4 MYTHS ABOUT EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

In the recent years of economic crisis and the growing rate of burn-out, employee engagement has become a hot topic in the minds of people managers.

Recent research by Bakker, Demerouti & Sanz-Vergel (2014) says that engaged employees show high levels of energy and mental resilience, experience their work as significant and meaningful, and are fully concentrated and deeply engrossed by their work.

High levels of employee engagement have been linked to several positive outcomes, such as lower absenteeism, improved performance, proactive and innovative employee behaviour, and financial profit.

Hence, organisations with engaged employees are best armed to thrive and to obtain competitive advantage, even in challenging times.

Considering the many benefits of employee engagement, the question as to how it can be enhanced is of great interest to people managers and organisations as a whole.

Unfortunately, people hold various misunderstandings about which initiatives can increase this engagement

We’ve tried to clear up 4 myths to help you engage your employees.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

MYTH #1 A RISE IN SALARY, A BONUS, WILL INCREASE AN EMPLOYEE’S MOTIVATION TO DO A GOOD JOB

WHY WE BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE

It’s a widespread belief that people will work harder and be more motivated if they know they will get a bonus or a pay raise for better results. A sign that this belief is prevalent is the creation of various ways of rewar-ding employees: a company car, meal vouchers, paid overtime, etc. But are we really motivating people by introducing all these extra rewards?

According to Herzberg (1987), motivation does not come from extrinsic incentives such as a pay raise or a bonus. These incentives will stimulate people to work har-der for a short period of time, but then they will need the prospect

of the next raise or promotion to continue making an extra effort.

However, most of us are truly motivated by intrinsic rewards, such as challenges, possibilities for achievement, and greater responsibilities.

WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US

Possible intrinsic rewards that can increase employee motivation over the long-term include:

• Increase individual sense of responsibility by removing some controls

• Give people the chance to take on new or more difficult tasks they haven’t done before

• Allow employees to become experts by assigning them specialised tasks

• Show recognition and appreciation for the work done

FROM KNOWLEDGE TO ACTIONS

MYTH #2LETTING EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATE IN DECISION- MAKING PROCESSES IS THE BEST WAY FOR A SUPERVISOR TO ENGAGE HIS OR HER EMPLOYEES

We generally believe that an employee’s engagement increases when their super -visor lets them take part in the decision-making process (for example, determining new initiatives).

This belief is based on the simple reasoning that, if you have been involved, you most probably agreed (or at least didn’t disagree) with the final proposal, and so you will be more motivated to cooperate.

WHY WE BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE

In a study on employee engagement by the Vlerick Centre of Excellence in Strategic Talent Management, Defever and Dewettinck (2014) discovered that a supervisor’s behaviour is strongly linked to employee engagement. Coaching and showing concern are the most important dimensions for employee engagement, whereas participative decisi-on-making is rated lower.

On the other hand, strength-ening supervisors’ ability to coach seems to be one of the major challenges orga-nisations are facing today. But the rewards are great: research from Pace (2012) has shown that organisations with a strong coaching culture deliver nearly 13% better business results and are nearly 33% more effective at engaging employees.

WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US

According to Garr (2012), these are some actions senior leaders, supervisors and HR departments can undertake to successfully integrate coaching in their company:

• Senior leaders should support coaching by setting the tone them-selves. This includes talking about coaching, modelling how to coach, and holding their direct reports accountable for coaching.

• Supervisors have an important active role to play in coaching. The following three coaching skills are especially relevant: active listening, reinforcing positive behaviour, and asking open-ended questions.

• HR should provide supervisors with relevant tools and resources to learn more about coaching.

FROM KNOWLEDGE TO ACTIONS

MYTH #3EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE MORE PERFORMANCE TALKS WITH THEIR SUPERVISOR WILL BE MORE ENGAGED THAN THOSE WHO HAVE FEWER PERFORMANCE TALKS

WHY WE BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE

We usually tend to believe that more performance talks will increase employee engagement. The more often you sit with your supervisor to talk about your performance, the higher your engagement will be to improve it.

WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US

Defever and Dewettinck (2014) have discovered that there is no significant relationship between the frequency of performance talks and employee engagement.

But they did find a significant positive relationship between the duration of those meetings and the engagement of the employees. The more time a supervisor spends on formal performance meetings, the higher the engagement.

Knowing that the length − rather than the frequency − of a performance talk has more influence on employee engagement means that allotting sufficient time for the formal meetings is more important for employee engagement than the frequency of those meetings. This might be a good guideline for supervisors and HR departments to keep in mind when planning the formal performance evaluation processes. And, always remember that giving informal feedback is even more important than scheduled performance talks.

FROM KNOWLEDGE TO ACTIONS

MYTH #4 GOOD TEAM SPIRIT IS THE BEST PREDICTOR OF THE TEAM MEMBERS’ ENGAGEMENT

Team spirit is still regarded as the most important characteristic of teams with engaged team members. Team members who feel good in their team are expected to be more motivated to contribute to the team’s result.

WHY WE BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE

Based on research by Defever and Dewettinck (2014), we can conclude that clear goal orienta-tion is more related to employee engagement than good team spirit. The higher the team is rated on this dimension, the more engaged the team members are. So, teams with well-defined goals will perform bet-ter than those without. Moreover, clear goal orientation helps a team’s members form a common identity and enhances the team’s commitment to achieving targets.

WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US

Knowing that clear goal orientation is even more important for employee engagement than good team spirit means that there is an important role for the supervisor in establishing clear performance expecta-tions and clear team goals. Nevertheless, good team spirit will certainly never harm employee engagement − so this dimension should still be nourished.

FROM KNOWLEDGE TO ACTIONS

WANT TO READ MORE?

• Bakker, A., Demerouti, E., & Sanz- Vergel, A. (2014). Burnout and Work Engagement: The JD–R Approach. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1 ,389–411.

• HBR’s 10 Must Reads On Managing People (2011). Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation: United States of America.

• Defever, E. & Dewettinck, K. (2014). Research report: Creating employee engagement. Vlerick Business School, Centre for excellence in Strategic Talent Management: Gent.

• Pace, A. (2012). Cultivate a Coaching Culture. T+D, 66, 16-16.

• Garr, S.S. (2012). How to set coaches up for success. Chief learning officer, 11, 35-35.

MORE INFO?

KOEN DEWETTINCKAssociate Professor & Director EMBA People Management and Leadershipkoen.dewettinck@vlerick.com T + 32 9 210 97 40

SILKE VAN CAUWENBERGProduct Manager People Management and Leadershipsilke.vancauwenberg@vlerick.com T + 32 2 225 41 30

WWW.VLERICK.COM/PEOPLE-MANAGER

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