By David Bator

One of the top drivers of profit and productivity in any business is the attitude of the employees. Workers who are engaged in their work, committed to the mission of the enterprise and satisfied with their jobs are both more productive and more profitable.

Unfortunately for many organizations, there is a long road to get to these levels of engagement.

Where should business leaders start looking for answers to engagement problems? The obvious answer would be to start with the employees themselves. Organizations with open channels for dialogue with employees are well on their way to creating the kind of engagement and commitment from their workers that generates success. It turns out that successful business outcomes start with conversation.

The Engagement Problem
We know that when employees are committed to their work and satisfied with their jobs, companies are 43 per cent more productive.¹ We also know that highly engaged employees are less likely to leave an organization, preventing the turnover that cuts into the bottom line.

The problem comes when we ask employees what it is that produces disengagement. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence along with research that suggests employees want praise and recognition even more than they want pay increases² – and they just aren’t getting the recognition they deserve.

Here’s the rub: a large majority organizations have some kind of recognition program in place. So why aren’t these programs working? It turns out that what passes for recognition in many companies is little more than a merit badge for survival. Employees get perks like increased vacation time for years of service.

Research shows that employees want more than lip service from their employers. They want praise, opportunities and training.³ Most of all, employees want the companies they work for to be responsive. A cookie-cutter approach to employee engagement isn’t going to cut it, business leaders need to start listening to their workers in order to learn from them.

Conversations Worth Having
There are several types of conversation that organizations need to pay attention to in order to make discussion and dialogue part of the institutional fabric. Maintaining balance will help to ensure that conversations get rolling easily, turn to substantive issues and finally become active and actionable.

1. How’s the weather?
Fun, trivial, easy conversation has a place in even the most serious organizations. What’s known as “phatic conversation” helps individuals identify others who are open to conversation and to get a sense of where to start with a deeper conversation. The important thing is to keep the tone consistent with the organization’s vision and brand.

2. I’ve got something you need.
Transactional conversations are what take place in most meetings. I’ll give you some time and attention if you give me some statistics. These conversations are often what business is all about, but if the information was more accessible these conversations can often have greater value across the organization.

3. What are we doing here?
Sensemaking is a key driver for engagement. Helping employees understand how the roles that they play contribute to organizational success can transform them from “widget crankers” to key contributors.

4. Bridge to the future.
Transformational conversations can take participants to exciting and unanticipated outcomes. When people from diverse backgrounds are open to listening and learning they often rise to a new vantage point and end up seeing things differently. This type of conversation has the potential to bring about innovation and lasting change.

The full whitepaper is available online.

1 Murliss, Helen, and Peggy Schubert. Hay Group, “Engage Employees and Boost Performance.”
Last modified 2001. Accessed December 16, 2012.
2 Cooper, Steve. “Make More Money By Making Your Employees Happy.” Forbes, July 30, 2012.
(accessed December 17, 2012).
3 Towers Watson, “Turbocharging Employee Engagement: The Power of Recognition from Managers.”
Last modified 2010. Accessed December 17, 2012.

David Bator is Director of Customer Strategy & Marketing at TemboSocial (formerly PollStream). For the last 13 years David has worked with the senior management of global companies to build marketing and communications programs that deliver extraordinary value for customers, employees and partners. Prior to joining TemboSocial, David was the Director of Partnerships & Alliances for Info-Tech Research Group and launched IDC Canada’s national conference business as Manager of Marketing and Sales Operations. www.tembosocial.com.