Employee Engagement Toolkit for leaders

IMAGE

IMAGE

IMAGE

IMAGE

IMAGE

IMAGE

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

Leave blank

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

Letter from Jim

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

Contents
1. Overview 2. Engagement Awareness Tools
2.1 What is Engagement? 2.2 Overview of Engagement Program 2.5 Your impact on Engagement 2.4 Engagement Roles and Responsibilities 2.3 Engagement Program FAQs

5 6
7 8 9 11 12

3. Engagement Readiness Tools

3.1 Commencing Engagement Activities 3.2 Communicating the Engagement Program 3.3 What makes your team engaged?

14
15 16 17

4. Engagement Enabling Tools

4.1 Communication Tips 4.2 Coaching Tips 4.3 Career Planning Tips

18
19 21 24

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

1. Overview
The Engagement Toolkit for leaders has been created to support the Employee Engagement Program, and you as a leader to have conversations with your teams about engagement, what it means, and to determine factors which contribute to or decrease engagement levels. The toolkit is broken into three components Engagement Awareness Tools, Engagement Readiness Tools and Engagement Enabling Tools. These are described below.

Engagement Awareness Tools

Tools to assist you and your team understand what engagement is, what is involved in the Employee Engagement Program, and your impact on engagement as a leader.

Engagement Readiness Tools

Tools to support you in readying your team for the Employee Engagement Program activities, including determining factors which contribute to engagement in your team.

Engagement Enabling Tools

Some tips and information on key activities where leaders can impact engagement communication, coaching and career planning.

As a leader, you play a vital role in driving engagement in your team. To get you started, this toolkit outlines some key activities and tips. Supporting you will be a network of resources including the Employee Engagement Project Team, a local Engagement Network, and your local Business Support Team, who will guide you through the activities required and resolve any issues or concerns. The Employee Engagement Program is an exciting initiative that will bring about positive change in the way we work, now and into the future. The program is designed by employees, for employees, therefore embrace your role as a leader and encourage your teams to get involved and contribute to shaping the culture of FACS. For more information please visit the FACS Employee Engagement Program intranet site here. If you have any questions about this toolkit, please contact a member of the Employee Engagement Project Team, listed on the intranet.

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

Engagement Awareness Tools

IMAGE

IMAGE

IMAGE

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

ENGAGEMENT AWARENESS TOOLS

2.1 What is engagement?

PREZI

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

ENGAGEMENT AWARENESS TOOLS

2.2 Overview of the Engagement Program

Engagement at FACS The definition for engagement is broad and has various interpretations as to its meaning across industries what matters the most is what it means for FACS and its workforce. Post a series of workshops, FACS Executives their Leadership team and FACS employees agree that: An engaged workforce: Speaks positively about the organisation (SAY) Remains with the organisation despite other opportunities that may exist because they connect with the organisation (STAY) Exerts extra time, effort and energy to contribute to organisational success (STRIVE) Having an engaged workforce is critical to our success. The FACS Leadership team and the NSW Government have made employee engagement a priority for FACS. Not only will it help us to shape the culture of the organisation and the way we work, it simply makes good business sense. High engagement levels will create a high performing organisation and in turn improve the lives of our clients and the communities we work in. FACS Engagement Strategy The FACS Engagement Strategy has been developed with employees to achieve two things: To create awareness about the concept of engagement amongst all FACS employees and get them actively involved; and Develop engagement initiatives that will improve levels of engagement across the entire organisation.

Seven key focus areas were identified by employees in developing the strategy:
Communication Organisation culture Leadership Organisation design Change management Performance development Capability and capacity Consistency of messages, varied channels and two-way dialogue Teamwork, collaboration, accountability and trust Clear vision, mission and goals with the right level of visibility and support An appropriately aligned structure with clarity on roles and responsibilities Robust frameworks, models and capability to deliver change initiatives Recognition, feedback and role capability match Learning and development programs, coaching and mentoring

You can view the FACS Engagement Strategy and a full list of initiatives here. The Engagement Program will facilitate the implementation of this strategy over the next 12-18 months. FACS Engagement Program A set of engagement initiatives have been developed to improve engagement through the areas of focus above. They will be driven through programs of work at a FACS-wide and District level, but will also require changes by every team in the organisation. Click here to print a handout for your staff

