Employee Engagement

& Retention

Any student use of these slides is subject to the same License Agreement that governs
the student’s use of the SHRM Learning System materials.

© SHRM 1
 Employee Engagement

Embodies broader concept than employee

satisfaction, commitment, and morale

Involves employee behaviors that positively

influence individual- and business-level
performance

Characterized by a desire to stay with the

organization in the future and willingness to
“go the extra mile”

© SHRM 2
 Facets of Employee
Engagement

Personal
characteristics
(curiosity)
Trait

Workplace State
conditions or Effort invested
practices (high perfor-
(variety) Behavioral mance)

© SHRM 3
 Employee Engagement
Benefits

• Customer loyalty/engagement
Gallup analysis of • Profitability
data from 276 • Productivity
organizations • Turnover
showed a correlation • Safety incidents
between employee • Shrinkage (thefts)
engagement and
• Absenteeism
business results.
• Quality (defects)
• Well-being
• Organizational citizenship

© SHRM 4
 Engagement Drivers

Engaging Talent focus The work

leadership • Brand • Empowerment/
• Senior leadership • Career development autonomy
• Manager • Performance • Work tasks
management • Work/life balance
• Rewards, recognition • Job satisfaction
• Talent, staffing

The basics Agility

• Job • Collaboration
• Safety • Customer focus
• Risk • Decision making
• Survey follow-up • Diversity, equity,
inclusion
• Enabling infrastructure

© SHRM 5
 Employee Engagement
and Well-Being*

* Based on Towers Watson data

© SHRM 6
 Types of
Organizational Cultures

Authoritarian Mechanistic Participative

High-
Learning
performance

© SHRM 7
 Role of Culture in
Engagement

• What organizational culture have we

created?
• Is this culture helping us achieve our
strategic goals?
• How can our culture be expressed in a
way that increases employee
engagement?

© SHRM 8
 Management and
Employee Engagement

HR needs to support manager behavior that:

• Reflects concern for employees’ professional
and personal well-being.
• Expresses gratitude for contributions.
• Amplifies employees’ accomplishments.
• Values communication and emphasizes
positive feedback.

© SHRM 9
 Management Competencies to
Enhance Employee Engagement

Supporting Interpersonal Monitoring

employee growth style and integrity direction
• Autonomy and • Individual • Reviewing and
empowerment interest guiding
• Development • Availability • Clarifying
• Feedback, • Personal expectations
praise, manner • Managing time
recognition • Ethics and resources
• Following
processes and
procedures

© SHRM 10
 Challenges to Engagement

• Global competition
• Economic conditions External
stressors
• Continuous
innovation
• New technology Decreased
employee
engagement
Difficulty maintaining
work/life boundaries Internal
• Mobile workplaces stressors
• 24/7 contact HR needs to make the
business case for investing
in employee engagement.

© SHRM 11
 Engagement Strategies

Commit long-term.

Measure consistently.

Connect engagement to business results.

Seek employee input.

Gain leadership support.

© SHRM 12
 Business Case

Connect engagement with drivers of organization’s

strategic goals.

© SHRM 13
 Retention

The ability to keep talented

employees in the organization

• Involves strategic actions to keep high

performers motivated and focused
• Helps attract and retain key
employees
• Reduces turnover and related costs

© SHRM 14
 Retention Drivers

• They believe they are doing

meaningful work.
• They are recognized for going above
Why are high and beyond.
performers
• The organization provides tools/
more likely
resources needed to succeed in job.
to stay?
• Performance management systems
are fair, consistent, and transparent.
• The organization offers appealing
incentives and perks.

© SHRM 15
 Improving Employee
Retention
 Treat retention of key employees as a strategic part of talent
management.
 Know what motivates each segment of the workforce.
 Conduct ongoing research to monitor motivation and workforce
trends.
 Develop a deep understanding of the reasons employees want to
stay or leave.
 Link the ability to retain and develop high-value talent to managers’
performance evaluations; reward appropriately.
 Keep employees informed about the organization.
 Monitor retention and turnover rates.
 Work to align systems, departments, processes, and procedures to
improve retention.

© SHRM 16
 Key Engagement Areas

Team practices

Leadership Organizational
characteristics values

Work itself

© SHRM 17
 Engagement Topics

• Opportunities for advancement

Career development • Access to and support for
learning and development

• Communication with management

Relationship with • Autonomy
management • Recognition

Compensation • Competitive wages and benefits

and benefits • Work/life balance programs

• Job-strategy connection
Work environment • Organizational culture
• Relationships with coworkers

© SHRM 18
 Employee Surveys

Types Engagement Opinion

Purpose Benefits

Collect and assess Numerous if properly

employee perceptions designed and
about the work administered and results
environment are communicated and
visibly acted upon

© SHRM 19
 Survey Development
Principles

Prepare employees; communicate the purpose.

