Personified

a CareerBuilder Company

Developing the Employee Engagement Institute

An in-depth report submitted to the Talent Consulting Team

Submitted on: January 2009

Authored by: Sam Young, Ph.D. Monika Black, Ph.D. Gil Vega, M.S.

CONTENTS
Contents .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Personified Employee Engagement Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Project Overview ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Project Goals .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Employee Engagement: Defining the Goal ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Consultant Methodology: Assessing the Level of Engagement .................................................................................................. 8 Needs Assessment ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Organizational Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Competency Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Employee Engagement.......................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Results................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Organizational Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Competency Analysis .......................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Example Training Module: Increasing Engagement by Building Trust .............................................................................. 15 Employee Engagement Training Module ...................................................................................................................................... 15 Training Objectives ................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Plan of Instruction ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Curriculum ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Be able to define trust......................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Be able to demonstrate the mechanics of trust ..................................................................................................................... 17 Be able to demonstrate trusting behaviors in negotiation ............................................................................................. 19 Know how to build and maintain an environment of trust ............................................................................................ 19 Evaluation Framework............................................................................................................................................................................ 20 Activity Examples ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Role-playing positive, trust building behavior mechanics ................................................................................................... 21 Exploring differences in understanding What are we talking about?..................................................................... 22 Final Summary.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 23 Implementation Recommendations................................................................................................................................................. 23 Future Research Recommendations ................................................................................................................................................ 23 Linking Competencies to Engagement....................................................................................................................................... 23 Linking Engagement to Turnover ................................................................................................................................................ 24 References........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Appendix A Needs Assessment Senior Management Survey ................................................................................................ 26 1

Employee Engagement ............................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Key ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Items ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Competencies ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Key ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 27 Items ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 27 Demographics ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Organizational Information ............................................................................................................................................................. 28 Appendix B Custom Employee Engagement measure ............................................................................................................. 30 Individual Level .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Organizational Level................................................................................................................................................................................. 30 Appendix C Psychometric Properties of the Employee Engagement Measure ........................................................... 31 Appendix D Table of Competencies ................................................................................................................................................... 33 Appendix E Template Evaluation Tool ............................................................................................................................................. 35 Reaction Questionnaire .......................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Learning Test ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Behavioral Evaluation ............................................................................................................................................................................. 36 Organizational Results ............................................................................................................................................................................ 36

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The specific intent of this project was to explore the construct of employee engagement and identify ways in which it can be trained for Personifieds Employee Engagement Institute . The Employee

Engagement Institute will serve to increase workforce efficiency by training employees, management and organizations to improve employee engagement. Given the lack of consensus in the scientific and business community about the concept of employee engagement, a data-driven approach was developed for Personified. An analytical approach was used to define employee engagement, assess the level of need for training among Personified clients, and to develop a comprehensive approach to training organizations on employee engagement. An organizational analysis was conducted to determine organizational leaders perceptions of the current state of employee engagement in the industry. A custom engagement scale was developed and validated to assess individual and organizational aspects of engagement. conducive to training. Survey results revealed that 80% of senior managers feel that employee engagement is important, and more than 50% of managers would be interested in training programs designed to increase employee engagement in their organization. The top competencies identified as associated with employee engagement were Conflict Management, Building Trust, Flexibility, Initiative and Continuous Learning. Results from the organizational analysis complimented findings in the literature which concluded that the training should be targeted at middle management. Additional research was conducted to develop a comprehensive approach and an example training module to serve as a guiding framework for the development of future training modules in the Employee Engagement Institute. A global, three-pronged approach to employee engagement (e.g., at the individual, organizational, and managerial levels) was developed. In addition, we used this as the basis for an example training module on improving engagement by building trust within organizations. The example module presented in this report integrates Gagnes Nine Events of Instruction to facilitate learning. Also included are recommended curriculum on trust, sample activities, and a suggested evaluation framework. Psychometric properties of the engagement scale are also outlined. Finally, suggestions for future research are presented, which can be used to inform towards further development of the Employee Engagement Institute. A

competency analysis identified a list of competencies that are related to employee engagement and are

PERSONIFIED EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ANALYSIS

PROJECT OVERVIEW
Employers are increasingly focused on their human capital as their most valuable asset. Due to declining economic forces, there is a critical need to further engage employees in a way that will help them work more effectively. Today, most employees are only moderately engaged (60%) or disengaged (20%); less than 20% of employees report being highly engaged (freely giving extra effort on an ongoing basis).1 Further engaging the "massive middle" will be a priority for those organizations looking to truly utilize their human capital. It is clear that many organizations are now responding to these workforce challenges with increased investment in employee engagement (EE). Organizations are developing workshops, trainings and incentives to try and engage their employees to work better and more efficiently. However, at this point in time there is a lack of effective, understandable conceptualizations of EE; many business leaders continue to struggle with how to define it and subsequently how to measure it. The purpose of the current project was to assist Personified in developing and conceptualizing EE and to provide recommendations for future training modules designed to improve EE. Findings from this project are intended to inform Personified in developing the Employee Engagement Institute (EEI).