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

ENGAGEMENT AWARENESS TOOLS

2.3 Your impact on engagement

The benefits of high engagement As a leader, there is significant value in focusing on improving engagement levels. Even just some small activities can create stronger working relationships with your team members, generate increased team performance, and help you to achieve your goals through alignment of your employees goals. There is an abundance of studies, books and articles that describe the benefits of high engagement more discretionary effort, lower turnover, reduced absenteeism, higher customer satisfaction the list goes on. An individual equation The Engagement Equation (Blessing White, 2012) defined engagement as the alignment of maximum satisfaction for the individual with maximum contribution for the organisation. That is, employees are both getting and giving the maximum. They are successfully performing tasks which are critical to the organisations strategy, while also feeling their values, career aspirations and development goals are being achieved. What is critical is that what makes one employee engaged is different to the next it is an individual equation therefore as a leader you need to understand what each team members unique engagement drivers are. There are, however, some common themes in any workforce. A representative group of FACS Employees identified the common drivers which impact on their engagement, and as a result developed a vision which describes an engaged workforce. The employee vision for FACS is that its workforce will be: Informed and knowledgeable about the FACS organisation and the clients that services are delivered to across the Sector Able to conduct 2-way communication across the organisation and feedback is acted on Continually being developed to ensure the workforce has the capability to deliver effective services Can adapt and manage in a changing environment Supportive and trusting where there is trust between all levels of the organisation up and down, and clients and employees share mutual trust Your impact on the engagement of others All employees must accept responsibility for their own engagement and take initiative to improve it. However as a leader, it is important to understand how your own behaviour impacts on the engagement levels of those around you. There have been numerous studies identifying a wide range of factors, or drivers, which influence employee engagement, and the behaviour of senior leadership and direct supervisors is consistently found to be at the top of the list. Why do leaders have such a powerful effect on the engagement levels of employees? By their very role, people managers are in a position to help employees understand how they contribute to the overall vision, recognising and empowering employees to solve problems themselves. See Roles and Responsibilities on page 11 for a complete list of responsibilities for leaders. Top 10 drivers of Employee Engagement
Third most important
Second most important Most important

7% 13% 4% 11% 9% 11% 7%

28% 20%

4% 8% 3%

6% 7% 3%

7%

8%

8% 7% 5% 8%
7%

7% 10%

12%

6% 5%

7% 3%

6%

Formal recognition

Formal internal communication

Belief in organisation direction

Training and development

Opportunities for career advancement

Compensation and benefits

Consultation on decisions

Employee Engagement, Melcrum Publishing 2012

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

"People-centric" culture

Direct supervisors

Senior leadership

ENGAGEMENT AWARENESS TOOLS

2.3 Your impact on engagement

You have to CARE While you cant make your employees engaged, you can facilitate your team members engagement journeys. You can drive engagement each and every day through the following:

C A R E

Coach individuals toward maximum contribution and satisfaction Align and consistently re-align individuals to the organisations strategy, mission and values Recognise attitude, effort and results Engage in dialogue about whats important to employees, at the same time engaging yourself
(BlessingWhite, 2012)

It starts with you It is important you begin to have conversations with your team now to prepare them for the changes ahead. You will have a network of resources to support you in these conversations and your ongoing responsibilities (see page 15 Employee Engagement Implementation Infrastructure). But before you focus on your teams engagement, you must start with your own engagement. Changing the engagement culture of FACS is a significant challenge, and you will need to energise and excite your team with a sense of purpose. Without a passion and drive for engagement yourself, this will be an uphill battle. Engagement is contagious, so the best place to start is with yourself. Take time out to reflect on your own engagement level, and the factors which most significantly affect it. What are your most important values and how does your work help to fulfil them? What are your own career goals and how are you working towards them? The activities linked below will assist you to do this. The good news is as a people manager, you have better chances of being engaged as you have more control over your work environment and power to make changes to support your satisfaction. This is why it is important for you to go first and show your team members how every person can drive their own engagement.

Activity 1 Self-reflection on engagement Activity 2 Personal values

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

10

ENGAGEMENT AWARENESS TOOLS

2.4 Engagement Roles & Responsibilities

Each and every employee has a role to play in building engagement at FACS.
Roles and responsibilities for employee engagement You (Line Managers) Create a climate of open communication Help employee understand their role in the success of FACS Involve employees in decision making Empower employees to solve problems themselves Follow through on commitments Role model commitment to FACS goals Assist employees in setting their development plans Solicit feedback as required Recognise good performance Express genuine interest in employees as individuals Give employees the basic instruments to do their jobs Actively listen to employees problems Allow employees autonomy in how they do their job Senior Leadership Set the overall tone and culture of the organisation Team Communicate a clear vision and build trust within FACS Be seen to respond to feedback and involve employees in decision making Demonstrate commitment to FACS values Demonstrate genuine commitment to the welfare of FACS employees Individual Employees Understand and articulate the definition of engagement Take ownership for their own engagement Understand their own engagement drivers and the FACS definition of success Take action on their own and, as appropriate , with the help of their team, and management. (Engagement Equation, Blessing White 2012) Employee Engagement Implementation of the Employee Engagement Strategy Project Team Drive the changes to FACS, Divisions/Districts, and most importantly the end users Assist in the development, management and monitoring of local divisional change plans Regular status reporting to the Project Director Employee Engagement Coordinate local workshops and identify people for the local Engagement Network Improvement Teams Report on the progress of change activities within their division Communicate progress and engagement updates within their Division Raise any risks or issues to the Employee Engagement Project Team Engagement Improvement Teams

Develop, own and monitor the change plan for their division Execution of change plan in their Division and raising any risks or issues to the Employee Engagement Project Team Determine relevant people to undertake activities in the change plan Report on the progress of change activities within their division Click here to print a handout for your staff

