ENGAGEMENT 101 – FOCUS ON MEANING!
In looking back at my time working in the hospitality industry, the months of October/November were my favourite months, and often the time of the year where I spent the most time working. And no, it wasn’t fun because we were preparing to host Thanksgiving Dinner for our employees or our making arrangements to hold our annual holiday party. Don’t get me wrong, these were fun too, but I thoroughly enjoyed this particular time, because we would get the results of our employee engagement survey.
Now, to ensure I don’t bore you with the remaining parts of this article, I won’t get too technical on why I was so engaged while I was reviewing the results of our survey, but simply wanted to extrapolate the process used, to help other employees & managers focus on employee engagement during these difficult and stressful times.
The process of keeping employees engaged at this moment in time, is a challenge that needs to be looked at from a different lens and this is what I often did as a Director of HR when reviewing the results of our engagement survey. Not many appreciate the different process or mindset in tackling employee engagement, but in times where we have a pandemic that is affecting our workplace, our approach needs to be reviewed and modified.
- Talk to your employees – many organizations will often take the results of the survey and create plans associated with improving those scores. However, it is equally important to understand that the score of the survey is the result of the survey. We need to fully understand, the “why” of the result. This could be a powerful way to engage with employees and get them to help and partner with you on the success of the organization instead of focusing on the “constant” stress this pandemic has brought to our lives. Look at ways to create focus groups to fully understand what the issues are but, focus more on the solutions that can be implemented
- Have one-on-ones – During these times of COVID-19, I know this may seem abnormal, but whether you are working remotely or not, these conversations are a MUST. Whether its saving time on your commute, having less employees to manage or less operational duties, supervisors/managers/directors should have more time in their daily schedule to ensure these conversations are a priority. The fact is, many employees are simply not comfortable “opening up” in focus groups or town-hall meetings. These one-on-one’s, give employees an opportunity to share their perspective in a more intimate environment. Furthermore, the information received in these discussions can be very helpful and insightful. Although, as in every conversation, it all depends on how the Managers frame the discussion – I think we will need to leave this for another article!
Considering the above, one of the best questions one can ask in these types of conversations which will have a direct impact on employee engagement is “do you find your job meaningful?”
Why does meaning matter?
Research reveals that purpose and/or meaning is linked to higher levels of overall well-being (Bonebright, Clay, & Akenmann, 2000), global happiness (Debats, van de Lubbe, & Wezeman, 1993; Park, Park, & Peterson, 2010; Ryff & Keyes, 1995), hope and optimism (Mascaro & Rosen, 2005; Steger & Frazier, 2005), life satisfaction (Chamberlain & Zika, 1988; Steger, Kashdan, Sullivan, & Lorentz, 2008; Steger, Oishi, & Kashdan, 2009).
As the above research indicates, having a purpose/meaning is linked to overall well-being and happiness. If we take this one step further, research conducted by Dr. Shawn Anchor– a world renowned workplace happiness expert and author of The Happiness Advantage, firmly believes that happiness is a precursor to organizational success. He researched the benefits of a happy workforce and his findings supported the following:
- Sales will increase by 37%.
- Productivity will increase by 31%.
- Accuracy on tasks improves by 19%.
- He also says that there will be huge improvements in health and quality of life for your people.
Based on the above, meaning leads to happiness and a happier workforce leads to higher engagement and thus, organizational success.
How to make this come alive?
According to a recent article, claims for medications treating mental-health issues like anxiety and depression reached 97 per cent of 2019’s total claims volume by the end of August 2020, according to new data from Express Scripts Canada.
In addition, 2020 has seen a 20 per cent increase in claimants for medications relating to depression compared to 2019. Helping your employees by making their jobs more meaningful will be an easy way to combat these disturbing trends. Furthermore, having conversations with employees to understand what their purpose is and aligning this with their roles within the organization is an easy and effective way to increase their engagement at work. This is called JOB CRAFTING (what job crafting looks like)
Candice Walker is a housekeeper at a university hospital. Her primary interest has always been the patients the organization serves and their families. From the time she started her job, she saw her work as much more than her cleaning responsibilities. Instead, she cognitively re-framed her work as a form of healing, playing a key role “in the house of hope.” Defining her role as healer meant she paid additional attention to the tasks that might help people recover and leave the hospital more quickly. This meant dedicating extra care to cleaning bathroom features during the cold season so her patients weren’t endangered. It also meant anticipating and providing materials that might be in short supply so that the patient could feel “things were in control” and that they were moving toward a faster release to home. She also formed relationships with patients and their families, getting to know them as people, not just temporary patients.
Candice used her emotional intelligence to make gentle inquiries that showed care and interest without overstepping boundaries. She used similar skills to discern who might need additional attention and conversation on a particular day or night because they were experiencing pain, fear, or loneliness. She would then alter which patients she spent time with so that her work could make a bigger difference in their lives. By cognitively crafting her job in these ways, Candice reported finding a greater sense of meaning in her job.
Conclusion:
Everything we do including our careers, must work towards making our purpose come to life. Whether, it’s the charity we decide to donate towards, the hobbies we want to get better at, your next vacation destination or performing a religious pilgrimage (like Hajj for Muslims) – everything must be aligned with your purpose to ensure its more meaningful to you. When something is more meaningful it will increase your overall well being!!!!
Until next time,
Be well,
Coach Mumdoo
604-861-4288
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