PROJECT GOALS
The EEI will serve as an economical solution for Personifieds clients to develop a more effective and efficient workforce. The goal of this project was to further develop the infrastructure for Personifieds EEI. The specific objectives for this project were to: Review relevant EE literature to provide Personified with a more cohesive, parsimonious framework of the EE construct. Develop a survey that assesses clients understanding of EE and identify who in their organization training would best serve. Create a custom survey that accurately measures EE. Link the EE construct to relevant and trainable behaviors. Identify training topics that are relevant to potential clientele that Personified could focus on in future training module development. Provide recommendations for an evaluation framework which will serve as a guide for the proposed and future modules. 4

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: DEFINING THE GOAL

EE is a construct that is difficult to reduce to one all-encompassing definition. It has commonly been identified as increased work ethic and dedication or commitment to an organization, vigor and absorption in work processes, superior task performance, positive affect toward the organization as whole, reactionary or anticipatory responses to organizational challenges, as well as an overall willingness and ability to contribute to company success. Organizational environment and leadership are also factors that have been examined as theoretically linked to EE. From a human capital standpoint, it is possible for every employee to become engaged. There are a few necessary aspects which allow for greater development of EE. First, it is important for employees to have passion and commitment to the organization they work for. This can be viewed as the foundation on which EE is built, because without passion for work and organizational or task commitment, EE is not possible. Second, engaged employees complete work that needs to be done, even at the expense of resisting the status quo. Further, it is very helpful for the values of the individual and the organization to be in parallel to assure that employees make changes knowing that they are ultimately in line with the organizational vision. The ability for an employee to put forth his or her preferred self is key to engagement because an employee must feel comfortable expressing who he or she is. In large part, this has to do with the acceptance of employee goals and values by management and the greater organization. Lastly, employees possessing an autotelic personality (engaging in activities solely for individual satisfaction rather than specific gains or rewards) have higher occurrences of EE within the workplace. Although EE is somewhat dependent on employee factors, the majority of the responsibility for development of EE within an organization falls on the company itself. First, proper leadership is essential to the development of EE. More specifically, transformational leadership by management helps foster engagement in others due to the articulation and commitment to the vision that employees receive from their superiors. Not only should managers have a strong sense of leadership, but they should also be able to fulfill the objectives of the organization by utilizing the strengths of each individual. In other words, effective leaders capitalize on the competencies that employees have, not those which the manager wishes they had. Next, the organization should provide work that is challenging, has variety, and provides employees with autonomy. Any employee will dislike work that is tedious and does not seem on par with his or her perceived intelligence, therefore it is important for managers to pinpoint employee strengths and provide work that allows for independent decision making in the areas the employee is an expert on. 5

Lastly, trust is an essential component for the organization to gain from the employee. Engaged employees will offer their all to an organization, and in turn, the employees must feel that they will not suffer in any way for offering their services. EE is not something that can be fostered through any one solution. Not only does EE require effort from the employee but it must also be promoted by management and encouraged by the organizational environment. Only when there is a global effort to EE can organizations realize the benefits of lower turnover and increased bottom line, as well as allow employees to gain a sense of self -efficacy and organizational purpose. With all of the above in mind, we recommend that Personified embrace a three-pronged approach to EE: employee, management, and organizational environment.
FIGURE 1. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IS BEST THOUGHT OF AS THREE-PRONGED CONSTRUCT. 1,3
Psychological engagement Work commitment

Self-efficacy

Autotelic personality

Employee

Change-driven

Acceptance of employeepreferred self

Support for engaged behaviors

Employee Engagement

Provides development opportunities

Clear expectations

Organizational Development
Link between work and employee values Fosters sense of control over environment

Management

Rich task characteristics

Hold employees accountable

Transformation al leadership

Attentive to justice

Finally, there are a few last issues to note. First, EE is fa r easier to foster during the beginning of ones career (e.g., on-boarding). New hires possess an energy and enthusiasm for the potential of their new position, and therefore the organization can capitalize on this by creating an orientation with the above information on employee and organization responsibilities to fostering a sense of EE. Second, despite the benefits of EE for the organization, there is a limit on how much energy employees possess and thus engagement in some roles comes at the expense of engagement in other roles. Highly engaged 6

employees tend to exhibit signs of burnout faster than non-engaged employees; thus, management should provide the necessary accommodations to highly engaged employees. It is important to note that job satisfaction does not equal EE. Although job satisfaction measures may determine if work conditions provide for engagement, they do not directly tap the construct. Lastly, EE is not just dependent on employee states and personality traits, it is also highly dependent on the organizational environment. Although EE has many facets, it can be simplified by stating that employees need the will (sense of mission, passion, and pride that motivates them to give their all), and the way (resources, support, and tools from the organization) in order to become engaged in an organization. Because engagement at the individual level might be composed of inherent characteristics that are not conducive to training, training at the management and organizational level are likely more fruitful. For example, although passion from an employee is a requisite to engagement it may not be feasible to train individuals to be more passionate as this may represent a stable personality characteristic. On the other hand, managers can be trained to better engage employees by teaching them to recognize superior employee behavior. Similarly, organizations can improve EE by fostering a trusting workplace climate. Indeed, the best way to encourage EE changes at the individual level would be to train and focus on aspects of the managerial and organizational levels.

CONSULTANT METHODOLOGY: ASSESSING THE LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT