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

11

ENGAGEMENT AWARENESS TOOLS

2.5 Engagement Program FAQs

The FAQs have been developed to answer the most common questions employees will ask. What is employee engagement? The definition for engagement is broad and has various interpretations as to its meaning across industries what matters the most is what it means for FACS and its workforce. Post a series of workshops, FACS Executives their Leadership team and FACS employees agree that: An engaged workforce: Speaks positively about the organisation (SAY) Remains with the organisation despite other opportunities that may exist because they connect with the organisation (STAY) Exerts extra time, effort and energy to contribute to organisational success (STRIVE) Employees identified the drivers which impact on their own engagement, and as a result developed a vision which describes an engaged workforce. The employee vision for FACS is that its workforce will, as a result of the successful implementation of an evolving employee strategy, be: Informed and knowledgeable about the FACS organisation and the clients that services are delivered to across the Sector Able to conduct 2-way communication across the organisation and feedback is acted on Continually being developed to ensure the workforce has the capability to deliver effective services Can adapt and manage in a changing environment Supportive and trusting where there is trust between all levels of the organisation up and down, and clients and employees share mutual trust What is the scope and rationale of the program? Employee engagement is a broad area; fundamentally it is about how employees contribute to, and gain satisfaction from, their organisation. Not everything can be tackled at once, therefore FACS has decided to focus on seven key areas. These are:
Communication Organisation culture Leadership Organisation design Change management Performance development Capability and capacity Consistency of messages, varied channels and two-way dialogue Teamwork, collaboration, accountability and trust Clear vision, mission and goals with the right level of visibility and support An appropriately aligned structure with clarity on roles and responsibilities Robust frameworks, models and capability to deliver change initiatives Recognition, feedback and role capability match Learning and development programs, coaching and mentoring

These focus areas were developed through feedback and input provided by employees on what matters most to them, however engagement is a program of continuous improvement. Activities to review engagement drivers, develop action plans and measure against those plans will become a permanent part of the FACS operating model. Why are we doing it? FACS will be undergoing a fundamental and significant cultural change in the coming years through Localisation and the broader reform agenda, and engagement is pivotal to creating the culture we are striving for. We will need all of our employees to be rowing in the same direction, and working together towards common goals. This will not only create a sense of purpose and meaning for employees, it will enable the delivery of service excellence to our clients. High engagement levels will create a high performing organisation and in turn improve the lives of our clients. Click here to print a handout for your staff

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

12

ENGAGEMENT AWARENESS TOOLS

2.5 Engagement Program FAQs

How will this affect me? This program is fundamentally about asking our employees what you want to change to help you serve your clients better, and then making that happen. We want our employees to be motivated to reach individual goals as well as working together to achieve FACS goals. We want our people to be committed to improving our organisation for the better. Most importantly, we want our employees to feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction when they come to work. Engagement PMO FACS-wide engagement initiatives District engagement initiatives Local engagement initiatives

What is going to change? Initiatives will occur at a FACS-wide level, at a District level, as well as in your local team, and you will need to provide input to help shape these initiatives. At first, these might simply be making changes to how your team operates, such as a new team meeting structure or more frequent feedback discussions. Over time you will start to see more broader changes such as new processes or training programs. How does this fit in with Localisation? Employee engagement is very closely linked to Localisation as engagement will help to create the culture that FACS needs to support the new operating model. Moving towards a client-focused workplace where employees work closely together within Districts to deliver coordinated services will require an entirely different way of working. Engagement will be pivotal in shaping that way of working, identifying what matters most to employees and enabling them to shape their own goals and behaviours. What is senior management doing in regard to engagement? The FACS Executive and their leadership team are dedicated to improving engagement and seeing real progress happen. They have been closely involved in the development of the strategy and initiatives. They have had engagement discussions with their leadership teams and have reflected on what engagement means to them. Going forward, they will be closely monitoring the Engagement Program and the progress of initiatives and action plans. What is my role? Each and every employee has a role to play in improving engagement. There will be some larger, FACS wide initiatives which will be ongoing for several months which you will have the opportunity to get involved in if you are interested in that area. You will also need to take part in discussions with your teams and developing your own local actions plans. In the coming months your leader will be conducting these engagement discussions and will be assigning roles to implement your own initiatives. In this way, each employee will have the opportunity to voice what matters most to them and shape the way they would like to work with their team. What happens next? Town Hall meetings are going to be conducted across each District to introduce the Engagement Program and provide employees to ask questions. These will be followed by focus groups where a representative group will be asked to provide their input and ideas to create local engagement initiatives. As explained above, your manager will also be holding a discussion with your team to discuss engagement further and identify what matters most to your team. Who can I contact if I have more questions? Your first point of call should be your manager. If they are not able to answer your question, you can contact a member of the Engagement Project Team at <insert email and phone>. Up-to-date information will also continuously be posted on the Engagement Intranet site here. Finally, if you cannot find the answer you are looking for please contact a member of the FACS Executive.
Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

Engagement Readiness Tools

IMAGE

IMAGE

IMAGE

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

3.1 Commencing Engagement Activities

Employee Engagement Implementation Infrastructure An infrastructure has been established to support the implementation of engagement initiatives and to support you as a leader in undertaking engagement-related activities with your team.
1

Corporate Services Steering Committee

Corporate Engagement

FaCS ePMO

Employee Engagement Program Team

Deputy Director General

Strategic Human Resources Director

Employee Engagement Implementation

Workforce Planning Director

Engagement Program Board 3

Engagement Agent Network

Operational/District Engagement

The Engagement Program Board is responsible for endorsing the employee engagement process changes necessary for the implementation of employee engagement across FACS.

