1. Keeping Employee’s Engaged
in Difficult Times
Lori M. Smith, Capstone Coaching & Consulting, Inc.
Nikki Novotney Rieck, Strategic Programs, Inc.

2. Session Overview
• A Few Basics About Engagement
• What Are We Seeing In The Workplace Right Now?
• Ways To Re-engage Dis-engaged Employees
• The OD Network: Future Focus

3. Starting Close to Home
What does it mean to be engaged in
your work? What helps keep you
engaged?

4. What is Engagement?
 Engaged Employees:
 consistently speak positively about the organization to
coworkers, potential employees, and customers
 have an intense desire to be a member of the
organization despite opportunities to work elsewhere
 exerts extra time, effort, and initiative to contribute to
business success
―Employee engagement is about translating employee
potential into employee performance
and business success.‖
Melcrum Report
Source: Employee Engagement, How to build a high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing, 2005.

5. Why is Engagement Important to
Your Organization?
 Multiple studies show a correlation between levels of
engagement and business performance
(Gallup, Towers Perrin, Great Places to Work, International Survey Research)
 Engagement studies reveal companies with higher
percentages of highly engaged employees also have:
 Strong customer-focused organizations
 Increased retention, decreased absenteeism and staff turnover
 Better financial performance:
(Revenue growth (Towers Perrin), Operating Margin And Net Profit Margin (1999, 2001
ISR), Total Shareholder Return (2003, Hewitt), Stock Market Performance (2002, The
Frank Russell company)
Source: Employee Engagement, How to build a high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing, 2005.

6. Engagement Measures a Composite:
 The words and actions of senior management
 The words and actions of direct supervisors
 Informal recognition of work well done
 Clarity around one‘s roles and responsibilities
 An equitable basic workplace environment
 Clear and regular communication
 The opportunity to develop skills and talents
 Belief in the future of the company
 Formal reward and recognition
Source: Employee Engagement, How to build a high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing, 2005.

7. Top 6 Drivers Of Employee
Engagement
 Actions of Senior leadership
 Actions of Direct supervisors
 Opportunities for career advancement
 Belief in vision, values and strategy
 Fostering of people culture
 Compensation and benefits
Source: Employee Engagement, How to build a high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing, 2005. p. 59, North America.

8. Employee Engagement Cycle
Fully
Engaged
Passive
Commitment
Active
Evaluation
Complete

9. Impact of Loss of Engagement &
Turnover
Financial
Organizational performance
Customer dissatisfaction
Loss of competitive edge
Reduced safety
Decreased quality

10. What Are We Seeing Right Now?
Reactions to the Recession
In your organizations?
72% of companies have reduced their
workforce in response to the recession
(Towers Perrin)
The number of actively disengaged workers has
gone from 3% to 24% in organizations who have
laid off workers (Gallup)
Source: Re-Engage Disengaged Employees, Alison Davis, SHRM website

11. Reactions to the Recession
47% of high performers are looking to leave
their jobs when the economy picks up
Only 18% of low performers want to
leave
Source: Leadership IQ.com

12. Engagement Factors
50
40
30
Frequency Count
20
10
0
Source: Research by Strategic Programs, Inc.

13. Importance vs. Performance
4.00
3.50
3.00
Importance
2.50 Performance
2.00
1.50
1.00
Source: Research by Strategic Programs, Inc.

14. Top 6 Drivers Of Employee
Engagement
Listed in order of impact:
 Actions of Senior leadership
 Actions of Direct supervisors
 Opportunities for career advancement
 Belief in vision, values and strategy
 Fostering of people culture
 Compensation and benefits
Source: Employee Engagement, How to build a high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing, 2005. p. 59, North America.

15. Ways to Re-engage
Dis-engaged Employees
• Your thoughts
• Ask team members (customers) what engages them and then
take meaningful action – 1 on 1
• Talk with your team members—ask them what they need to be
successful? what drives them crazy? Determine what is
actionable and then follow through
• Create ownership for the work and for success
• Help team members see how their work contributes to the
overall success of the business and to the customer
• Find meaning in your work – how does it contribute to the
overall good?

