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Here's the next in our series of weekly managerial TIPS (Techniques, Insights, and Practical Solutions)
to help you better engage your team in the activities that lead to higher performance.
CORE Bites Issue #61
I'm going to venture that your answer to my question is "No." And you would be right because a tape measure—no matter how you read the graduated tick marks—won't be able to measure temperature ... not even close.
The reason I'm asking this seemingly inane question is during this past week I reached my personal boiling point. What does that look like? Well, we all know that at 211 degrees, water is quite hot; but it doesn't boil until it reaches 212 degrees. My last week can be defined by that 1℉ ... that single-digit that put me over the top and now serves as the impetus for this week's CORE Bites. Here's the backstory ...
I've been irritated for years by a fallacy that's been perpetuated by people who, quite frankly, should know better. This fallacy concerns employee engagement or, as is popular to utter nowadays, "disengagement" (if you listen to the consultants and authors who attempt to persuade by sophistry rather than by sound reasoning). No matter where you turn, or what you read, we're being told that 70% - 85% of employees are not engaged or actively disengaged at work—and all of this emanates from a scientifically questionable 12-item (seriously!) survey published by Gallup. This week, no less than a dozen separate articles by disparate authors quoted the same numbers. It's now an Urban Legend! (Isn't it interesting that the same people who are touting these numbers are also in the business of now helping you "fix" the problem? Hmm...)
Typically we believe numbers from large and respected research organizations but it doesn't take long (and it doesn't take much logic) to question the accuracy of the aforementioned numbers. Think about this as it relates to your own personal experiences ...
I work with some incredible organizations (which might skew my opinion) but—as is true of each of us—I also experience hundreds of other organizations as I travel through life. I shop in retail and grocery stores; I travel, rent cars, stay at hotels, eat in restaurants; I have personal and corporate items maintained or repaired; I purchase professional services from diverse organizations. In essence, I'm exposed to many 'interactive' data points and these experiences—amidst ALL of the employees involved—do not confirm in any way that the majority of people are anywhere close to being "actively disengaged" or "not engaged in their work." Sure, I've run into the occasional employee who would not be described as fully engaged. But proclaiming that 70% - 85% of employees are not engaged or actively disengaged simply does not add up.
My purpose in using the "measuring tape to measure the temperature in your oven" metaphor is to express a concern I have that we are using the Gallup 'measuring tape' when what we need is a different form of measurement altogether. There are too many confounds at play to allow ourselves to be lulled into thinking that a simple survey (a "measuring tape") will do the job.
The HVAs listed below are proven 'thermometers' that will give you a much more accurate assessment of your employee engagement:
The overarching message here is you can't determine the true levels of engagement or disengagement by simply deploying a survey. If you truly seek to understand, then the HVAs listed above should provide you with many valuable insights.
I'd love to hear how these HVAs work for you!
Neil Dempster, PhD, MBA
RESULTant™ and Behavioral Engineer
"I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail."
— Abraham Maslow (Toward a Psychology of Being) —