in your company and make sure they are taking place on a daily basis at all levels. This is what builds a foundation of trust  - the single most important factor impacting engagement levels.

Perhaps you need to address individual levels of personal disengagement on your team. Here are some suggestions that might help you...

Top 5 Suggestions for Addressing Personal Disengagement

1. Encourage employee to volunteer for a challenging project to work on something they would find interesting. Preferably something that would stretch their abilities and it is not directly tied to their role.
2. Reassess employee workload and how much time is required to complete each task. Is it possible that your employee is completely overburdened due to being short staffed? Consider what low priority items could be delegated to another team member or let go of completely.
3. Have a heart to heart discussion with your employee on where they right now and more importantly what they are missing from their work. Research has shown that unmet and unspoken expectations are large contributors to employee disengagement. However, once those expectations are spoken ~ even if they cannot be met, engagement levels go up.
4. Allow for more accountability in their work. What decisions could your employee make that are currently being made by the manager? Talk with employees about what this might look like if some decisions were delegated to them. Set clear expectations for success.
5. Ask employee to revisit their career path. When is the last time your employee considered doing something new in the company? Is there another area in the organization that interests them? Are their opportunities to job shadow in the organization? Discuss these options with your employee.

Addressing engagement levels may mean a major cultural shift for many organizations that have traditionally used a "top down" approach to getting things done. However, most companies would agree that retention, expense reduction, customer satisfaction, succession planning and employee commitment levels are top priorities in their business. If that's the case for your business then NOW is the time to STOP. LOOK. LISTEN.

President's Message  

To quote Bob Dylan, "Oh the times, they are a-changin'!"

Change is in the air. The end of August brings the beginning of a school year, which reminds us of change, and new beginnings. It doesn't matter whether you're helping children get ready for a new year, or you are going back to school yourself, or you simply remember what it was like.

Not only is it a season of change, but also change is all around us. Change is accelerating in many areas - including our profession. The move from Training and Development to Talent Development is indicative. There are many kinds of Learning Professional roles in Talent Development - Facilitator, Coach, Trainer, Instructional Designer and/or Developer, Administrator, Manager. For all these roles, the mastery of your craft is an exciting journey, filled with many questions. How do you continue to grow and add value for your constituents? How do we develop others? How do we help find a solution for problems? Do we have the skill sets to guide and support when the solution is not training? How do we continue to be part of the solution? Where do you want to go next?

This may be exciting, terrifying or both. Take a minute and reflect where you are. What is your next step in the development of your talent? Are you ready to present and guide solutions? How are you viewing the changes in front of you? Something as simple as our point of view can make a difference in how we cope or embrace the change that is coming at us.

Our chapter has lots of resources to help you prepare for the future. Our next few meetings offer some exciting tools - Carol Clark and gamification in September, and Ken Phillips will provide two webinars and a live event to help you better assess the efficacy of your training.

There are also webinars, ATD National programs, the Denver Chamber of Commerce and our many partnerships. Take a look at the "events" tab on our website www.atdrmc.org. The Facilitator's Exchange, an ATD-RMC Special Interest Group (SIG) is re-launching on Thursday, August 28th. We hope to see you there.

Finally, do not forget the wealth of support you have in this chapter. You are a phone call/email away from somebody who can give you ideas for how you can continue to grow as a Learning Professional.

Speaking of change, we continue to re-brand our chapter. By now you've seen our new web site. At future meetings you'll continue to see the new face of ATD-RMC. Many thanks to Yvonne Bogard and Ted Penberthy for their leadership on this front.

Your chapter continues to thrive. Today we have $27,074 in the bank, which covers a year of expenses, as part of our Chapter Operating Requirements (CORE). We currently have 218 members, up 1 from July.

Thank you for your continued support and contribution to our community. Your participation, thoughts and energy keep us strong and help us thrive. I encourage you to make the most of your membership by joining us at meetings, and volunteering. Volunteering expands your skills/knowledge, and helps you get and stay connected to the Denver learning community.

We are here to serve you. Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions. You can email me at rmagnotta@atdrmc.org.

Thank you,

Becky Magnotta

2014 ASTD Rocky Mountain Chapter President.