Presentation delivered at HR DIRECTORS BUSINESS SUMMIT Birmingham UK 3rd February 2015

1. Employee Engagement:
Where next?
HR Directors Business Summit
Birmingham, UK
Feb 3rd 2015
Nicholas J Higgins CEO, VaLUENTiS Ltd &
Dean, International School of HCM (‘ISHCM’)

2. Professional Services
www.valuentis.com
Smart. Smarter. Smartest...
‘PEOPLE SCIENCE®’
Organisation Intelligence
to
improve organisation performance
• Human Capital Management Evaluation
• Employee Engagement
• Talent Management
• Workforce Productivity & Performance
• HC Analytics
• HC Forensics & Risk
• HR Function ROI Analysis
• Organisation Measurement
• Management Education
• Organisation Strategy
SOLUTIONS
‘The leading human
capital management
specialists’
“As evidence-based management practitioners, our purpose is to enhance
effective people management (and its impact on productivity/performance) in
organisations, whilst enabling greater individual managerial professionalism.”

3. THE
EE
PLAYBOOK
Line of
sight
Work
environment
Operating
culture
Development
Reward
(equity)
Performance
link
What we bring…
Employee Engagement Solutions
Evidenced based definition,
understanding and
application
Measurement
wisdom and
expertise
On-line tools
and analytics
Employee survey
design expertise
and processing
Project
management
expertise
Actioning
strategies and
tactics
Frontline
blended
learning
‘License to
manage’
programmes
Senior management
feedback sessions and
group management
coaching
Global
reach
‘Twelve years of
innovation…’
Team productivity/
performance
modelling

6. 6
Psychological Conditions of Personal
Engagement and Disengagement at Work
William A. Kahn
Academy of Management Journal 1990
“Personal Engagement is the simultaneous employment and
expression of a person’s ‘preferred self’ in task behaviors that
promote connections to work and to others, personal presence
(physical, cognitive and emotional), and active, full role
performance.”

7. The concept of Employee Engagement ‘EE100’:
A synthesis of antecedent theories and empirical evidence - 100 years in the
making
Source: The antecedents of Employee Engagement,
Nicholas J Higgins & G Cohen, VaLUENTiS technical paper 2003
Wider
Group
Immediate
Team
OrganisationIndividual
•Group theory
•Trust theory
•Teams theory
•Conflict theory
•Decision-making theory
•Motivation theory
•Goal setting and task theory
•Equity (justice) theory
•Trait theory
•Expectancy theory
•Commitment theory
•Needs theory
•Social cognitive/
self efficacy theory
•Cognitive dissonance
•Wellbeing/Burnout
•Job satisfaction
•Organisation Citizenship Behaviour
•Learning theory
•Behaviourism
•Emotional Intelligence
•Psychological contract
•Leadership theory
•Organisational ‘fit’ theory
•Other I/O psychology
contributions
•Organisation performance &
measurement*
Human Capital Management practice/systems:
•Training & Development
•Performance management
•Reward & recognition
•Resourcing & selection
•Organisation communication
•Talent management
•Leadership
•Organisation culture
•Employer brand
•Human capital retention
•Organisation design
•Workforce diversity
•High performance work systems
•Fayol - Principles of management
•Taylor - Scientific management
•McGregor Theory X/Y
•Mayo/Hawthorne studies
•Tavistock – Socio-technical systems
•Lewin (MIT) - group dynamics/behaviour
•Munsterberg - Industrial psychology
•Follett - Management relations/integration
•Hertzberg – Two factor theory
•Drucker – Practice of management
•Kahn – Personal engagement
•Likert – Management system/measurement scale

8. ‘Higher Employee Engagement and modes of productivity’
More likely to
embrace ‘set
values’ and act
accordingly
Less likely to suffer
stress
(but more likely to
suffer burn-out)
More likely to ‘own’
their development
More inclined to
input into ideas/
innovation
More likely to give
discretionary effort
above contractual
obligations
Less likely to move
employer
Less inclined to
take days off
Each job role/family has its own ‘context’ and ‘specificity’
which impact on individual productivity and collective
performance

