“To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.”
Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell’s Soup
The 5 I’s of Employee Engagement according to Temkin Group
Inform—Provide employees the information they need to understand the organization’s vision and brand values, along with how customers feel about the organization.
Key Points
Follow through a communication plan
Communicate across multiple channels
Make content employee-centric
Create opportunities for employees to hear from customers
Inspire—Connect employees to organization’s vision and values so that they believe those matter and take pride in their job and the organization.
Best Practices
Define, communicate, and live by a set of values
Increase accessibility to senior executives
Tell compelling stories
Give reasons for employees to be proud of the organization
Instruct—Support employees with training, coaching and feedback they need to successfully deliver the organization’s brand promises to customers.
Best Practices
Launch companywide training programs
Embed training in new employee onboarding
Develop training for supervisors and managers
Use managers and front-line employees to deliver training programs
Reinforce training with coaching and feedback
Tap into e-learning for distant employees
Involve—Take action with employees when designing their jobs, improving work processes and solving problems identified through customer or employee feedback.
Best Practices
Establish a voice of the employee program
Develop employee-driven improvement process
Facilitate cross-role, cross-functional employee connections
Find simply informal opportunities to involve employees
Incent—Deploy appropriate to measure, reward and reinforce desired employee behaviors and motivate employees to do their best.
Best Practices
Enable peer-to-peer recognition
Provide on the spot rewards
Celebrate high performance teams
Turn employee engagement into a management metric
Additional Reading
Employee Engagement: A Practical Introduction by Emma Bridger
Engagement Magic: Five Keys for Engaging People, Leaders, and Organizations By Tracy Maylett
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Point of Reflection
“Research indicates that workers have three prime needs: Interesting work, recognition for doing a good job, and being let in on things that are going on in the company.”
Zig Ziglar