The Thin Line – Employee Engagement & Performance Management
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Companies invest all sorts of Recognition and Rewards Programs, Workplace Fun or ‘Spirit’ Committees, Casual Dress, Hawaiian Shirt Day, Bagel-Fridays, and many more ways to crack the code of Employee Engagement. There is no question that, whether through those tactics or the multitude of creative ways companies look to solve this challenge, prioritizing employee engagement is integral to sustained success of a team and company.
Employment Hero offers strong evidence of the impacts to a company based on levels of Employee Engagement
Kudos to the companies that recognize this need and make the effort to face it head on and engage their people at every turn. A good company and leadership team has to be nimble, knowing that programs and initiatives of any kind flame out over time, begin to fall on deaf ears to become part of the wallpaper, and need a fresh coat of paint every so often to keep people’s attention and interest. More and more companies do this and do it well. While employee satisfaction is a key reason this is prioritized, workforce turnover is even more important. Unhappy employees, even those with limited options outside their current job, tend to move on more quickly. This is expensive and time consuming for companies and puts strain on multiple areas of a business. Thus, companies create engagement programs and invest in more substantive on-boarding for new employees to cement the relationship right out of the gate and look to sustain it from there.
As much as it may seem it is ‘all about the employee’, we all know it is not. There is a trade for such investment by the company, and it is beyond the paycheck and benefits it provides. It is for the best level of performance – or at least to a standard the company has set for its people. After all of the great on-boarding with high-energy trainers, introductions to the executive team, personal greetings from leaders of various departments, and joyfully gazing at the events calendar highlighting the next ‘denim day’ or holiday celebration, it is on the employee to step in and deliver their end. Sometimes they perform well quickly, sometimes it takes a while to acclimate and ramp up…and sometimes, they struggle immediately and show little evidence of a potential recovery. The engaged leader who knows what to look for and gets to know his or her people likely does not take long to realize that this may not have been a great hire, and starts to work on Plan B.
Companies are willing to make the up-front investment as a cost of doing business – from the hiring, which may include a sign-on bonus, competitive pay and benefits, on-boarding process and training, because it attracts talented people. Ideally, it makes them want to work there in the first place and reinforces the decision that the company and job is worth staying for, which in turn motivates the employee to do the level and quality of work to ensure this happens. When it does not, it is sometimes the employee that recognizes the poor fit, but more often it is the company and its leadership team. Even early on, measuring and addressing performance is imperative for the success of a business, as without it, a business will fail.
74% of Disengaged Workers are actively looking or watching for new career opportunities:
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/352949/employee-engagement-holds-steady-first-half-2021.aspx
Gone are the days of simply telling someone they are not cutting it and are being fired as a result. Bullying, teasing, or embarrassing a poor performer were all part of the culture in many workplaces once upon a time, but thankfully are seldom seen in today’s more enlightened and professional work settings (or are a little less conspicuous at least!). Most companies have a plan or process to measure and address under-performance. While it is often presented as a measure solely to support the employee and help them overcome lower performance so they can be successful at the company, there is another side to that coin. It is very much tied to the same reasons a company will make all of the upfront investment as the employee begins their career. It is about reducing risk and limiting liability should an employee be terminated at any point. The ability for a company to demonstrate that they have properly compensated, trained, supported, coached, recognized, et cetera their employee is directly linked to their success against legal action at any point. That can happen after an employee is terminated, or even while still employed, and why it is critical that a company has such processes, and can show they followed them.
When everything works out well, employees enjoy all of the perks and benefits from their first day until their last. Performance is strong, which not only keeps them employed, but also warrants recognition, reward, sometimes project work or promotion. In totality, when things work as planned, this all provides continued motivation for employees to strive for high performance and further invest themselves in the company. When an employee seems to not be working out, performance is low, perhaps attitude or behaviors are equally unproductive, a good leader creates a plan to address the employee and the under-performance. Beyond simply looking at the numbers, there are other factors that have to be weighed before a performance plan is started. Step One – Never Make Assumptions:
Talk to Your Employee:
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- Are they aware their performance is below the standard? If so, why?
- Do they need more training or coaching?
- Are external factors impacting their ability to focus and perform?
- How might you, as the leader, help support their success?
When such a conversation yields little in terms of the employee’s awareness or thoughts to explain the level of performance, the leader has to move on to address formally. This can be done just as supportively as the preceding conversation through a well-constructed Action or Performance Plan.
Create the Structure, then Partner with your Employee to Build the Plan
- Area(s) to Improve
- Actions the Employee will take
- Actions the Leader will take
- Additional Support for your Employee: Systems, Coaching, Resources, Training
- Schedule for Feedback and Check-In Meetings
- Timeline for Overall Evaluation
- Clear Next Steps upon Plan Completion
In some cases, you may ask the employee to sign such a document if constructed as a less formal ‘action plan’ without the ramifications that a potentially job-impacting performance plan would have. This would need to be done before extended periods of low performance, perhaps earlier on when performance begins to dip. This can be an effective way to gain your employee’s investment in their own success.
Either way, once the plan is complete, and the leader has followed all steps to provide clear, fair opportunity for the employee to succeed, it typically becomes clear whether the employee should continue with the company or not. If successful, it is back to work under the standard organizational guidelines for coaching and performance. If not, it either goes to termination or a disciplinary process that ultimately leads to termination if under-performance continues. With the completed plan filed and tucked away, the company is in fine standing to proceed to discipline or terminate the employee, having a great deal of evidence of how they have supported the employee throughout.
As we think about these seemingly different ends of the employee management spectrum, it becomes clear that there really is no difference between Employee Engagement and Performance Management. They both exist for largely the same reason. They are two of the most critical items a business needs to manage a workforce and to be successful. While the tactics and actions taken for each may be specific to its own process or program, the reason for both is largely the same: Protect the Company’s Interests. One is Proactive, One Reactive.
Whether this is accomplished through great Employee Engagement that attracts and retains good people, or through strong, detailed Performance Planning that allows a company to move on from the poor performer, in either case the company is made stronger, more successful, and well-protected when both ends of this spectrum are done consistently and with purpose. If your company has invested in one but not the other, or there is too great an imbalance between the two, you will have much more to worry about than which Hawaiian shirt to put on next Friday…
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