{"id":3074,"date":"2022-09-20T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-20T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/?p=3074"},"modified":"2022-09-08T09:29:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T14:29:05","slug":"yes-metrics-matter-but-engagement-matters-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/yes-metrics-matter-but-engagement-matters-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes, metrics matter \u2014 but engagement matters more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Employee engagement<\/em> has been a boardroom buzzword for quite some time. We\u2019ve long known engagement matters. Still, the unspoken \u201cbut\u201d has always been that metrics<\/em>\u2014especially those of the performance and financial ilk\u2014matter more. Now, with the talent shortage at a 10-year high, the time is right for a major shift in this \u201cmetrics-first\u201d attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a unique perspective, having negotiated hundreds of labor agreements and seeing firsthand what attracts and retains employees. As leverage keeps shifting toward employees, I see companies scrambling to offer new benefits and put all sorts of expensive retention programs in place\u2014but they\u2019re missing the one thing they should<\/em> be doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I negotiate contracts, one thing I hear all the time is that employees don\u2019t feel cared about. The key to winning the war for talent might be simpler than many employers realize. It\u2019s not just about paying more. It\u2019s about putting engagement at the center of everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of my clients get it. For example, the CEO of a huge corporation just flew in all of his HR VPs, from every division, and said, \u201cI want a 180-degree change in how we engage employees, and you\u2019re empowered to do it. Don\u2019t be driven by the business or the operators\u2014and if there\u2019s a problem, come to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the explosion of technology over the past few decades, and the advent of AI, there\u2019s been a tendency to reduce everything to just metrics. It\u2019s easy to see how this happened, as technology is an incredibly valuable tool. But too much<\/em> of a focus on tech gets in the way of making real connections. Employees are pushing back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their message to employers is this: \u201cYou\u2019ve got these programs designed to manage us. You\u2019re looking at the metrics and saying, \u2018The data shows you\u2019re not being productive.\u2019 But you\u2019re not asking us on the back end, \u2018Why is that? Are you struggling? Is there something going on in your life we can help with?\u2019 And if you\u2019re not willing to do that, well, I don\u2019t need to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in light of this growing sense of dissatisfaction, what can you do to better engage your employees? Here are a few tactics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stop putting metrics front and center<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not that metrics aren\u2019t important. They are. It\u2019s that engagement matters at least as much if not more than, say, tracking and rating employee productivity and performance. And you need to show through your words and actions that you value them, that you care about them, and that you want to help them become their best selves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of this as not an \u201ceither\/or\u201d but as an \u201cand\u201d approach. You\u2019re probably going to keep measuring. But the more intentional you can get about showing employees you care about them in meaningful ways, the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get intentional about knowing your people<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Of course managers need to know employees\u2019 goals, strengths, and other work-related factors. Hopefully that\u2019s a given. But they should also know their birthdays, who their kids are, and where they like to go on vacation. This requires regular human connections, and they aren\u2019t going to \u201cjust happen.\u201d You need to put systems in place to make them happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m seeing a resurgence of the old \u201cmanagement by walking around\u201d method happening even on factory floors. When you schedule time to do this, and also make a point of having regular face-to-face meetings with employees that go beyond performance reviews, a lot of things will change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be as flexible as possible in regard to work\/life integration <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Studies show Millennials and Gen Zers have a strong preference for good work\/life integration, and they\u2019ve gotten used to working this way over the past couple of years. As an employer, you may realize fully remote doesn\u2019t work for a particular position, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t work out a hybrid arrangement or that you can\u2019t let people adjust start and stop times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employers have to realize that there can\u2019t be any more rigid rules. The hybrid workplace is here to stay. Of course, this has to be tempered by common sense, and it has to work for the employee and the company. Still, engaging employees means listening to their needs and making every effort to accommodate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make employee well-being a top priority<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mental health issues areno longer in the closet. They can\u2019t be, in a time when so many have moved past stress and into trauma territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies are realizing that psychological well-being impacts not just engagement, but also productivity, performance, and every aspect of culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do everything you can to promote employee well-being. Keep an eye on this issue as you design benefits, career tracks, and work arrangements. And destigmatize mental health issues. It has to be okay to ask for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t neglect psychological safety <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If employees don\u2019t feel safe, they won\u2019t trust, and if they don\u2019t trust, they won\u2019t collaborate and innovate. Also, trust is directly connected to employee willingness to give honest feedback to leaders\u2014about what they want and need, as well as about where the problems lie that could be driving them away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to create psychological safety? Allow people to deliver bad news without fear of your reaction. (This may require some soul-searching on your part.) Don\u2019t tolerate any behavior, in yourself or others, that demeans, belittles, or blames. It may help to spell out expectations for how coworkers should interact and implement a zero-tolerance policy for bullying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think beyond DEI… Earnestly seek to create a sense of belonging<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We know diversity and inclusion are important. But organizations that want to thrive go further. They work toward what DEI expert Tristan Higgins calls metaclusivity<\/em>. In other words, they cultivate a true sense of belonging<\/em>. Feeling that they belong is what gets people engaged and allows them to do their best work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leverage generational differences in a smart way<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Research shows multigenerational companies do well in terms of performance and productivity. It makes sense: A blend of different ages means you get more diverse perspectives and a synergy that gives you a competitive edge. And you can also leverage the gifts of different age groups to boost engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know young people crave development. Well, you\u2019ve got these seasoned employees who could share their expertise with younger ones. And reverse mentoring is a big trend now too: How better to engage younger employees than to get them involved in teaching older employees about technology or social media?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your company is used to thinking in terms of number of units produced, profit margins, number of errors, and other metrics, some of these ideas may seem foreign. That\u2019s because engagement is truly a different language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engagement is about emotional connections. If leaders inside your company have no idea how to make and nurture these connections, it may be time to take a hard look at the culture you\u2019ve created. Like it or not, if you\u2019re to win the war on talent, there have to be some changes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Employee engagement has been a boardroom buzzword for quite some time. We\u2019ve long known engagement matters. Still, the unspoken…\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":3124,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_appearance_grid":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3074","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-industry","8":"cs-entry","9":"cs-video-wrap"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niada.com\/dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}