Program Sponsor (DDG) Program Director (Matthew Roberts)

Program Engagement

Engagement Sponsor (District Director)

TO BE UPDATED
FaCS CSG There is one Engagement Sponsor and one Engagement Agent for each of the 15 local districts. All 15 Local District are represented on the Engagement Program Board by the Engagement Agent Chair The Engagement Agent Network is responsible for advocating and delivering engagement initiatives to the FaCS districts.

Engagement Agent District 1-5

Program Manager (EE project manager)

ePMO Change Lead Program Engagement Manager Engagement Agent Chair

Engagement Agent Chair Project Engagement Manager

Engagement Sponsor District Director) Engagement Agent Districts 5-10 Engagement Sponsor (District Director) Engagement Agent Districts 10-15

Corporate Engagement Function: provides strategic direction to the FACS Engagement Strategy and Program and sets the FACS-wide engagement agenda. The group will assess the effectiveness of engagement initiatives and provide direction, budget and resources where required. Program Engagement Function: monitors the successful delivery of engagement activities against the plan, resolves escalated risks and issues, endorses changes to plans or and makes organisation-critical decisions. Operational Engagement Function: is the primary conduit between the Corporate Engagement Function, Engagement Program team and the workforce. The Operational Engagement Function is made up of frontline staff such as Middle Managers, Team Leaders and employee representatives. This function is responsible for rolling out engagement initiatives and providing engagement information specific to their area. As a leader, you will be supported by your local Engagement Sponsor and Engagement Agent , who will also be your first point of call for any engagement-related questions or concerns. Your local Business Support Team will also be on hand to guide you through your responsibilities and how you can best support engagement efforts.

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

15

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

3.2 Communicating the Engagement Program

Things to keep in mind
Employees will naturally feel hesitant about change, therefore it is important to cover off all of the information in the program overview and FAQ handouts, and ensure any questions or concerns are addressed. The program requires each and every employee to play a part, therefore it is imperative they are well-informed from the start. When reflecting on your own engagement, tell a story about what happened, how you felt when you were highly engaged, and what the outcome of that was. Engagement can seem like an abstract concept to some, and talking about how it feels to be engaged will make it easier for employees to relate and recollect their own experiences of high engagement. If employees have difficult questions which you cannot easily answer, refer them to your own manager, a FACS Executive or a member of the Engagement Project Team. The first team meeting You will need to schedule a team meeting (or add onto the agenda of your current team meetings) to discuss engagement with your team members, what it means to you and how you will be contributing to lifting engagement levels. Your local Engagement Agent and/or Business Support team will support you to prepare for this meeting. What to prepare 1 You will need to complete the reading and activities in the Engagement Awareness Tools section of this toolkit. This will be important as you will need to discuss your own experiences and reflections with your team. 2 Print the relevant materials as listed below 3 Organise a meeting venue and invitations (if not part of a usual team meeting) 4 Contact your District Engagement Agent and/or Business Support team to assist you to prepare for the meeting (if required) Information to cover You can decide how you would like to run the meeting and if you would like to get other people involved (i.e. your District Director, local HR Manager or other Business Support resource). Below is a list of information you should cover in the meeting. Overview of the FACS engagement program (print handout from page 8 of this toolkit) Roles and responsibilities (print handout from page 11 of this tookit) Key questions (select from FAQs on page 12 i.e. Why are we doing it? What is going to change?) Reflections on your own engagement and what you have done/will be doing to maximise it E.g. The time when I felt most energised at FACS was... One of my personal values is ... and the way that relates to my role is... I discuss my career goals with my own manager every... months and that helps me to determine which activities I need to focus on Ask staff to complete the activities to reflect on their own engagement and determine their personal values (print activity sheets from page 10 of this toolkit ) Ask staff to report back in the following team meeting on their reflections and what they intend to change Ask staff if they have any questions or concerns