Survey significant areas.

Guarantee confidentiality and anonymity.

Provide timely and actionable feedback on the

results.

© SHRM 20
 Determining Actions
from Survey Results

Track and
communicate
Make action efforts and
plans realistic, results.
Identify which measurable.
engagement
Identify drivers drivers can be
of engagement realistically
with each addressed.
survey.

© SHRM 21

Advantages
• Higher response rates
• Improved responses to open-
ended questions
• Quicker results
• Immediate status of survey
progress
• No interviewer bias
• Ease and flexibility of
aggregation and analysis
© SHRM
Online Surveys
Disadvantages
• Requires computer access
• Requires e-mail contacts
• Need for pilot testing
• Space limitations that
discourage extended open-
ended answers
• Virus-checking software
• Need to secure data
22
 Managing Effective
Survey Programs

Conduct only
Partner with Invite consultant to
when leadership is Set the stage.
consulting firm. deliver results.
committed.

Establish Establish Have

committee for subcommittees to subcommittees Keep it simple and
results and review local adopt common execute flawlessly.
recommendations. results. action plan.

Do not survey
Plan follow-up Invest more in
again until analysis
feedback post-survey
and response are
mechanism. results.
planned.

© SHRM 23
 Stay Interviews

• Employees discuss why they like or do not like

their current job.
• Help assess the degree of employee satisfaction
and engagement.
• Presents opportunity to build trust with
employees.
• Results debriefing can help analyze
organizational patterns, share insights, and
evaluate potential changes.
© SHRM 24
 Employee Life Cycle
(ELC) Phases

© SHRM 25
 Keep Employees Engaged

Job
enrichment

Performance Practices to
Learning and
and career increase development
management engagement

Strategic
compensation

© SHRM 26
 Realistic Job Previews

• Help a candidate make an informed decision

• Allow the organization to portray the job objectively
• Increase the potential of a good match
Examples:
– Videos about the organization and its brand
– Tours of the workplace (virtual or walk-throughs)
– Interviews with future coworkers
– Job-related videos
– Simulations that replicate working conditions

© SHRM 27
 Personalized Onboarding
and Suggestion Mechanisms

Personalized Onboarding Suggestion Mechanisms

• Adapting to employee’s • Organizations can gather

needs can shorten time to feedback that helps
performance and throughout the employee
integration and increase life cycle.
engagement and retention. • May include:
• Components may include: – Suggestion box
– Team-building – Dedicated e-mail
workshops address
– Mentors – Chat channels or other
internal platforms

© SHRM 28
 Work/Life Balance
Programs
Convenience/concierge
services
Wellness Employee assistance/
programs development programs

Total working Several Family assistance

hours possibilities programs

Miscellaneous Flexible work

programs arrangements

Leave of absence
© SHRM 29
 Rewards and Recognition

• Tied to strategic goals and

organizational values Financial
• Bonuses
• In a form meaningful to
individual recipient • Prizes
• Use positive and negative
reinforcement of desired Nonfinancial
behavior (Skinner’s behaviorist
• Public or private
school)
— Positive: adding something recognition
desired • Opportunities
— Negative: removing • Greater autonomy or
something not desired access to resources
• Work/life balance
benefits
© SHRM 30
 HR Role in Recognition

Promote a strategic recognition

program.

Tie recognition programs to

corporate values.

Encourage corporate spending

on employee recognition.

© SHRM 31
 Engagement Practices
During Separation

The employer brand is strengthened by:

• Humane and honest behavior during workforce
reductions.
• Exit interviews that uncover obstacles to
engagement.
• Well-handled separation processes.
• Creation of an alumni network.
Maintaining awareness of engagement during
separation can lead to the eventual return of valued
employees or valuable referrals of new employees.

© SHRM 32
 Performance Management

Maintaining or
improving
employee job
performance

© SHRM 33
 Performance Standards

Management expectations translated into:

Behaviors Results

What the organization What the employees

wants the employees to do must produce or deliver

Standards should be objective, measurable, realistic,

and stated clearly in writing (or otherwise recorded)
and communicated throughout the organization.

© SHRM 34
 Fostering a
High-Performance Workplace

Provide a
Demonstrate Attend to
positive and
executive-level engagement
challenging
support. activities.
environment.

