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eBook

AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge:

Howyourorganizationcanconquertheglobal

engagementcrisis—andrealizethebiggest

competitiveadvantageoutthere.

Anedgeunlikeanyother.

Whydosomebusinesses—eventhebiggest,mostsuccessfulenterprises—fail?Youcanprobablythinkofafewredflags:lagginginnovation.Marketdisruption.Forsakencustomers.Terminalunderinvestment.Leadershipfailure.

Butthere’sanevenbiggercausethatmightnotbeimmediatelyobvious:disengagedemployees.

Morethanproductsandservices,brand,technologyinnovation,orevenbusinessstrategy,employeeengagementcanmakeorbreakacompany’ssuccess.Thoseotherfactorsarecritical,butwithoutengagementit’slikepullingthestickwithoutrevvingtheaccelerator.

Butwe’reinthethroesofaglobalengagementcrisis.Gallup’s2021“StateoftheGlobalWorkplace”reportfindsthat80%ofemployeesaren’tengagedatwork—costingtheglobaleconomy$8.1trillioninlostproductivityeachyear1

Thisextraordinarysituationhasn’tescapednotice.Butincreasinginvestmentisrarelypayingoff.

Leadersknowthatbusinesseswiththemostengagedworkforcearemoreresilient,higherperforming,andfuture-proofthantheircompetitors—butmovingtheneedleonthatengagementcanbechallenging.

Whatisemployeeengagement?

Employeeengagementdescribesanemployee’semotionalcommitment

andconnectiontowork.Engagedemployeesaregalvanizedbytheirwork,colleagues,andthewiderbusinesstobringtheirbestselvestoworkeveryday.

Read“Understandingthebasics:whatisemployeeengagement?”tofindout

whyhighlyengagedworkforcesoutperformcompetitorseverytime.

1Gallup,

“StateoftheGlobalWorkplaceReport2021”

;2021.AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|2

That’swherethiseBookcomesin.Inside,weexplorestrategiesandbest

practicesforcreatingaworkplacethatattracts,empowers,inspires,and

keepsthebestandmostdiversetalentoutthere.Becausewhenyouembraceemployeeengagementasastrategicimperative,workgetsbetterineverysense:

?Happier,moreproductive,andmoreengagedpeople

?Fairer,moreequitable,andmoreinclusiveculture

?Higherperformanceandbettercustomeroutcomes

?Easierattractionofbettertalent—andhigherretention

Individually,anyoneoftheseoutcomeshastransformativepower.Buttogether,theycompoundintosomethingmuchbigger.WecallittheEngagementEdge.

TheEngagementEdgeisthekeyfactorthat’sgoingtoseparatethelaggardsfromtheleadersinthenextdecade.It’sthecompoundingadvantageyou

unlockwhenyoucontinuouslylistentoandactonyouremployees’voicestoimprovetheirworkexperiences.Theresultisavirtuouscirclethat

exponentiallyincreasesengagementandbuildsacultureofinclusivityandbelongingforall.

Keepreadingtodiscover:

?Whytraditionalapproachesstruggletoincreaseengagement

?Thesixkeyingredientsofengagementtransformation

?ThenewpotentialoftheEngagementEdge

Hugegainsstarthere.Let’sgo.

AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|3

Section1

Howwegothere.

Theideathatbusinessperformanceimproveswhenpeoplearehappyatworkisn’tnew.Butmostworkplacesarestillstrugglingtodeliveronthatpremise.Pithystatementsandgoodintentionshaverarelytranslatedintoaction,

letaloneresults.

PeterDrucker—fatherofmodernmanagement—said“cultureeatsstrategyforbreakfast”backin2006,towidespreadagreement.Buthowmanyseniorleadershavesincemadeseriousattemptstoprioritizeculture—theworkenvironmentyoucreateforyourpeople—asanactivestrategicimperative?

Instead,manyorganizationshaveconfusedstrategic,systematicfocuswiththefunfactor—tryingtoboostengagementwiththelikesofshuffleboardandping-pong,Nerfbasketball,andunlimitedsnacks.

2Gartner,

“GartnerQuarterlyUpdateonGlobalWorkforceTrends”

;2019.

3Gartner,

“GartnerQuarterlyUpdateonGlobalWorkforceTrends”

;2019.

4Gallup,

“StateoftheGlobalWorkplaceReport2021”

;2021.

That’swhyengagementhasbeenstagnatingforyears.Trappingsaside,manyemployeesaren’thappy.

We’retalkingextraordinarilylowbenchmarkshere.AccordingtoGartner?,

theproportionofthegloballaborforcereportinghighintenttostayhasbarelyrisenoverone-thirdinadecade.2Theproportionreportinghighdiscretionaryeffort—whereemployeesgoaboveandbeyondbecausetheywantto,nothaveto—hoversbetween15%and20%.3Andasmentionedearlier,Gallupconcurs,puttingglobalemployeeengagementatonly20%in2020.4

Thinkaboutthosefigures.Some80%ofyourpeoplearecoasting—doingjustenoughtostayundertheradar.And60%aren’tplanningtostayanyway.

AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|4

That’saslowslidetowardunderperformanceaswellasaloomingcliffedge.Anditleavesyouwithonly20%ofyourpeoplewantingtobeatworkand

consistentlygoingaboveandbeyond.It’stheParetoprincipleinaction—the80/20rule,withahugechunkofoverallbusinessperformancecomingfromonlyahandfulofpeople.

Butitdoesn’thavetobethatway.AsthiseBookexplores,whenyouincreaseengagement,performanceincreasesexponentially—compoundinginto

theEngagementEdge.

Sowhydoorganizationssettleforthestatusquo?Whyistherestilla

disconnectbetweenwhatorganizationssayaboutengagementand

howtheytrytoimproveit?

Onereasonisownership.

Historically,employeeengagementhasbeensiloedinHR,buttackling

engagementdemandscontinuous,meaningfulchangeacrosstheemployeelifecycle.HRonlytouchesafractionofthosemoments;itdoesn’thavethebandwidthtotakesoleresponsibility.

Externalengagementconsultanciesaren’tagreatfiteither,oftentakingmanymonths—andmoredollars—tocreateasinglesnapshotofengagementthat’soutofdatebeforeyou’vereadit.

Thesecondreasonislackofincentive.

Mostbusinesseshaven’tprioritizedengagementbecausetheyhaven’thadto.In2020—whenglobalengagementwasat20%—Fortune’sGlobal500achievedrecord-highrevenueof$33.3trillion.5Anengagedworkforcewascertainly

desirable,butsuccessdidn’thingeonit.

5F,

“FortuneGlobal500”

;2020.AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|5

Butthat’schanging,fast.Severalforceshavebeengatheringpaceforyears,plustheglobalpandemichaskickeddisruptionintooverdrive.

?Collectivereevaluationofpriorities.TheCOVID-19pandemicpushed

manyemployeestoquestiontheirprioritiesandgoalsandreassesstheroleworkplaysintheirlives.Especiallyforfrontlineworkersfacingnew

pressureandpersonalrisk,thetermsoftheworkequationhavechangedprofoundly.TheGreatResignationhasseenmonthsofconsecutive

record-highresignationsaspeoplequestion,pause,orchangetheircareersaltogether.6

?Remoteandhybridworking.Newworkmodelsdisrupttheemployeeexperience(EX)fortraditionaloffice-basedworkers,bringingnew

challengesthatthreatenengagement.Butmanycompanieshave

struggledtokeepvisibilityoverEX,losingsightofemployeeswhenitmattersmost.Andbyextension,they’velostsightofhowstrategicinitiativesperformandhowengagementconnectstowidergoals.

Flexibleworkingisamajorconcern.

Exploringcommentsfrom19millionemployees,recentresearchfrom

Workdayfindsthattheproportionofemployeecommentsrelatedtoflexibleworking,remotework,work-lifebalance,andmentalwell-beinghasremainedalmostunchangedsince2020—whichsawa125%increasefrom2019.

ReadourEmployeeExpectationsReport2022.

?Belonginganddiversity.Growingawarenessofhistoricalinequalitymeansdemandsforchangearelouderthanever.Employeeswanttoknowthattheorganizationismakingprogress—butmanyorganizationsaren’t.

Forexample,McKinseyfoundthatwomenandethnicminoritiesmakeupjust15%and14%,respectively,ofleadershipteams.7

?Socialmovements.Globalunrestandsocialjusticemovementshavebroughtupquestionsaroundethicsandpowerdynamics.Many

employeesarequestioningtherolethattheirorganizationplaysin

helpingorhinderingthecausesthatmattertothem—andarereadytovotewiththeirfeet.

?Sustainability.Widespreadenvironmentalturbulencehasamplifiedcallsforactiononsustainability.Astrongcorporatesocialresponsibility(CSR)andenvironmental,social,andgovernance(ESG)strategy,aswellasa

well-articulatedroadmap,arebecomingmajordrawsfortalent.

?Healthandwell-being.Buildingaworkplaceculturethatsafeguardswell-beinghasbecomepivotalforimprovedpeopleandbusiness

outcomes—butmostorganizationsaren’tdoingenough.Forexample,Galluprecentlyfoundthatfewerthan25%ofU.S.employeesfeeltheirorganizationcaresabouttheirwell-being—thelowestpercentage

inalmostadecade.8

6WorldEconomicForum,

“TheGreatResignationRecord”

;2022.

7McKinsey,

“DiversityWins:HowInclusionMatters”;

2020.

