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Engagement in the workplace-climbing Alpe d'Huez

~~BLOG-28-07-2015 - Engagement: Climbing Alpe D’HUEZ

I am a big fan of the Tour de France and was enthralled by the battle taking place as Chris Froome attempted to keep pace with the Colombian whiz-kid Quintana at the penultimate stage up Alpe d’Huez. It was interesting to read in The Times, Sir David Brailsford’s account of that tense moment and the plans and thought processes that Team Sky had gone through to ensure that Froome was well prepared. It is an interesting example of the concept of performance and utilising the skills of a team and an indvidual. Employers and employees alike have had a difficult time during the on-going recession and three main challenges face companies going forward, namely:- • How can we make the workforce flexible enough to ensure that profit is maximised and all opportunities are fully realised; • What level of engagement should there be with the workforce both at micro and macro level either via individuals, trade unions or worker associations; • What level of responsibility should an employer should have towards its workforce.

One of the key issues that I am considering at the moment is the issue of engagement and how we manage performance in the workplace. Readers will be aware of a story in the press this morning that many employers are ditching the annual review.

However, there have been a couple of interesting articles over the weeks on this issue. I recently read a piece called “How to fall back in love with your job?” by Carolyn O’Hara in the Harvard Business Review. She looked at ways and means whereby employees can contribute more to the workplace by taking simple steps such as actually taking action where there are problems; think about what you like doing; seeking out people who are passionate about their work and regularly reviewing accomplishments.

Such articles can sound utopian. However, some of the core principles that she is addressing are similar to those mentioned by Brailsford when looking at how to build a team. Brailsford was quoted as saying that winners are those that don’t moan - they are constructive in their criticism but they don’t whinge about other factors that sometimes outside their own control.

The second article appeared in last weekend’s Financial Times and looked at how education establishments are starting to assess the performance of students using on-line data and how students interact with modules that are on-line. One commentator argued that they are able to tell or at least predict what level of grade a student will get within two days of their access to on-line materials. The article went on to look at the whole issue of privacy and whether it was being invaded but also made some relevant points about how to manage performance.

Often performance management takes one of three forms:-

• Once a year - do we have to do this? • Every week - this is how much you are failing by and this is when we will exit you from the business; • 360 appraisals which only work until the worker actually starts criticising managers. None of them are helpful or constructive for the business and indeed can prove to be counter-productive. So, what are the learning points we can extract? The central points, coming out of the articles and experiences from managing high performers are as follows:-

• Performance needs to be measured; • This can only come about through effective engagement; • The process must be the responsibility of the worker as much as the employer; • Key areas of concern must be identified (and the noise issues identified and separated from the real issues); • Appropriate and realistic markers should be set as to levels of improvement including consideration of support mechanisms to enable the worker to reach those targets; • All the above must be documented; • Plans should be reviewed and analysed and perfected to ensure on-going success;

I am not suggesting that all workplaces should become Team Sky but at the same time there are lessons to be learned from the world of sport as to how we effectively engage with those who are performing the services; giving them responsibility and ensuring that all needs are met to enable them to perform to the maximum of their ability. Employers need to listen to employees and ensure that their moaning and groaning is not negative but can be turned into constructive action.

Getting the culture right is key. Documents will help and can support this mechanism but ultimately it is about open progressive management to ensure that you are placed at the front and not just part of the peleton.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Gibson .