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

16

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

3.3 What makes your team engaged?

The second team meeting This meeting is to discuss your team members reflections on their own engagement and what makes them engaged/disengaged. The purpose of this is to look for themes and similarities across the team, so that you can collectively devise actions and ways of working together. This is to start to improve engagement levels at the local level, while the large FACS and District initiatives are being rolled out. Again, your local Engagement Agent and Business Support team will be on hand to assist. What to prepare 1 Review the agenda below and think about how you will pose these questions to your team. Are there supporting examples you can provide? 2 Print the Team Engagement Priorities Poster (link below) 3 Organise a meeting venue, whiteboard or flipchart and pens, and meeting invitations (if not part of a usual team meeting) 4 Enlist the assistance of a team member to assist in preparing for the meeting and capturing your team members feedback 5 Contact your District Change Agent and/or Business Support team to assist you to prepare for the meeting (if required) Information to cover You can decide how you would like to run the meeting and if you would like to get other people involved (i.e. the District Manager, HR Manager or Engagement Project Team member). Below is a list of information you should cover in the meeting. Set the ground rules. Ensure team members that this is a safe environment and anything that is shared is not to leave the room. Ask team members to think about their answers from the reflection activity. Ask team members about their great day at work. What happened? What adjectives or phrases did they choose to describe it? Ask team members about the general reflections they had after completing the activity and how their likes/talents/values/goals are currently being met/achieved. What would team members like to change to enable their likes/talents/values/goals to be more closely met? What do they intend to change themselves to enable these to be met? Capture the most common points (for the Team Engagement Priorities Poster) and state that all team members should think about what they will change day-to-day to meet these priorities Ask staff if they have any questions or concerns

Things to keep in mind

As discussed in Your Impact on Engagement, engagement is an individual equation, and each team member will have different ideas about what engagement means to them. Essentially, engagement is what people feel matters most to them personally, their careers and the organisation. This may instigate some challenging discussions on personal experiences, issues and grievances. It is important to keep the discussion futurefocussed and when employees note a driver of disengagement, ask them to flip it round to state what they would change to make it a driver of engagement.

It is important employees feel the meeting is a safe environment to share their thoughts and concerns. If they are hesitant to speak, instigate conversation with your own experiences or questions to specific team members who are likely to be more comfortable speaking in front of the group. Print and display the Team Engagement Priorities Poster in prominent places such as your office, team meeting rooms and kitchen/breakout areas. The more often people see the priorities displayed and/or referred to, the more likely they will act to achieve them.

Team Engagement Priorities Poster Template

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

17

Engagement Enabling Tools

IMAGE

IMAGE

IMAGE

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

4.1 Communication tips

Why is communication important for engagement? FACS employees and Executives determined their key engagement drivers in a series of workshops, and communication was consistently rated as a top driver, both for positive and negative reasons. Communication is consistently rated at the top of engagement drivers in the research. (Employee Engagement, Melcrum Publishing 2005). While most leaders would say they are strong communicators, employee feedback shows us that communication commonly falls short of expectations. To create more engaged employees, leaders need to capture hearts as well as minds, framing messages through inspiration instead of facts. They need to not only create understanding amongst employees, but cause them to care enough to take action. Several initiatives to improve communication across FACS are being developed as part of the FACS Employee Engagement Program, including developing a FACS wide communications policy and processes. While these will take time to implement, there are some practical steps you can take now to start improving your communications with your team. Communication mistakes To create an engaged workforce, leaders need to capture hearts as well as minds. You must make communication a daily priority, inspiring employees to come on the journey. Unfortunately, many leaders fall into the common pitfalls of successful communication. Not often enough
Leaders are great at making decisions and setting direction, but not on sharing it throughout the organisation. It may be announced when the decision/plan is first made, but is quickly forgotten.

Too much information

There is only so much information the human brain can take in at a given time, yet all too often leaders speed through presentations full of complex points to fit into the hour theyve been allocated, leaving a room full of confused and bewildered employees.

Not relevant
Inspiration is key to engagement, yet key organisational decisions are commonly justified through research, statistics or dry logic. The whats in it for me should be core to every message.

Communication tips
1 Communicate deliberately and often

Most employees do not think communications are inadequate because they receive the wrong information, it is because they dont receive any information at all. Regular updates about organisational performance, client satisfaction, environmental changes etc. are vital for employees to understand where the organisation is headed and how they fit into that picture. Further, match the right communication channel with the right message. There are many channels outside of email, which may be more time consuming, but can have a much more powerful effect. Posters, videos, team huddles, webcasts, podcasts, video conference, social media, town halls the list goes on. Whatever channel you choose, communicate consistently and often.
2 Communicate the WHY

While most messages focus on the what, employees need to know the why if you are truly going to drive behaviour. This is because the part of the human brain that makes decisions is not the rational, languagebased neo-cortex, but the ancient limbic system which is responsible for feelings and actions. It is why people say decisions dont feel right. They need to believe what you believe to behave differently. This is where storytelling comes in. It helps bring intangible concepts alive through personal connection and feeling. And that is how you will get employees to act. Click the TED TALKS link below for more information.
Ted Talks Video
Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

19

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

4.1 Communication tips

3 Communicate deliberately and often

This has been identified as the most important engagement skill for line managers (Employee Engagement, Melcrum Publishing 2005). Engaging in honest and open two-way dialogue with your team will help to create trust and respect, and in turn generate greater levels of engagement. This includes listening to your team members, without jumping into problem solving. It is just as important for your employees to feel heard as it is for them to understand what you are telling them.
4 Talk one-on-one