8Gallup,

“PercentWhoFeelEmployerCaresAboutTheirWell-BeingPlummets”

;2022.

AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|6

Together,thesedriversareaninflectionpoint.Thebusinessesthatignoreit

committoapathofacceleratingirrelevance.However,allthisdisruptionalso

providesopportunity.Theorganizationsthattakestepstobuildatrue,

continuousunderstandingofemployees’experiences—andacttocreate

change—willtransformthesedriversintoleversforhigherengagement.These

businesseswon’tjustsurvivetoday’schanges—they’llemergestrongerontheir

pathtowardtheEngagementEdge.

Environmental,social,andgovernancematters.

Ourrecentresearchintoemployeeexpectationsrevealsthat12%ofallemployeecommentsin2021wererelatedtoESG,withthosementioningsocialissuesandtheenvironmentincreasingthemostsincelastyear.

ReadourEmployeeExpectationsReport2022.

AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|7

Section2

Themissingingredients.

If20%ofyourpeoplecurrentlydrive80%ofperformance,imaginewhatwould

happenifengagementdoubled,tripled,orevenquadrupled.

Whatwouldthatmeanforeveryimportantmetric,goal,andobjectiveacross

theorganization?Whatwoulditmeanfortheintangiblestuff,suchascreativity

andinnovation?

Itwouldmeanacompetitiveedgelikenoother:theEngagementEdge.Butthis

hugepotentialisreliantontruetransformationalchange.It’simportantnotto

underestimatehowdifferentthatlooksfromhistoricalengagementprograms,

whichasweknowsimplyaren’tfitforpurpose.

TherearesixrequirementstorealizingtheEngagementEdge.

1Amorescientificandbroaderunderstandingofwhatdrivesengagement.

Historicalengagementinitiativesoftenfailtocreatechangebecause

theylackthedepthandbreadthtounderstandengagementbeyond

superficialpulsesurveys.

First,behavioralscienceandpsychologyisawell-understoodareaof

study,andengagementprogramsneedarobustgroundinginthe

scienceofhumanmotivation.

Second,it’simportanttofactorinnewdriversthathaven’ttraditionally

beenconnectedtoperformance—suchasyourstanceonbelongingand

diversity.Wemightmeasureengagementthroughobservablebehaviors

butit’safundamentallyemotionalstate,subjecttobroadinfluences.

AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|8

k

2Richerdata.

Historicalengagementinitiativestypicallyrelytoomuchonlimited

quantitativeresults.Questionssuchas,“Doyoustronglyagree,agree,

feelneutralabout,disagree,orstronglydisagreewiththefollowing

statements?”areproblematicbecausetheyreduceresponsesto

binaries,lackcontextsuchasemployeetenure,andimplyuniversal

objectivitytheycan’tclaim—forexample,whatdoes“agree”mean?

Thefactis,knowingthat55%ofyourpeoplestronglydisagreethat

youcareabouttheirwell-beingdoesn’ttellyoumuchbyitself,besides

pointingtoaproblem.

Todrivemeaningfultransformationyouneedaccurate,richdatathat

canaccommodatequantitativeandqualitativeinputatscale.Sentiment

analysisofanecdotalfeedback,forexample,doesn’tjusttellyouwhat’s

wrong—itstartstoshowyouwhy,soyoucanstartunderstandingways

tosolveit.

3Continuousfeedback.

Thedatayoucollectmustnotonlyberichandaccuratebutalso

realtimeandcontinuous.Traditionalengagementprogramsfallshort

becausetheyusuallyoperateonaslow,periodiccadence—usually

quarterlyorannually.

ThefullpotentialoftheEngagementEdgecomeswhenyou

leverageinsightsintotheemployeeexperiencetoguidecontinuous

decision-makinginserviceofincreasedengagement.

AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|9

4Adedicatedengagementplatform.

Historicalengagementinitiativeshaveoftenfallenintoatrapwhereemployeesareconstantlyaskedbutneverfeelheard—drivingsurveyfatigueandperpetuatingdisengagement.Butactingonengagementdatacanbehard.

Howdoyousiftthroughthemountainsofvaluabledatayou’renow

gettingtocreateusefulactionplans?Howdoyouknowwhichactionswilldrivechange?Andhowdoyoufacilitatethoseactions?Whoneedstobeinvolved?Howdoyoukeeptrack?

Theonlywaytocreatemeaningfulchangefromadelugeofengagementdataiswithapurpose-builtplatform.Therightplatformprocessesall

youremployeeexperiencedataandcreatesclear,tangible,prioritizedactionplanstoincreaseengagement.

6Anewkindofemployer/employeerelationship.