NEEDS ASSESSMENT
A needs assessment and competency analysis were conducted to determine: 1) the extent to which organizational leaders identify EE as a problem in their organization, and 2) to assess the key competencies associated with EE. The two assessments were distributed electronically through an online survey. ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS An organizational analysis is typically completed as an initial step in a needs assessment to determine the desires of the organization 2. The extent to which Personified clients perceived EE to be a problem in their organization was assessed. Organizational leaders (e.g., managers, director, senior management team, CEO/Presidents) from a pool of past and current clients of CareerBuilder, Inc. were sent the survey via e-mail. Participants responded to a series of questions regarding their opinions about EE in their organizations (e.g., To what extent is employee engagement important to your organization? ; To what extent would you be interested in training programs designed to increase employee engagement in your organization? ). Participants also indicated the extent to which they were concerned about the lack of EE within specific groups of employees (e.g., non-salaried employees, managers, senior/upper management) and across departments of the organization (e.g., Human Resources, Operations, Information Technology; see Appendix B for the complete survey). COMPETENCY ANALYSIS EE is a relatively new concept and many organizations find it challenging to define 1,3, which can lead to problems for organizations attempting to increase EE through training. A competency analysis is a tool that can be used to identify the core competencies that are needed for successful employee performance across multiple disciplines within the organization. Since competencies are less specific than task-level knowledge, skills and abilities, they lend themselves well to creating more broad training modules designed to increase EE within organizations. Using the provided conceptualization of EE in literature, the consulting team first identified a general list of competencies proposed to be related to EE. Several sources detailing competencies used in the workplace were examined. For this project, we referred to New York State Department of Civil 8

Services4 tech report on competencies to create an initial competency list. The consulting team identified twenty competencies related to EE (competency definitions can be found in Appendix D).

In order to validate the list of competencies, the competency list was evaluated by the same senior managers surveyed in the organization analysis. Participants indicated whether certain competencies were important characteristics for EE at their organization (e.g., empowering others, building trust, facilitating others). Participants were given the opportunity to list additional competencies that they believed related to EE but not represented in the survey. This competency analysis was simultaneously distributed with the needs analysis. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT A measure of EE was developed and distributed to respondents available to CareerBuilder and Personified. Measuring EE must become an important part of any training module or collection of modules aimed at increasing EE in the workplace. The consulting team sought to provide a working measure of EE that did not require licensing fees.

RESULTS
ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS A total of 37 senior managers responded. The results suggest that over 80% of the surveyed senior managers feel that EE is important, and would be concerned with a lack of EE in their organization. Furthermore, more than 50% of the surveyed managers would be interested in training programs designed to increase EE in the workplace. When we examined the perceptions of senior managers about EE in their particular organization, it was observed that senior managers believed that their employees, on average, are neither engaged nor disengaged (Figures 5 and 6) and were moderately satisfied with the level of EE (Figures 7 and 8). The average level of engagement as perceived by senior managers, depending on whether employees are arranged by job level (non-salaried employee through executive) or department (e.g., human resources and sales) ranged from 3.21 to 4.05; higher scores indicated more positive evaluations (1 = Very Disengaged to 5 = Very Engaged).

FIGURE 2. REPORTED IMPORTANCE OF ENGAGEMENT IN MANAGERS (RESPONDENTS) ORGANIZATIONS.

FIGURE 3. ANTICIPATED LEVEL OF CONCERN TO LACK OF ENGAGEMENT AS REPORTED BY MANAGERS.

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FIGURE 4. LEVEL OF INTEREST IN TRAINING PROGRAMS DESIGNED AT INCREASING ENGAGEMENT, AS REPORTED BY MANAGERS.

FIGURE 5. MANAGERS PERCEPTI ONS OF ENGAGEMENT ACROSS DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY (1 = VERY DISENGAGED TO 5 = VERY ENGAGED).

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FIGURE 6. MANGERS PERCEPTIO NS OF ENGAGEMENT BY DEPARTMENT (1 = VERY DISENGAGED TO 5 = VERY ENGAGED).

FIGURE 7. MANAGERS SATISFAC TION WITH ENGAGEMENT ACROSS DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY (1 = VERY DISSATISFIED TO 5 = VERY SATISFIED).

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FIGURE 8. MANAGERS SATISFAC TION WITH ENGAGEMENT BY DEPARTMENT (1 = VERY DISSATISFIED TO 5 = VERY SATISFIED).

COMPETENCY ANALYSIS Results suggest that managers agreed that the competencies we presented were related to EE (see Table 1). The competencies clustered around the Important response, and it is worth noting that the median values were either 4 or 5.
TABLE 1. MEANS, MEDIANS, AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OF MANAGER S ASSESSMENT OF COM PETENCY IMPORTANCE RELATIVE TO EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT (1 = VERY UNIMPORTANT TO 5 = VERY IMPORTANT).

Competency Flexibility Building Trust Conflict Management Initiative Continual Learning Change Management Communication skills Empowering Others

Mean 4.17 4.11 4.06 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00

Median 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Std. Deviation 1.51 1.61 1.47 1.57 1.57 1.46 1.57 1.46 13

Thinking Strategically Managing Performance Providing Motivational Support Developing Others Interpersonal Skills Coaching Visioning Emotional Intelligence Resiliency Facilitating Others Valuing and Leveraging Diversity Project Management

4.00 3.94 3.94 3.94 3.94 3.83 3.78 3.78 3.75 3.72 3.67 3.61

5 4.5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

1.57 1.43 1.55 1.55 1.55 1.51 1.52 1.4 1.57 1.49 1.46 1.54

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EXAMPLE TRAINING MODULE: INCREASING ENGAGEMENT BY BUILDING TRUST

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT TRAINING MODULE
Results from the needs assessment demonstrated that an organizational need for training to increase EE exists, and that senior managers indicated that certain competencies were related to EE. We recommend keeping in mind the three-pronged approach that focuses on the employee, managerial, and organizational levels when forming training objectives. The text in brackets below will demonstrate how this may look when designing training objective.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES
At the completion of training the trainee should: Be able to define trust Be able to demonstrate the mechanics of trust [fostered at the individual and management levels] o o o Behaviors [individual level] Emotions [individual level] Communication [management level]

Be able to demonstrate trusting behaviors in negotiation [individual level] Know how to build and maintain an environment of trust [management and organizational environment level]

PLAN OF INSTRUCTION
It is recommended that training modules be designed and implemented using principles of Gagnes Nine Events of Instruction6. According to Gagne, the following nine events help activate mental operations and processes that facilitate effective learning: 1. Gaining Attention The instructor should present a stimulus to aid reception of the upcoming content. This is commonly done by asking questions of the learners, having the learners themselves pose questions, using novelty, surprise, or humor. This helps activate the learning process of attention.

