Employee Engagement: Threatens Growth

Large Enterprises are increasingly reporting that the biggest threat to achieving their growth targets is the attraction and retention of skilled employees. The Age reported that economists are warning that the No. 1 "success disease" of the Australian economy is skills shortages and associated wages pressure.

The longitudinal research by the Gallup Institute has demonstrated significant productivity increases can be released, at the same time as increased employee satisfaction and engagement, through the use of a strengths-based approach to individual and team management.

Gallup Institute findings were revealed by studying high-performing individuals and teams in over 100 Enterprises. Their research found that managers who consistently perform at the top of their cohort tend to naturally adopt a strengths based approach to their team management.

Moving away from a rigid focus on job descriptions to a strength-focus, leverages the individual strengths of team members in new and innovative ways: improving productivity and minimising individual resistance to change.

Marcus Buckingham (previously of the Gallup Institute and now in his own company) has authored or co-authored a number of books on human performance that included practical application examples and strategies that managers can deploy to leverage team member strengths for improved productivity.

The Gallup Institute research findings are consistent with the findings of Positive Psychology specialist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi; American psychology professor at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California and the former head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago.

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has authored a number of books that documented the increased levels of individual satisfaction, happiness; creativity and well-being are attained when people spend time in a state of “Flow”.

He is best known for his seminal work, 'Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience'. To achieve a flow state, a balance must be struck between the challenge of the task and the skill of the performer. If the task is too easy or too difficult, “Flow” cannot occur.

Marcus Buckingham is clear that a strength is not necessarily some thing that your Supervisor says you do well, in fact “Activities that you happen to perform well can actually deplete you if don’t also enjoy them. That makes them a weakness for you” he defines strength as “the work activities that consistently make you feel productive, energised and engaged.”

The extensive Gallup Institute longitudinal research demonstrated conclusively that teams comprised of people who spend most of their time using their strengths deliver higher performance than those who spent less time working to their strengths.

Marcus Buckingham has designed some practical tools to help individuals determine if an activity is strength, including the 4 signs that something is strength and suggests that managers can help employees improve their productivity by supporting them to leverage their strengths:
• Listen to them and trust their judgement; they are the only ones that know if they are energised by an activity.
• Adjust their jobs (wherever possible); be open to other ways that an activity could be completed. This releases the employee from the feeling of being stuck.
• Actively support individuals to find ways to make less desirable activities less onerous; consider partnering, doing an activity as a team excised etc.

Considering a focus on leveraging the strengths of your team also guides organisations towards respectful communication between other departments and other divisions, it also supports an innovation culture by daily re-enforcing the concept that there are many ways to achieve a good outcome.


REFERENCES:
http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4751.asp
http://www.marcusbuckingham.com/home.php
http://www.gallup.com/consulting/positive/107755/2008-Gallup-WellBeing-Forum.aspx