Historically,thepsychologicalcontractbetweenemployeesand

employershasbeentacit,transactional,andtop-down.Changehereis

bothnecessaryforengagementtransformationandalsoacompoundingresult.Thatis,withoutanequitable,transparent,andaccountableculturewhereemployeestrustyoutolistenandact,theywon’tengagewiththeprocessandtransformationwillstall.

Butwhenyoucreateareal-timefeedbackloopthatcontinuouslyhearsandrespondstoemployees’sentimentswithaction,yourpeoplewill

begintoengagemorewiththeprocess,contributericherinsights,forgivemisstepsmoreeasily,andbecomeactiveparticipantsinfuelingthe

culture.That’showengagementtransformationgainstraction.

Let’sexplorewhatthattransformationlookslike.

5AnewkindofHR.

ThepandemichasdonemuchtoproveHR’sstrategicvalue

tothebusiness,andit’simportantthatthisjourneycontinues.

TheEngagementEdgedemandsstrongleadership,democratic

ownership,andbusiness-wideadvocacy.HRshouldembracethis

opportunitytocreatepositivechangeacrosstheorganization.

Todothis,HRleadersshouldcontinueshapingtheirroleasan

ambassadorfortransformationinmultiplecontexts:amongsenior

leadership,asanactivepartnertolinemanagers,andasanenabler

fortheworkforce.

AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|10

Section3

Thenewpotential.

Whenthesixfundamentalsofengagementtransformationfallintoplace,you’llseemomentumbuildfast—drivingbroadandfar-reachingbenefits:

?Arichandcontinuousunderstandingofhowyourpeoplefeelaboutyourorganization

?Knowingwhichissuesmattermosttodifferentemployeegroupsatdifferentstagesintheircareerandwhy—andwhichactionstotaketomitigateissues

?Accesstoreal-timedatatomakebetterday-to-daypeoplemanagementdecisions,resultinginthebestoutcomes

?Real-timecontextintothetrueimpactstrategicdecisionshaveonyourpeople,soyoucanmitigateorcourse-correctifneeded

?Theabilitytoaddresscomplex—butcrucial—engagementdynamicsthatwerepreviouslyinvisibleandhardtoquantify,suchasbelonginganddiversity,sustainability,andemployeewell-being

ButtheEngagementEdgeisn’tjustacollectionofbenefitsthatamountto“betterengagement.”

TheEngagementEdgeismorethanthesumofitsparts,becauseas

engagementstartstogrowitunlocksahiddenmargin.It’sanorganicchainreactionthatoccurswhenhighlyengagedemployeesworktogethereveryday—feedingoffeachother’senergytocreateanenvironmentofelevatedinspiration,innovation,andfulfillment.

(

AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|11

Nomatterhowexceptionaleveryindividualperformeris,wheneveryone’salignedandengagedyoualsotapintoanextralayerofperformancethatsetsanewbarforwhat’spossible.

TheEngagementEdgeempowersyouto:

?Attractstandouttalentandkeepyourbestpeoplein-houselongerthantheaveragetenure

?Attract,develop,promote,andretainmorediversetalent,cultivatingacultureofinclusionandbelongingforall

?Growyourleadershippipelinewithlong-standingemployeeswhoaredeeplyinvestedinthecompany’sculture,mission,andvalues

?Supporteveryindividualtobringtheirfull,true,andbestselftoworkeveryday

?Equiplinemanagerstobebettermanagers—andboostemployees’growthandperformanceaccordingly

?Empoweryourpeoplewithasenseofownershipandpurposethat

unlocksnewcreativityandinnovationinserviceofyourstrategicgoals

Whenyoudothosethings,youcreateamutuallyenrichingrelationship

betweenemployeeengagementandthestrategicoutcomesyourworkforceiscapableofachieving.

Wheneverypersonwithinyourorganizationisengagedandbelievesintheirwork,youhavethefoundationforaculturethatdisruptsandoutperformsyourcompetitors.

That’swhyGallupresearchshowsorganizationswithacriticalmassofengagedemployeesoutperformtheirpeersby147%earningspershare.9

That’stheEngagementEdge.It’stheturboperformancemarginyouunlockwhenallyourpeoplearepassionatelypullinginthesamedirection.It’stheinspirationmargin,whenallyourpeoplelovewhatthey’redoingandarepersonallyinvestedinsolvingforthebusiness.It’sthebig-ideasmargin,whenyourpeopletrust

you’vegottheirbackseveniftheytryandfail.

9Gallup,

“HowEmployeeEngagementDrivesGrowth”

;2013.AnIntrotoTheEngagementEdge|12

Butswitchthosefigures:80%ofyourpeopleareengaged.

Nowbusinessperformanceincreasespurelybecausemorepeoplearedoingtheirpart.Butalso,8,000engagedpeoplearecollaboratingandinteractingmostlywithotherengagedpeople—liftingtheartificialcapandunlockingthosemarginswe’vebeentalkingabout