Provide
Train Hold managers
continual
managers. accountable.
feedback.

Provide Maintain
resources and consistent
tools. practices.

© SHRM 35
 Evaluating the Performance

Management System

• Track training of users.

• Track completion of activities.
Approaches to • Review performance standards
measuring periodically.
effectiveness of • Review alignment with
performance organization’s strategic goals.
management • Confirm positive relationship of
system appraisal results with
promotions and pay increases.
• Gather feedback from users.

© SHRM 36
 Performance Appraisal

Measuring the degree to which an employee

(or group) accomplishes work requirements

Purposes Desired Outcomes

• Provide feedback and • Constructive feedback and

counseling.
• Help in allocating rewards and
opportunities.
• Help in determining employees’
aspirations and planning
developmental needs.
improved productivity
• Training and developmental
needs
• Clear expectations
• Commitment and mutual
understanding

Performance evaluations should be communicated continuously.

© SHRM 37
 Performance Appraisal
Methods

Category
Comparative Narrative
Rating

• Graphic • Ranking • Essay

scale • Paired- • Critical
• Checklist comparison incidents
• Forced • Forced • Field review
choice distribution

Management by objectives (MBO) and the behaviorally

anchored rating scale (BARS) may be used to
overcome appraisal challenges.
© SHRM 38
 Errors in
Performance Appraisal

Halo/horn effect Strictness

Recency Leniency

Primacy Central tendency

Bias Contrast

© SHRM 39
 Appraisal Meeting

Discuss
what will be
Discuss accomplished.
follow-up.
Create
Set plan to
objectives implement.
Discuss
for next period.
and agree
on ratings.
Proper documentation is critical:
• Timely
• Specific and objective
• Accurate and
consistent
© SHRM 40
 Engagement Metrics

Engagement may be measured in a number of

ways, both internal and external.

Metrics could include:

• Impact on business (most important)
• Monthly voluntary turnover rate
• Revenue per employee
• Wellness

© SHRM 41
 Understanding Turnover

What is the current turnover rate?

How does it compare to previous years?

How does it compare to the industry average?

How much is turnover costing the organization?

Who is leaving the organization?

What impact does it have on morale?

© SHRM 42
 Discussion

A business unit in a health-care organization conducts an

employee satisfaction and engagement survey each year.
Two measures have remained low across all departments:
• Employees’ perception as being valued by the
organization
• Leadership’s understanding of the demands of
employees’ daily work
Some departments are clear outliers in the data. The HR
director and the department managers are uncertain why
these measures have declined.

© SHRM 43
 Discussion

To ensure that these factors do not affect the

unit’s ability to attract and retain the best
talent, senior leadership has asked the HR
director to partner with the department
managers to put solutions in place. The goal
is to improve the unit’s results in the next 12
months, which is in line with the timing of the
next satisfaction survey.

© SHRM 44
 Discussion

To improve the business unit’s employee engagement

results within the next 12 months, what is the first thing the
HR director should do?
A. Communicate the survey results via an e-mail broadcast
to the entire employee group in the business unit.
B. Conduct focus groups with employees in the departments
that had the greatest decline in the two measures.
C. Coordinate a meeting with all department managers to
review the survey results and determine next steps.
D. Meet with senior leadership to better understand the
goals and expectations for the next survey process.

© SHRM 45
 Feedback

The correct answer is C. Gathering all managers provides

a look at the entire spectrum of performance and allows
discussion of successes. This demonstrates the
Consultation competency.

Focus groups with employees in the departments with the

greatest declines would be premature as a first step.
Communicating survey results is necessary but will not help
achieve the current objective. Management’s goal is
already clear.

© SHRM 46
 Discussion

What is the most effective way the HR director can engage the
managers in the analysis of the survey data and the development
of solutions?
A. Facilitate discussions between department managers with similar
survey results to determine where there may be common themes.
B. Partner with department managers to form committees within and
across departments to further interpret results and determine actions.
C. Clearly communicate the goals of the next survey and request that each
department manager work with employees to set measurable objectives
to achieve the goals.
D. Review department-level results with each manager in the business unit
and develop action plans based on the analysis of the survey results.

© SHRM 47
 Feedback

The correct answer is B. This is a great way to make

managers feel ownership of the survey process. It
demonstrates the Leadership & Navigation competency.

Further due diligence by managers should precede any

direct actions by employees.

A is not inclusive enough (only managers with similar

results), and D does not include employees in data analysis
and response development.

© SHRM 48