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2. Informing Learner of Objectives The instructor should describe criteria for desired performance (this can be done with participant input). This helps activate the learning process of expectancy, or belief in a future outcome. 3. Stimulating Recall of Prior Learning The instructor should relate the learning content to something trainees already know or have already experienced. This helps activate the learning process of memory retrieval and priming for future learning. 4. Presenting Stimulus Material The instructor should display the content using available strategies to provide effective and efficient instruction. This includes presenting and explaining vocabulary, providing examples, and using appropriate cues to help learning. This helps facilitate attention and perception processes. 5. Providing Learner Guidance The instructor can help participants organize the information, know about available and helpful resources, and describe learning strategies that will help learners. This provides a knowledge framework that allows the trainee to adequately learn and process training material. 6. Eliciting Performance The instructor should encourage trainees to demonstrate their learning by eliciting recall of information in the trainees own words or by asking the trainee to demonstrate a learned rule in a novel situation. This helps facilitate the learning processes of retrieval and responding. 7. Providing Feedback The instructor should provide immediate feedback after the trainee has the chance to practice or perform. The feedback should be both positive and constructive. This helps activate the reinforcement and error correction processes. 8. Assessing Performance The instructor should always check to see if expected learning outcomes have been achieved. A pre-test can be used before training to discover deficiencies. Questions can be embedded throughout the training to assess performance. Objective and norm-referenced assessments can be administered at the end of training to check for performance. This facilitates knowledge retention. 9. Enhancing Retention and Transfer Instructors should help learners internalize content by paraphrasing content, using metaphors and analogies, helping categorize content, using 16

generative note-taking, and giving examples that are relevant to the trainee. This helps facilitate the processes of retention and retrieval.

CURRICULUM
Curriculum should be culled from a variety of sources. Popular management books on a given topic can be included due to their face validity for potential clients and trainees, and scholarly journals should be consulted in order to build a training module that is grounded in theory. There are some scholarly journal references included in this tech report 6,7,8,9. BE ABLE TO DEFINE TRUST Rationale: A good introduction to the module would be a framing of the topic trust so all employees have a similar understanding of the concept. It sets the stage for the rest of the class. Example of a possible definition : A willingness of an individual or group to be vulnerable to the actions of another individual or group based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the original individu al or group, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control the party.5 Suggested activities: Large group discussion of what trust is in the workplace (provide examples of good experiences, why it is important, etc.), small break-out groups that analyze case studies of positive and negative trust environments BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THE MECHANICS OF TRUST
BEHAVIORS

Rationale: Specific behaviors that participants can change in order to more effectively build trust. This is the main tier of the training module. The focus on this training objective is related to the individual level of engagement. Content can include: Specifying Expectations - Employees who consistently perform what is expected of them will be perceived as reliable, and therefore trustworthy. This can be accomplished by encouraging employees to be specific about their expectations regarding duties and tasks and put forth best efforts to meet expectations. Providing explanations when expectations are not met will help maintain perceptions of reliability among employees.

Encouraging Positive Reinforcement - Letting employees know when they have done something right through positive phrases will encourage them to repeat the behavior. An atmosphere of 17

positive feedback will foster the perception that employees are valued and trusted to perform their jobs in a satisfactory manner.

Clearly

Communicating

Messages

Relaying

expectations

clearly

will

prevent

miscommunication. Reflective phrases such as What I hear you saying is or Let me res tate what you just said to make sure I understand will foster effective communication.

Providing Honest Feedback - An essential principle of learning is feedback. Just as it is important for employees to know when they have done something correctly, it is as crucial for them to recognize when they have done something that does not meet expectations. Providing honest feedback about ways in which employees can improve their performance will help them meet organizational standards and therefore be trusted by coworkers.

Staying Positive-Neutral - Make use of communication strategies such as the feedback sandwich. For example, when critiquing employee performance, first state a positive praise, follow up with the negative feedback, and then finish with another positive comment.

Possible activities: Trust-building simulations, role playing trust-building interaction styles (see activity example #1)
EMOTIONS

Rationale: An understanding of the emotional side of trust building is important. The focus on this training objective is to the individual level of engagement. Content can include: Encouraging positive and open attitudes Attitudes and accompanying non-verbal behavior say a lot to employees and other co-workers. Learning how to project the right attitude will be highly noticeable, and will encourage more open interactions. Managing emotional responses It is easy to let emotions take over when working with those you dont agree with, or when in a negotiation situation. Emotional outbursts are not constructive; self-regulating your emotional responses will help foster a more trusting environment. Possible activities: Empathy exercises; form small break-out groups to discuss how emotional environments have affected trust in the past; mindfulness exercises; possibly take an inventory of emotional expression, self-management, and/or emotional intelligence