Direct conversations between you and each of your team members should be an ongoing, year-round activity. They may be in the form of performance reviews, career discussions, onboarding or just general check-ins. These conversations are critical to strengthen working relationships, understand what motivates your employees, develop mutual trust and demonstrate commitment to your employees success. This means both sharing your own personal motivation and learnings, as well as getting to know your direct reports goals and values. More detail is provided for specific conversations in the next sections of this toolkit. Tips to develop successful messages Prepare understand the context and stakeholders and prepare a communications plan Active commitment from leadership gives credibility to communications Ensure balance between tell, sell, consult and deliver (see diagram below) Communication must be transparent, showing the math behind the decision Involve the audience two-way communication enables feedback Target the audience what is compelling to one employee group may be disregarded by another Keep it simple and clear long winded descriptions will lose interest Messages should be consistent, leading to a united effort towards a common cause Listen and act on feedback to generate trust Respond to employee pull for information, rather than repeatedly pushing out information Evaluate effectiveness and adapt approach in future

Levels of Communication
Consult - Engagement Briefings 1:1 discussions Workshops Focus groups Feedback loops Town hall meetings Road shows Leadership walk arounds Deliver - Action Staffing packs Manager guides Toolkits Face-to-face briefings Workshops

Degree of Involvement

Tell Awareness Articles Intranet Meeting minutes Factsheets Emails

Sell - Understanding Open forum Brochures Emails Seminars Lunch and learns FAQs

This is where behaviour change is most likely to take place

Time
Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

20

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

4.2 Coaching tips

What is coaching? Coaching is not a commonly used term at FACS, but employees told us they want their leaders to be more visible, give them more feedback and help them to develop their skills. These are key components of coaching. Coaching is helping another person figure out the best way to achieve his or her goals, build skill sets or expertise, and produce the results the organisation needs, Coaching Conundrum 2009, BlessingWhite. Why is coaching important? Coaching helps employees to understand how to effectively address barriers to success and achieve higher levels of performance. It assists employees to solve problems for themselves so they feel a greater sense of achievement and ownership over their work. As part of the FACS Employee Engagement Program, a FACS-wide leadership program, including coaching skills, will be developed over the coming months. Below are some helpful tips to get you started in building your coaching skills in the mean time. Coaching tips
1 Be clear on your goals and your role

Most important coaching actions

Communicating clearly and candidly. Establishing clear performance objectives and milestones. Delivering on promises made. Recognising the employees outstanding contributions and achievements. Taking action to ensure that the employee feels important, trusted, and valued as a member of the team. Being available when the employee needs advice, information, decisions or problem solving.

Get clarification now if you do not know how your teams priorities fit into the organisations larger goals. And pay attention to what coaching is not; listed later.
2 Hire coach-able, stretch-able employees

Successful coaching is a partnership. Explore coach-ability in selection interviews, finding out from candidates pst experiences with coaching. Where did it have the most impact? When and why did it not work out previously? You may also want to include questions that uncover how candidates feel about challenging situations and learning new skills.
3 Get to know each team member

Respecting the employees ability to make decisions.

Every employee comes to work with unique values, aspirations, experiences and talents. Andrew Coven, director of engineering at Adobe Systems, emphasised the need to tailor coaching approaches based on what you know: I treat everyone differently. I want to capitalise on peoples strengths. Coaching also has to have a relevant context. It is very specific to the work that employees are doing. One size does not fit all when it comes to coaching.
4 Coach the individual, not the demographic

This is a slight variation on the preceding comment. Generational data is useful for understanding the different lenses through which the workforce sees life and work. But when it comes down to coaching, an employees values and goals are influenced by more than their age; coaching relationships are built on one-on-one pairings, not aggregate trends.
5 Tell team members what you expect of them

Thriving coaching partnerships require joint accountability. Employees need to ask for help, listen to feedback and follow up on commitments.
Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

21

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

4.2 Coaching tips

SMART Goal Setting
Specific is it clear? Is there any doubt as to what has to be achieved? Measurable how is the target outcome defined? What needs to be measured? Is there a system in place to measure progress? Achievable do you have skills and resources to do this? With a reasonable amount of effort and stretch, can this be completed? Relevant Is your goal relevant to the business plan? Do you have necessary knowledge, skill and authority to make an impact on the situation?
6 Coach for increased engagement

You can and should keep both satisfaction and contribution in mind as you coach your team members (the proverbial win-win solution). Angie Brayshaw, worldwide employee engagemetnt director in London for American Express Technologies Group, explained that her firm, which had a strong focus on performance coaching, has tried to focus more on engagement to sustain their success: It is not just enough to coach for performance against the companys goals. We want our managers to coach around career goals and be more in tune with the personal aspirations and interests of individuals.
7 Ask more questions

The more questions you ask, the less likely you will fall into micromanaging or irrelevant advice. Questions help you provide a sounding board for employee ideas. They can also provide the stretch that employees want from coaches. Questions can unlock potential, as Maria Del Busto, global chief HR officer for Royal Carribbean Cruises Ltd suggests: Were all creatures of habit. Asking questions is a great way to help people identify and work on areas that are holding them back often things that theyre not even aware of.
8 Delegate effectively

Timely when will it be achieved? What are the milestones along the way?