16. Ways to Re-engage
Dis-engaged Employees
• Use the ―Swiffer Strategy‖ – find ways to look at the same ‗ole
problems from a new perspective – ask those closest to the
work
• Focus on using team member‘s strengths – and leveraging
strengths of the whole team to get the work done
• Get team members more information – and deliver it face-to-
face and in small doses, more often
• Use Skype—or other ways to add faces to virtual meetings
• Use social media to help employees connect across the
organization – Best Buy Blue Shirt Nation

17. Ways to Re-engage
Dis-engaged Employees
• Take a personal approach -- get to know one another
• Use f2f recognition, at least once a week within your team
• Increase ownership for the results
• Expect team members to contribute
• Invest in your people – if you don‘t have $, invest time
• Find humor – appropriately of course
• Uncover the collective genius of your team members – they
just might surprise you

18. The Role of Senior Leaders in
Building Engagement
The top six most important actions for senior
leaders to build employee engagement:
1. Communicate a clear vision 70%
2. Build trust in the organization 46%
3. Involve employees in decision making that 40%
will affect them
4. Demonstrate commitment to the company‘s values 39%
5. Being seen to respond to feedback 33%
6. Demonstrate genuine commitment to 28%
employees‘ well being
Source: Employee Engagement, How to build a high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing, 2005.

19. How Organizations Measure the Impact
of Engagement Efforts
 By evaluating fluctuations in our employee survey scores 55%
 By evaluating anecdotal feedback from employees through 49%
focus groups, online forums, etc…
 By observing employees‘ willingness to participate in 32%
company programs
 By observing increases in employees‘ receptiveness to change 29%
 By analyzing other data in the business, 29%
i.e. profitability, retention, etc..)
 Through other means 4%
 We do not formally measure the impact of our engagement 32%
endeavors at this time
Source: Employee Engagement, How to build a high-performance workforce. Melcrum Publishing, 2005.

21. Board Planning Retreat
• Held in mid-September
• Included past, present and future board membership
• Used several sources for planning:
– Historical context of who we are
– Vision
– Purpose
– Results of Member Survey
• SOAR Analysis
• Goal Setting

22. Where Omaha OD Network is
Going: Our Focus for 2010-2015
Four Key Areas in Five Years:
• Create multiple avenues to help members explore, learn
and apply OD methods, tools and techniques.
• To be the preferred source for our members by providing
education about leading edge topics incorporated into
programs and professional development.
• Create a 5-year plan for creating a more robust website.
• Create increased awareness with senior leaders in the
business community about how OD can help them achieve
business results.

23. In 2010
Create Multiple Avenues
• Use round table discussions to create intentional connections
between members—deepen knowledge & networking
• Provide three additional program opportunities for
professional development outside the monthly programs
Leading Edge Topics
• Identify two leading-edge, OD-related topics to incorporate
into 2010 programming

24. In 2010
More Robust Website
• Create a plan for website development that will include the
features most in demand from members, as indicated in 2009
(and future) member survey
Increased Awareness with Senior Leaders
• Target one event per year to invite and target the interests of
a broader audience, including business leaders

25. How Can You Make a Difference?
• Stake a claim in the success of Omaha OD Network
– We‘re striving to move from less than 10% members actively
involved, contributing to the organization beyond monthly meetings, to 20%
members actively involved in 2010.
• Use your strengths to contribute to our cause:
– Program and Professional Development Committees Need People Who:
• have ideas or who
• ―know people‖ who would be good resources or who
• Like to organize or people who
• Get smarter or people who
• Like to network or people who
• Just want to make this a stronger, more vibrant and exciting chapter
Contact Nikki Novotney Rieck (303-596-3357) or Pam Nienaber (402-481-5693) --
Program Committee or Todd Conkright (777-3925) for Professional Development
– Communications Committee Needs a Few People who are Interested in Working
with our Website Strategy and Vendor,
Contact Dani Evans (361-7471)

26. "I dwell in possibility."
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
American poet
"We do not describe the world we
see, we see the world we
describe. "
by Joseph Jaworksi,
Synchronicity the Inner Path of Leadership