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COMMUNICATION

Rationale: A key aspect of trust is knowing how to communicate in a way beyond behaviors and attitudes. One must know how to state interests and perspectives in a trusting way in interpersonal interactions. The focus on this training objective is related to the managerial level of engagement. Content can include: Fostering a sense of inclusion within the environment - Allow trainees to understand the importance of an open environment free of criticism. Talk about the importance of diverse opinions on the work process. Effectively getting your point across Provide trainees with a framework for voicing their opinion in constructive, rather than destructive ways. Allow trainees to understand effective techniques in managing a conversation where both parties are passionate about the outcome. Understanding individual differences - People attach different meanings to interaction styles, phrases, and even individual words. Individual differences matter and these should be explored with an emphasis on cultural awareness and sensitivity. Possible activities: Instructor-led discussion or discussion in small groups in order to get more involvement from participants who may be quieter, videos with good and bad examples to gain interest in the topic, a team game with a small element of competition (i.e. theme-based Pictionary), or an exploring differences activity (see activity example #2) BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE TRUSTING BEHAVIORS IN NEGOTIATION Rationale: Negotiation often is implicitly considered an antagonistic situation, but that does not need to be the case. The focus on this training objective is related to the individual level of engagement. Content can include discussions of Win -Win philosophies and strategies.

Possible activities: Incorporate information learned from above by providing a somewhat antagonistic negotiation scenario that pairs of individuals must work out (the situation must be difficult), role-playing in front of the group, group discussion on personal methods for finding common ground KNOW HOW TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN AN ENVIRONMENT OF TRUST Rationale: Beyond the person, organizations must foster a climate of trust. Content can include ways that employees at every level of the organization can model trust strategies, as well as methods that encourage others within the organization to do so as well. The targets for this training objective are the management and organizational levels of engagement. 19

Possible activities: Self-created action plans to think through specific ways in which learned strategies can be applied in day-to-day work activities; group discussion on self-evaluation criteria for identifying successful behaviors

EVALUATION FRAMEWORK
Outcomes-based evaluation focuses on the results of training. Outcomes are typically assessed across four levels, including reaction, learning, behavior and results (Goldstein, 2002). An overview of the different levels of evaluation is provided below. These levels were used to develop an evaluation form template (see Appendix E).
TABLE 2. KIRKPATRICK S EVALUATION TAXONO MY2

Extent to which trainee is satisfied with or enjoyed training (e.g., instructor, Reaction management process, testing process, materials used, course structure, and utility of program for trainee). Extent to which trainee has learned principles, facts and techniques specified Learning during training (e.g., definition of trust, ability to state interests in a way that promotes trust, knowledge of strategies to maintain a trusting environment). Extent to which training improves the ability for employees to build trusting Behavior relationships in their colleagues, supervisors, senior managers and others in the workplace environment. Results Extent to which training impacts organizational results, like employee turnover and cost savings associated with lower rates of turnover.

The above evaluation framework should be used as a guide for evaluation procedures in training modules developed by Personified. The learning and behavioral items will have to be adjusted to fit each individual training module, but the affective and results evaluation criteria can generalize to all future training modules. Of the four evaluation levels, behavioral evaluation is the most important. This is where Personified and its clients can learn whether the training has led to on-the-job change. Although important, satisfaction with training, as well as increased declarative knowledge due to the training, does not reflect whether individuals will change behavior on the job. Thus, the importance of the behavioral-level evaluation procedure should be emphasized to all clients.

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ACTIVITY EXAMPLES
ROLE-PLAYING POSITIVE, TRUST BUILDING BEHAVIOR MECHANICS
Time: 20 minutes Equipment: None Method: Divide the participants into groups of three. Groups will practice providing feedback on projects which the employees can relate to (e.g., budget proposal and presentations to recent clients). One participant should assume the role of a manager giving feedback to an employee, another should take the role of someone to whom feedback is given, and the third participant should act as an observer. The first participant is informed before the role-playing begins that their character, the manager, is generally unhappy with, for example, the presentation. He or she feels that: The presentation did not adequately explain the benefits that their company can offer clients (the example company should be customized for each client). There were some noticeable grammatical errors. The employee did not involve his or her colleagues enough in the preparation of the presentation. The participant is notified that besides the above, their character has no other problems with the presentation. The second participant, the employee, is also unhappy with the presentation. He or she feels that He or she was not given adequate time to prepare the presentation. While the he or she was encouraged to work with other employees, those employees were overloaded with work and had not been informed by management that their support might be needed. He or she felt like the goals of the presentation were not clearly explained, and there was little guidance beyond vague statement such as focus on effective communication, and make the presentation memorable. He or she did feel, however, that they were excited to be given the responsibility of presenting to and interacting with prospective clients. The third participant, the observer, can reflect on communication styles of the other two. The participants should be given a few minutes to familiarize themselves with the material of their character so they can interact more naturally without referring back to the character notes. The 21

manager should initiate the interaction however he or she would like. The role-playing should last approximately 5-10 minutes. The training facilitator should notify participants when time is up, and that they should then switch roles, and again initiate the interaction. At the conclusion of the interactions, the facilitator should bring the participants back into a group setting. The following questions can be used to spur a group discussion: How representative would you say your interactions are of a normal negative feedback session in the workplace? How easy or difficult was it to utilize some of the trust building behaviors that we have talked about? What do you think is the easiest behavior mechanic to implement in the workplace? The most difficult?

EXPLORING DIFFERENCES IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

Time: 15 minutes Equipment: A ball Method: This activity introduces the idea that a word can mean many different things to different people. Participants should throw the ball around the group and when you catch the ball you have to explain what you think about when you hear the word. For example, if the word chosen is religion, definitions might include how I decide right from wrong, people praying or even a cause of arguments. Other words could include: paradise, conflict, the name of your town etc.