Paul Konstantos, national work cover manager at integrated facilities management organisation, Sodexo Australia, made this point: In recent months I have made a concerted effort to focus on delegating tasks to allow time dedicated to coaching. The benefits are not only realised in bottom-line results and an improved culture. I help individuals achieve personal growth. Another reason to delegate: it sets clear expectations and goals. It is a lot more motivating to help employees learn how to best reach an agreed-to destination, rather than having to clarify what you wanted in the first place.
9 Ask for feedback

Do your coaching actions help or annoy your team members? You cannot use performance as your only metric. It is possibly that your efforts are damaging employee morale. Tom Pucciarello, a program management authority and BAE Systems, described such a situation: In talking to one manager and direct report, I learned that the manager thought he was doing a great job coaching adding a lot of value. Unfortunately, the direct report felt it was a waste of time and that the manager was only interested in giving advice.
10 Dont take that coach hat off

Whether you think of this as looking for coaching moments or employing a coaching leadership style, the message from successful leaders is to coach continuously. If you have established individualised, trusting partnerships, coaching conversations become easy. Excerpt from The Engagement Equation, BlessingWhite 2012
Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

22

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

4.2 Coaching tips

Giving Feedback Goal Setting Providing employees with immediate and specific feedback is an important driver of engagement, yet for many leaders it is the hardest part of the job. The SBI-BI method focuses on facts rather than emotions, making it easier to reach a solution that works for all involved. It introduces alternative behaviours and the positive outcomes they will lead to. Positive Reinforcement Process Select the behaviour to reinforce Define the behaviour in observable and measurable terms

Communicate praise for the behaviour Immediately Frequently Enthusiastically Using eye contact Giving examples Impact Congrats
Congratulate on the positive behaviour and how it relates to their personal development E.g. I am pleased at how you have developed your client relationship skills, and would like you to take on more clients in future

Context Situation
Discuss the circumstances/situation or task in question

Behaviour
Discuss the behaviour that was displayed

Discuss the impacts of the behaviour and explain why you feel it was effective

E.g. Yesterday I went with you to meet the client and complete an assessment

E.g. You were well prepared for the meeting and immediately put the client at ease

E.g. This allowed us to complete the assessment quickly and effectively

Corrective Action Process Make notes of the points you wish to cover Have examples of specific behaviours or incidents you wish to discuss and make sure your facts are accurate Try to balance the conversation by focusing on some positive behaviour Consider how you to manage different responses: Angry let the team member vent and make sure you dont get angry yourself Upset listen without interrupting while the team member explains their point of view Dismissive review the team members understanding of what is expected of them If the team member remains emotional throughout the meeting, reschedule to another time Context Situation
Discuss the circumstances/situation or task in question

Facts
Discuss the behaviour that was displayed

Impact & Corrective Action

Discuss the impacts of the behaviour (congratulate if effective) and explain why you feel it was effective/ineffective E.g. This made the client uneasy and we were not able to get all of the information we needed

Alternative Impact
Discuss together why the alternative action would be more effective for all involved E.g. In future I would like you to spend more time reviewing the clients case history prior to an assessment

E.g. Yesterday I went with you to meet the client and complete an assessment

E.g. You had not prepared the assessment and confused the clients history

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

23

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

4.3 Career development tips

What the numbers say...
83% of organisations found career opportunities is one of the top three drivers of engagement Opportunities for career advancement was found to be the third highest engagement driver, after senior leadership and direct supervisors What is career planning? Career planning is the process of defining what an employee wants in their career, and formulating a plan to achieve that within our organisation. Why is career planning important? FACS employees said that knowing what their future is in the organisation, and accessing development to build the skills they need for future roles, have a direct impact on their engagement levels. Career planning is also consistently found to be one of the top drivers in engagement studies. If employees dont perceive a clear direction for their career within the organisation, they will inevitably end up on a path to exit. Career planning is also a critical piece of an overall talent management strategy, ensuring FACS has the people and skills it needs to perform effectively. But career development is difficult. Career definitions are increasingly hard to pin down, workforce expectations are constantly shifting and the ever-changing public environment make it challenging for FACS and employees to align our goals. A formal career planning program is being developed as part of the FACS Employee Engagement Program, and below are some tips to help you start having career conversations with your team members. What are employees looking for? While career is a personal journey that is about what employees want; their hopes, passions, dreams and aspirations. Yet many leaders shy away from having conversations about career for fear of not having opportunities available, how career moves will look to other team members, or simply not having the answers. To make matters worse, most employees dont actually know what they want their next career move to be, and feel their employer doesnt provide a clear career path for them (57% according to a BlessingWhite study). So what are employees really looking for? To start, they need help to find clarity around their career aspirations while leaders cant do this for them, they can support their team members in the process. Second, employees are looking for personal growth. This is not necessarily in a new role they can be happy staying in the same job as long as they can try new things to develop their skills. Third, promotion is not always the goal. Employees identified interesting work as four times more important in looking for their next position as opportunity for promotion (BlessingWhite, 2012). A journey, not a destination There is a wide-open network of options when it comes to career, and employees can take their career down any of these options. What is important is identifying their strengths, capabilities and engagement drivers, and putting in place a plan to build on these. This can involve a range of options, including skills development, stretch projects, secondments, moves into newly created roles, as well as promotions. The following tips will guide you in assisting employees to identify these opportunities and forge a career at FACS.

