Employee Engagement Toolkit

[Dan Brady]

Engaging employees seems an obvious and desirable goal for any organization. It also seems that there are a number of approaches used to measure how engaged (or disengaged) a workforce has become. Since we have a goal (engagement) and a way to measure progress against that goal, my question is what are the systematic processes that can be employed to improve?

Over the past decade, I've been involved in implementing the Toyota Production System or "Lean" in a large number of organizations. One of the most satisfying outcomes that I've encountered in the most successful of these implementations
has been the almost electric response of employees who were finally asked to help improve their own workplace.

Moving equipment, changing processes, reducing inventory is all good stuff, but the real magic - when it happens - is the response of the rank and file to being asked for their opinion and for their help. This involvement, usually is the form of a "kaizen" or improvement team is a key element in making a lean transformation work.

My observation that a process or "tool" such as a kaizen team can have a big impact on employee engagement has led me to look for other such tools that can help improve employee engagement.

How about it? What can organizations do that will systematically help engage their employees? What are the tools that we should have in our employee engagement toolkit?

[Ken Krings]

Dan I would love to see what you have developed. Take a look at the Manager Toolkit that I recently launched at Yahoo. I will now be working on an employee toolkit and would love your ideas

[David Marklew]

Ken, I recently joined the network looking for, among other things, ideas for tools to help drive engagement. I enjoyed seeing what you have developed and they have stimulated a few ideas.

thanks for the sharing

regards

David

[Dan Brady]

Ken, the materials you've pulled together are super. Are these sent as a package to supervisors at Yahoo, or do you distribute them as a result of triggering events? ( new hire, employee review, end of quarter etc.)

Dan

[Lara Green]

One of the best practices I've picked up over the years in the employer/employee relationship is ... Recognition
Employee's appreciate being noticed for their efforts they put into the company. When recognized they feel appreciated & continue to work hard and enjoy their jobs.
employee recognition ............ crystal awards

[Dan Brady]

Laura, I'm of the opinion that there is some value in finding systemic approaches toward engagement that continually help the organization develop an engaged workforce. For example, giving recognition is
often cited as a great way to reinforce and encourage great employees, but how does an organization incorporate a recognition program that regularly results in appropriate recognition? How is the recognition program itself continually monitored and improved? Is it possible to objectively determine that the recognition program is achieving the desired outcomes?

Dan

[James Reece]

Greetings to you Dan and you are correct - it's always about the people.

The PEOPLE Academy is a company advancing the cause of business development through employee engagement. Our flagship The PEOPLE Model has 2 principle components. The first is a collection of on line tutorials, exercises, management bulletins, training guides, and support material. It is extensive and has been very well received. The other component I believe is the most exciting. It is the framework that allows people to engage in the process of work. It even begins by asking the question, “What does good look like?” It then seeks to uncover what is blocking the power to produce and asks the employees to consider the questions of ownership and responsibility. It forces all answers and activity to link with organizational goals and for a metric to be determined so we know when we get there.

I have attached a copy of the framework and encourage a discussion on its use. It is a non prescriptive highly interactive facilitated process that is exceptional at identifying opportunities for growth and improvement. As you review the Framework, imagine a focused facilitator-led session that is guiding a group of employees through the framework and you can realize its potential. There are also a number of other highly engaging diagnostics that are also useful for gaining specific knowledge on a host of business issues.

The website is www.thepeoplemodel.com and I encourage you to take a look. It may seem a little ethereal I admit but further discussion should answer all of your questions. I would also be very happy to send a complimentary copy of our book to anyone who would be interested. Just drop me a note.

I wish you good will in the upcoming days and look forward to speaking with you again.

Best regards,

Jim

[Dan Brady]

James, Thanks for your input into our discussion. As you can see from my earlier comments, I seem a bit fixated on finding ways to regularly incorporate employee engagement in an ongoing and systematic way.

The intent would be to offer an organization specific tools that when regularly applied would result in a significant improvements.

Your framework sounds like an excellent way to engage employees in a discussion about the actual work itself and how their ideas and efforts could make improvements. The fact that it's designed to link the discussion to the organizations goals is also super. How is your framework introduced to the organization? Have you found a way to make it a regular and ongoing improvement initiative? Does the Framework have a way to measure its impact on the organization ?

Dan

[abe lewis]

Has anyone started a Employee Engagement Committee? I am looking for a sample of terms of reference for the committee