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FINAL SUMMARY
There is clearly a market for training that increases engagement in the workplace. We have provided an example training module to Personified that focuses on the Building Trust competency. This competency is one of the twenty that the senior managers surveyed in our study indicated were strongly related to EE. The training objective objectives were specific, observable, and measurable. Future training objectives developed by Personified should have these characteristics. The consulting team used a conceptually driven three-pronged approach to EE and recommends that future training modules be developed in a similar manner. The three-pronged approach has conceptual support from the available literature on EE, and clients will most likely find it logical and easy to understand. The training objectives were tailored to reflect the three-pronged approach to employee engagement. However, not all competencies will lend themselves equally to the three-pronged approach.

IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS
It is critical that relevance of the training modules to clients occupy a central role in the development of the EEI. This should be discussed with all potential clients before any training is implemented. The provided EE scale has been analyzed as a descriptive tool only at this point, not yet as a diagnostic tool. Therefore, these modules should always tie back to relevant on-the-job behaviors so that the service Personified provides is not misrepresented. This is a discussion that should be incorporated into Personifieds initial communication strategy with potential clients before services are purchased.

FUTURE RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS

LINKING COMPETENCIES TO ENGAGEMENT In line with Personifieds data-driven approach, the consulting team recommends future research that further examines the linkages between competencies and EE. A survey should be constructed in which the twenty competencies found within this tech report, and any inclu ded at Personifieds discretion, are evaluated. Specifically, respondents should be asked to evaluate the 1) importance of each competency to successful performance in their organization, and 2) the degree to which he or she (the respondent) personally possesses each competency. Additionally, the EE measure created by the consulting team should be administered to the respondents. The resulting information can be analyzed in three different ways.

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Analyses could be run to determine if highly engaged employees are more likely to possess some competencies compared to others. This will provide further guidance on which competencies Personified should focus on when designing training modules in order to increase engagement within organizations. A difference score can be calculated between the importance and degree of possession for each competency. This difference score can be used to determine which competencies are most deficient in the workplace (e.g., high difference scores equal greater importance and decreased personal possession). A recommended strategy is to subtract the degree of possession value from the importance value, and then sort the data in ascending order. All data with negative values should be ignored for this particular recommended analysis, as these indicate high degree of possession with little importance. The difference score calculated in step B can be correlated with respondents scores on the EE measure. This will provide information as to whether increased deficiency on certain competencies is related to decreased engagement within the workplace. If this is found to be the case, there will be even more evidence for training modules aimed at these particular competencies because the deficiency is known, and the relationship to engagement will be documented. The proposed research recommendations should provide useful information for the development and marketing of training modules. LINKING ENGAGEMENT TO TURNOVER The provided EE measure should be analyzed with organizational turnover rates. Personified could use their relationships with organizations to administer the short EE measure to organizations, and collect turnover information for the departments in which they collected EE data. If necessary, this could be done in exchange for the information regarding the level of engagement of their current employees. This may even result in an interest for training modules from the EEI. The data gathered here may reveal an empirical correlation between engagement scores and turnover. Additionally, the engagement measure can be administered before and after implementation of the EEI, with information provided by the organizations regarding their turnover rates at the two times of the survey administration. With enough data gathered through this manner, Personified may be able to draw empirical, causational conclusions that the EEI training modules do increase engagement, which results in decreased organizational turnover. There will need to be a lot of information points at this stage, since the complexity of turnover is affected by many variables, the effect size is likely to be small and hard to detect. 24

REFERENCES
1. Tower Perrin (2003). Working today: Understanding what drives employee engagement. Stamford, CT: Towers Perrin. 2. Goldstein, I. L., & Ford, J. K. (2002). Training in organizations (4 th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 3. Macey, W. H. & Schneider, B. (2008). The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and Organizational Psychology,1, 3-30. 4. Stern, A., Berger, S., Blackwood, R., Chauvin, M., Farquharson, B., & Powell, S. (2002, October). Competencies: Report of the competencies workgroup (G. Sinnott & G. H. Madison, Eds.). New York State: New York State Civil Service Department, Office of Human Relations. 5. Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20, 709-734 6. Gagne, R.M., Briggs, L.J. (1974). Principles of Instructional Design. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Wilson. 7. Sinetar, M. (1988). Building trust into corporate relationships. Organizational Dynamics, 16(3), 73-79. 8. Mishra, J. & Morrissey, M.A. (1990). Trust in employee/employer relationships: A survey of West Michigan managers. Public Personnel Management, 19, 443-486. 9. Schoorman, F.D., Mayer, R.C., & Davis, J.H. (2007). An integrative model of organizational trust: Past, present, and future. Academy of Management, 32, 344-354.

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APPENDIX A NEEDS ASSESSMENT SENIOR MANAGEMENT SURVEY

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Employee Engagement is often defined as an individua ls involvement and satisfaction with work, as well as enthusiasm for work. Engaged employees value, enjoy and believe in what they do, exhibit increased organizational commitment and demonstrate this through their willingness to go beyond the requirements of the job. We are interested in assessing your opinions about employee engagement in your organization. Please read the items below and respond with the answer that best represents your personal beliefs. KEY 1 = Very Unimportant/ Unconcerned/ Disinterested/ Disengaged/ Dissatisfied 2 = Unimportant/ Unconcerned/ Disinterested/ Disengaged/ Dissatisfied 3 = Neither Important/ Concerned/ etc nor Unimportant/ Unconcerned/ etc 4 = Important/ Concerned/ Interested/ Engaged/ Satisfied 5 = Very Important/ Concerned/ Interested/ Engaged/ Satisfied ITEMS 1. To what extent is employee engagement important to your organization? 2. How concerned would you be if you observed a lack of employee engagement in your company? 3. To what extent would you be interested in training programs designed to increase employee engagement in your organization? 4. How engaged do you find the following groups in your organization? a. Non-salaried employees b. Salaried employees c. Managers / supervisors d. Executives e. Human Resources personnel f. Operations personnel g. Information Technology personnel h. Marketing/Advertising personnel i. Sales personnel 5. How satisfied are you with the level of engagement of the following groups in your organization? a. Non-salaried employees b. Salaried employees 26

c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

Managers / supervisors Executives Human Resources personnel Operations personnel Information Technology personnel Marketing/Advertising personnel Sales personnel