43% of survey respondents said helping employees understand their role in the organisations success was critical to build engagement
Employee Engagement, Melcrum Publishing 2005 Connection between work and organisational strategy is the number 1 lever of discretionary effort (32.8% impact) Career advisor effectiveness is the number 2 lever of intent to stay (36.8% impact) Driving Employee Performance and Retention through Engagement, Corporate Leadership Council 2004

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

24

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

4.3 Career development tips

Career planning tips
1 Help employees clarify what they want

Employees need to identify their personal values, and their passions and aspirations, before you can help them to define a career path.
2 Career planning is a two-way street

As a leader, you need to share responsibility with your team members, exploring what opportunities exist and how they can move towards them. You need to get your employees to take control of their own career prospects and what direction they are heading in.
3 Link to organisational priorities

Reinforce that FACS wants to provide long-term career opportunities for our employees, and review the FACS strategic priorities to identify work required to achieve organisational success. This will help them to find roles with meaning and purpose.
4 Be confident in talking about career

Do your research to understand team members individual abilities and interests, as well as where the organisation is going and what skills will be important in the future. If you feel you need support or coaching, speak to your HR contact.
5 Dont judge

Not all employees will see a long-term career path within FACS. The question may be if not, why not, and what can we do that might change their mind? Are their roles elsewhere in the organisation they have not considered?
6 Challenge your team members

Part of your role is to check the reality of your employees perception about their career path are they thinking broad yet realistic? Is their desired timeframe accurate? Do they accurately self-assess their current skills?
7 Gather information

If you cant answer a question, seek assistance from your own manager or HR contact. If employees identify a role theyre aspiring to that you are not familiar with, get in contact with that team and ask them what skills or capabilities are needed.
8 Think about skill development

Link employees career aspirations to their development plans, identifying learning opportunities which will enable them to gain the skills they need for their next role.
9 Have regular conversations

Career plans are not static, they adapt and change over time. Have regular check-ins with your team members to review their career goals and if/how they have shifted.
10 Be clear about the parameters of the conversation

Not every persons career ambition can be matched exactly or to their desired timeframes. Our commitment is to explore their career path with them and wherever possible facilitate opportunities.

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

25

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

4.3 Career development tips

History
Where have they been?

Future Direction
Where are they going?

Career Planning
How will they get there?

Meaningful experiences in their current or past roles

Impactful learning courses Growth opportunities Outside interests Role models Personal brand

Competencies assess skills against those required for their future desired role. Aspirations what do they want from their career in the next 3 years? Direction type of work they want to be doing and preference towards certain roles.

Goals
Experiences Coaching Learning Roles

Discussion questions History History What have been your career highlights to date? Why was that point in time so successful for you? When have you felt you were advancing your career most effectively? What processes/ resources/ opportunities assisted you to do this? Why has your career gone in a certain direction to date? Did you consciously choose this direction or did it evolve? Were you satisfied with this direction? When you look at your career history, are there things you have done (study/ mobility /engagements /different roles) which gave you skills that you are yet to apply within FACS? Will bringing those skills into your career path give you greater satisfaction?
Future Direction Future direction When you think about the future what kind of work do you see yourself doing? What are you interested in? Consider clients, Agencies, leadership roles. If you could have one persons role within FACS, whose would it be? What are your lifestyle aspirations (family, study, external activities, overseas work opportunities, travel)? Have you considered how you might best balance your career aspirations and lifestyle aspirations within FACS? Which values did you rate as your top 5 in the personal values activity? How do you think these align with your desired future role(s)? How does your career aspirations align with FACSs strategic direction? Do you know what our organisational priorities are?

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

26

ENGAGEMENT READINESS TOOLS

4.3 Career development tips

Discussion questions continued
Career planning Career planning This discussion is about your skills against those competencies for the role you wish to aspire to. It is NOT your present role. Overall skills: Do you feel you have the capabilities you need for your future role? What are your strongest areas of performance? What do you need to improve? Technical skills: What skills will you need to develop for your future role? Will this require specific training or development activities? Calibration: How would you rate your performance in comparison with your peer group? Ability to build relationships: How strong is your internal network? Who do you consider your strongest supporters and how do they support you? Leadership: How effectively can you manage difficult staff and do you inspire others? Business case for role change: The business case will always include an analysis of whether you are consistently displaying the competencies for the role you are striving for. What tangible examples could you provide in a business case now? What additional on the job experiences do you need in order to have tangible examples to demonstrate those competencies? What developmental roles might you undertake that support achievement of your preferred career destination? Wrap up Do you now have greater clarity around your longer term career path with FACS? Are there still questions you need to ask of different people to gain clarity? I will discuss your career aspirations with the relevant stakeholders. However, every career plan is a living, dynamic document - how do you want to follow up on your career plan?

Employee Engagement Toolkit June 2013

27