9. 9
Sub-optimal performance,
i.e. less than achievable
Or
Sub-optimal costs,
i.e. higher than necessary
Or
Both
Impaired Employee Engagement:
Impact on individual and team productivity/performance

10. Employee Engagement in Organisations:
3rd Annual Report
31st January 2015
in collaboration with
Authors:
Nicholas J Higgins & Graeme Cohen

11. Does your organisation/business unit use a
definition of employee engagement?
YesNo
Don't know
2%
47% 51%

12. How do we know what we are measuring is
employee engagement?
Don't measure/
No answer provided
Answer provided
doesn't explain
Use assumed
model/advice of
consultants
Part research
explanation but vague
*Note: Categories derived from open text reclassification
23%
42%

13. 13
 Embedding working EE definition for
communication and understanding
 More accurate measurement and focus with
technical underpinning and checking of
underlying premises
 A maturing in terms of generic concepts
backed up with technical definitions to
provide organisational ‘stickiness’ (analogy
with accounting)
Where next…?

14. Once a year
(census)
Twice a year
(census)
Once every
two years
(census)
Every quarter
(pulse) including
annual (census)
4%
12%
Our organisation conducts an employee survey....
53%
Don’t conduct
employee
surveysAs and when
required

15. Our survey question set includes how many
questions...?
[< 20]
[20-40][41-60]
[61-80]
[> 80]
38%
17%

16. 16
 The move towards an ‘integrated’ system of
annual (census) and interim ‘pulse-type’
surveys on blended media channels
 Question sets ‘audited’ for balance and ‘fit
for purpose’ together with analytics
expertise
 Technical expert ‘process ownership’ to
protect against ‘objective hacking’ or
‘instrument morphing’
Where next…?

17. Yes
54%No
41%
Don't know
5%
As an organisation/business unit,
we link our employee survey data
with other people data
(e.g. appraisals, exit, absence
etc)?
Yes
41%No
54%
Don't know
5%
As an organisation/business unit,
we link our employee survey data
with other performance data
(e.g. sales, customer/patient/team
productivity, safety etc)?

18. Where next…?
“EE BIG-small analytics…”
New (re)hire data
Performance
appraisal data
Case data
Other internal
survey/assessment
data
Exit data
Organisation
event log data
Critical
incident data
Social media
data
Customer/client/
patient/citizen/
passenger data
Employee/management
survey data

19. With regard to the evaluation/measurement of people management in
your organisation/business unit, which one of the following statements
is the most accurate?
Don’t know/Can’t decide
We don’t measure on an ongoing
basis
We use a sophisticated mix of
measurement approaches…
We have a basic scorecard of HR
metrics like absenteeism, turnover etc
We have basic scorecard of HR metrics
plus employee engagement scores…
We have some form of evaluation across
the various supporting people
processes/systems…
41%
23%
19%
7%
7%
2%

20. DIVERSITY
EMPLOYEE
CENTRICITY
EMPLOYER
BRAND
HR
GOVERNANCE
HR
OPERATIONAL
EXCELLENCE
LEADERSHIP
ORGANISATION
CLIMATEORGANISATION
COMMUNICATIONS
ORGANISATION
DESIGN
PERFORMANCE
ORIENTATION
RESOURCING
RETENTION
REWARD
TALENT
MANAGEMENT
LEARNING &
DEVELOPMENT
796
813
742
674
615
431
487
642
628
594603
684
657
599 416
‘Out-performing’
(world class)
‘Out-performing’
(peer)
‘Comparable’
(peer)
‘Under-performing’
(peer)
Where next…?
Advanced management analytics: Management Pathfinder®
Client example
(extended HR
function version)