COMPETENCIES
A competency is a characteristic of an employee that contributes to successful job performance and the achievement of organizational results. These include knowledge, skills, and abilities plus other characteristics such as values, motivation, initiative, and self-control. Please read the list of competencies below and indicate the extent to which you believe each is important in your organization. KEY 1 = Very Unimportant 2 = Unimportant 3 = Neither Important nor Unimportant 4 = Important 5 = Very Important ITEMS 1. Empowering Others 2. Building Trust 3. Resiliency 4. Facilitating Others 5. Project Management 6. Flexibility 7. Conflict Management 8. Providing Motivational Support 9. Interpersonal Skills 10. Developing Others 11. Valuing and Leveraging Diversity 12. Emotional Intelligence 13. Managing Performance 14. Visioning 15. Communication skills 16. Coaching 17. Change Management 18. Thinking Strategically 19. Continual Learning 20. Initiative 21. Are there any other competencies that you feel are related to employee engagement? Please list and briefly define each competency you would like to add. 27

___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

DEMOGRAPHICS Gender (male/female): _______ Age: _______ Years of service to the organization: _______ Racial/Ethnic Background: African American / Black: _____ European American / White: _____ Hispanic/ Latino: _____ Asian American: _____ Arab American: _____ Native American: _____ South Pacific Islander: _____ Other (Please specify): ____________________________________ ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION How would you best categorize the organization that you work for: Advertising/Marketing Nonprofit High Tech Manufacturing/Industrial Insurance Sales/Retail Service Industry Education Healthcare/Health Services Finance/banking Other ____________________________________ What is the approximate size of your organization? Less than 100 101 - 500 501 1,000 28

1,001-3,000 3,001 to 5,000 Greater than 5,000

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APPENDIX B CUSTOM EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT MEASURE

Employee Engagement is often defined as an individuals involvement and satisfaction with work, as well as enthusiasm for work. Engaged employees value, enjoy and believe in what they do, exhibit increased organizational commitment and demonstrate this through their willingness to go beyond the requirements of the job. The items below describe your experiences at your work. Use the scale below each statement to indicate the extent to which you agree that the statement accurately describes your workplace experience (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree).

INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. I am personally committed to the organization Im working for. I believe my work contributes to the success of my organization. I am willing to go above and beyond what is expected of me at work. I enjoy the work that I do. On most days, I enjoy coming to work It is easy for me to work for long periods of time. I am often challenged by my work. I proactively seek opportunities to contribute to my organization

ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL
9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. I work in a supportive work environment. I believe that my organization provides me with the materials and tools to do my job well. I take pride in the work that my organization does. When I perform well my efforts are acknowledged by my organization. I feel that my organization is interested in their employees well -being. I have the opportunity to develop myself professionally at my organization. I believe I will advance professionally in my current organization. Leaders provide a clear direction of the direction that the organization is headed.

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APPENDIX C PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT MEASURE

A 16-item measure of EE was developed (Employee Engagement Scale) for this project based on factors which have been identified as conceptually related to the construct. 1,3 Of the 16 items, 8 were intended to assess individual factors of EE and 8 were intended to evaluate organizational factors (see Table 1 below for the items). Respondents ( N = 41) indicated the extent to which they agreed with each item (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree), higher scores indicating higher levels of engagement. Scores on the items of the different dimensions were highly reliable ( = .92All; = .89Individual Subscale; = .92Organizational Subscale). Items were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis to examine factor structure. Using principal axis factoring, with Promax rotation, 3 factors emerged with eigenvalues greater than 1. However, upon closely examining factor loadings of each item we decided to retain a 2-factor rather than 3factor solution for two reasons. First, the 2-factor solution made better conceptual sense. Second, the 2-factor solution was more parsimonious. Using .4 loading cutoff, the two factors accounted for 60.26% of the total variance in the data. The first factor accounted for 48.31% of the variance and was labeled Organizational Engagement. The second factor, labeled Individual Engagement, accounted for 11.95% of the variance in the data (see Table 1 for factor loadings of the scale). Although the data support the intended two factor structure (e.g., organizational and individual), we recommend that the factor structure be crossvalidated in a new sample using a greater number of respondents. It is also recommended that the two items which loaded on both factors (items 5 and 11; see p. 25) and the one item which loaded on neither factor (item 8) be omitted from future versions of the scale.

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TABLE 3. FACTOR LOADINGS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SCALE

Employee Engagement Scale I believe I will advance professionally in my current organization I feel that my organization is interested in their employees wellbeing I have the opportunity to develop myself professionally at my organization When I perform well my efforts are acknowledged by my organization Leaders provide a clear explanation of the direction that the organization is headed I believe that my organization provides me with the materials and tools to do my job well I work in a supportive work environment I am often challenged by my work On most days I enjoy coming to work I take pride in the work that my organization does I am willing to go above and beyond what is expected of me at work I believe my work contributes to the success of my organization It is easy for me to work for long periods of time I enjoy the work that I do I am personally committed to the organization I work for I proactively seek opportunities to contribute to my organization

Organizational Engagement 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.85 0.82 0.79 0.71 0.55 0.54 0.50

Individual Engagement

0.43 0.42 0.94 0.90 0.71 0.57 0.53

Note. Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Promax with Kaiser Normalization.

