Employee engagement expert Patti Johnson on organizational change

Patti: In college, I was a leader in a student organization and saw how much commitment and buy-in mattered to results. It was my first realization that no matter what outcome you want if it involves people this couldn’t be ignored. Also, it played nicely into what I found and find interesting – human behavior, organizational culture, how change happens, etc.

Patti: We are to blame for this a bit because we have turned the discussion on engagement into surveys and metrics. Important – yes – but engagement happens one person at a time. Engagement is an individual decision and, as we know, we don’t develop our views on anything by a formula or a metric. It’s important to remember that engagement is measuring beliefs and feelings about work and organization – which is anything but concrete or constant. Good organizations want engagement and commitment, but it’s definitely not created by a tool or a metric.

Patti: There are many points of view on this and worth a long conversation. In my view, it’s a combination of factors: key questions on surveys, retention of the talent and skills you most want to keep, a vibrant referral network, and involvement from employees that demonstrates care for the greater “we”.  This pattern of information and the insights it gives you is richer and more accurate v. just looking at one survey metric.

Patti: Recognition and showing how much  you value the team is an essential part of being a good leader.  Also, recognition drives more commitment and engagement because it shows the behavior that is valued and should be repeated. We often think of recognition as a corporate program, but I don’t see it that way. When I ask people to share the moments when they felt most recognized, it is often not the big banquet or plaque, but the personal thank you’s and a manager that gave them individual recognition and often in front of others.

Patti: 1. Know your people as individuals. Everyone is motivated differently. Understand the differences – no one size fits all. 2. Listen more than you talk. It helps people feel heard and important and there is a great by product - you’ll learn something. 3. Don’t show up with all of the answers. This keeps everyone as a spectator. Determine how and where your team can get involved in the solution. 4. Say thank you often in a specific way and individually. Go beyond the “good job everyone”. 5. Be clear on outcomes and expectations upfront. Everyone likes to know what is expected and we are better when we do. Plus, if you can’t articulate what you want you’ll never get it.

Patti: Clearly continuous feedback. No contest. Think of being a parent – if your child is struggling or doing something great - do you think ‘I’ll remember that for our conversation in six months’? No, when you care about someone you give them feedback. It is the biggest favor you can do for someone you want to develop and grow to be better.

Patti: They should. Not all millennials are the same; however, there is a higher expectation of openness and feedback on how they are doing. I actually think this desire for more feedback is cross-generational, it’s just that other generations learned to disguise it more.

Patti: There is research that says that once the compensation package reaches the level of acceptance that the intangibles become more important. But, you have to reach that minimum hurdle first. Once you do, then other factors make a big difference – interesting work, environment, flexibility, manager, and recognition of course.

Patti: Fear. It doesn’t always show up as yelling as it can also be the unspoken message of ’never make a mistake’ or that if you make one wrong move your career is over. This fear makes people cautious and keeps them on the sidelines – which is the exact opposite of what you want.

Patti: 1. Ongoing or iterative feedback and recognition 2. Greater emphasis on collaboration and community impact driven by the increase in millennials placing great importance on this. 3. Creating engagement in a constantly changing environment – which requires greater comfort with ambiguity, individuality, and flexibility.