21. Which of the following statements describes our organisation/business
unit’s approach to embedding employee engagement infrastructure?
We don’t have any recognisable support
infrastructure
We use employee surveys and other
measurement instruments, linked with
performance/ productivity data and
actioning initiatives
We use employee surveys and other
measurement instruments, linked with
performance productivity data, backed up
with L-M education and actioning initiatives
It’s basically in the guise of an action plan off
the back of the employee survey
35%
26%
22%
16%

22. Where next…?
Actioning Employee Engagement Infrastructure
Supportive top
leadership and
‘signalling’…
‘Interactive’ people
management evaluation
process
map
Multi-survey
mapping and
planning
overlay
EE related
development/
learning
programmes
& workshops
People Manager
evaluation/
appraisal
(regular
‘practice runs’)
Defined ‘how to’
strategies around
engagement
elements
‘Live’ Employee
Engagement
adapted QFD
(‘House of
Quality’)
Dedicated
internal focus team or
nominated ‘on-point’
person
Nominated
People Manager
Engagement line
champions
Organisation
event logsLinks into wider
organisation
intelligence
analytics
Wider
communications/
branding

23. Does your organisation/business unit utilise an ‘Employee
Engagement playbook’…?
Yes, in full
2% Yes, in part
13% Currently under
design
4%
No
72%
Don’t know
9%

24. ModelsStrategiesImplementationLearning
Contents
1. Engagement strategies
2. Engagement operating ‘system’ models and
analytics templates
3. Question-statement selection and construct
design
4. Measurement index construction,
maintenance and reporting
5. Engagement Driver Factor (EDF) analysis
6. Engagement ‘forcefield’ analysis
7. EE project management methodology and
flowcharts
8. Engagement ‘issue work-through’ tools
9. Management learning programme design and
evaluative criteria
10. Engagement Transformation Programme (ETP)
methodology
11. Core applied theory summary capsules
12. Human Capital Management framework
EE playbook4
Where next…?
The EE playbook

25. Does your organisation/business unit operate a ‘License to
Manage’ threshold for managers to become people managers?
Yes
No
75%
Don't
know

26. 26
 Much more attention given to ‘manager’
engagement scores and their impact, based
on deeper analysis
 More pro-active, streamlined and frequent
learning for managers to upgrade
competency (or remove responsibility)
 ‘License to Manage’ to become the default
setting within most, if not all, operating
cultures
Where next…?

27. The ‘Six Pillars’…leading to strategy
EE PLAYBOOK
1. Grounded understanding of Employee Engagement
2. Working definition of Employee Engagement
3. Measurement wisdom
4. Actioning infrastructure
5. Dynamic EE-Performance ‘playbook’
DELETE
6. Competent leadership/management

28. Organisations and employee engagement:
The ‘4-ball’ success model
Play down
‘We don’t...’
Play act
‘It’s all about PR…’
Play safe
‘At least we audit/
benchmark...’
Play make
‘We do it…’
The four progressive states
of employee engagement
embeddedness in
organisations

29. Employee Engagement in Organisations
Play Safe
Play Make
Play Down
Play Act

30. 30
 ‘Playmakers’ continue to best leverage their
employee engagement in organisation
performance terms, i.e. ‘best in class’
 ‘Playsafers’ go one of two ways – either
kick-on to PlayMaker™ level or eventually
regress to Playactor level
 ‘Playactors’ look to transform to playmaker
level or remain stuck in a ‘false PR loop’
 ‘Playdowners’ have the opportunity, with
the right leadership, to transform to
Playmakers or remain where they are.
Where next…?

32. Nicholas J Higgins
nicholas.higgins@valuentis.com
VaLUENTiS Ltd, 2nd Floor, Berkeley Square House,
Berkeley Square, London W1J 6BD
HO: +44 (0)207 887 6108
M: +44 (0)7811 404713
www.valuentis.com
www.ISHCM.com
www.NicholasJHiggins.com