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APPENDIX D TABLE OF COMPETENCIES

TABLE 4. COMPETENCIES RELEVANT TO EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Building Trust

Addresses perceived harm to the other person by fully acknowledging any harm done, clarifying intentions, and finding a suitable remedy that affirms the value of the relationship. Shares thoughts, feelings, and rationale so that others understand personal positions. Develops, plans, and follows through on change initiatives. Helps employees develop a clear understanding of what they will need to do differently as a result of changes in the organization. Provides guidance in how to strengthen knowledge and skills to improve personal and organizational performance. Ensures that others involved in a project or effort are kept informed about developments and plans. Speak and writes clearly. Creates informative presentations with convincing information. Recognizes differences of opinion, brings them out into the open for discussion, and looks for win-win solutions. Deals effectively with antagonistic situations. Builds on strengths and addresses weaknesses. Pursues self-development. Uses appropriate methods and a flexible interpersonal style to help others develop their capabilities. Demonstrates an ability to control and filter emotions in a constructive way. Demonstrates an appreciation of the differences in how others feel about things. Gives people latitude to make decisions based on their level and area of responsibility and level of knowledge and skills. Provides resources and feedback as needed. Exhibits behaviors and techniques that enhance the quality of group processes. Picks up on the need to change personal, interpersonal, and professional behavior quickly based on the demands of the project, customer, or solution. Reevaluates decisions when presented with new information. Identifies what needs to be done and takes action before being asked, when the situation requires it. 33

Change Management

Coaching

Communication skills Conflict Management Continual Learning Developing Others Emotional Intelligence Empowering Others Facilitation Flexibility Initiative

Interpersonal Skills

Relates well with others. Demonstrates consistency and fairness. Works with employees to set and communicate performance standards that are specific and measurable. Supports employee efforts to achieve job and organizational goals (e.g., by providing resources, removing obstacles, acting as a buffer). With staff, develops a work plan with tasks, timeframes, milestones, resources, and dependencies. Monitors project progress and evaluates performance. Acknowledges and thanks people for their contributions in completing work and meeting customer needs. Finds creative ways to make work rewarding. Can effectively handle several challenging problems or tasks at once. Deals effectively with pressure and stress. Provides analysis of policy issues, develops program proposals, and develops plans that address long-term customer and stakeholder needs and concerns. Values diversity as exhibited in hiring choices, assignments made, teams formed, and interaction with others. Fosters an environment in which people who are culturally diverse can work together cooperatively and effectively in achieving organizational goals. Communicates a clear, vivid and relevant description or picture of where the organization should be 3, 5 or 10 years out. Influences others to translate vision to action.

Managing Performance

Project Management Thinking Strategically Valuing and Leveraging Diversity

Providing Motivational Support

Resiliency

Visioning

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APPENDIX E TEMPLATE EVALUATION TOOL

REACTION QUESTIONNAIRE
When to administer: At the end of the training module For each statement below, circle the number that best describes the extent to which you agree or disagree with that statement using a 1-5 scale (1 = Strongly Agree to 5 = Strongly Disagree). 1) The objectives of this training were clear. 2) The instructor was helpful and contributed to the learning experience. 3) There was an appropriate balance between lecture, participant involvement and activities in the training. 4) The topics covered in this training were relevant to the things at work. 5) I can see myself performing more effectively after attending this program. 6) The logistics for this program (e.g., arrangements, food/beverage, room, equipment) were satisfactory. For each statement below, circle the response that best reflects your opinions. 7) The length of the program was: a. Too long b. Too short c. Just right 8) Overall, how would you rate the usefulness of the program (1 = Extremely Useful to 5 = Not Useful at All)

LEARNING TEST
When to administer: At the end of the training module Choose the BEST response for each item below. 1) The definition of trust can best be defined as follows: [Answer = B] a. The ability to influence another individual or group in a positive way b. A willingness to be vulnerable to the actions of another individual or group c. The sense of feeling comfortable with ones co-workers d. The ability to keep private information confidential 2) Examples of the behavioral mechanics of trust include: [Answer = B] a. Specifying Expectations. b. Staying Positive Neutral. c. Providing Honest Feedback. d. All of the Above 3) A technique for managing the emotional aspects of trust is: [Answer = D] 35

a. b. c. d.

Keeping your feelings to yourself Talking about your problem with co-workers who feel the same way you do Letting your feelings come out all at once Encouraging positive and open attitudes

For each statement below, indicate whether it is true or false. 4) Negotiating a Win-Win strategy can diffuse an antagonistic situation [True] 5) Only members of the senior management team can foster a culture of trust [False]

BEHAVIORAL EVALUATION
When to administer: Three months after attending the training so participants have had a chance to apply what has been learned. As written it is designed to be completed by the trainees supervisor. For each statement below, circle the number that best describes the extent to which your employee exhibits the specified behavior using a Likert scale of 1-5 (1 = Almost Always to 5 = Almost Never). 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) Maintains a positive and encouraging attitude. Uses positive reinforcement when working with others. Provides honest feedback. Encourages diverse opinions in the workplace Exhibits behaviors that are supportive of a culture of trust. Encourages others to be more trusting.

ORGANIZATIONAL RESULTS
When to analyze: At least six months after attending the training so the effects of the training have had a chance to diffuse into the organization. 1) Increase in EE (Appendix B) 2) Decrease in Employee Turnover and related costs

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