This document outlines an agenda and materials for a two-day employee engagement course for managers. The agenda includes assessing organizational engagement, defining the manager's role in building connections, creating conditions for engagement across the organization and individually, and providing ongoing support. The materials provide frameworks for understanding organizational health and the types of organizations, the manager's role in engaging at cognitive, affective, behavioral and spiritual levels, and creating conditions for communication and engagement at both the organizational and individual level through leadership, communication, development and support.

1. Equipping Managers to Engage:
Getting Connected
3rd Employee Engagement Course
Vancouver, April 23-24, 2009
Jitka Holt, Holt Communications Inc.

2. Agenda
• Assess the organization
• Define the manager’s role: getting connected
• Create conditions
– Across the organization: lead and communicate
– For individual managers: let lead and
communicate
• Provide ongoing development and support
• Case studies

3. Equipping managers to engage:
getting connected
Organizational
Define the role: Create
Assess the
building conditions
organization
connections
Individual
Provide ongoing support

4. Equipping managers to engage:
getting connected
Organizational
Define the role: Create
Assess the
building conditions
organization
connections
Individual
Provide ongoing support

5. Assess the system
Three types of organizations
• Totally stable (ice)
• Edge of Chaos (water)
• Chaotic (gaseous stream)
Source: Dave Snowden, On Innovation, 2007

6. Edge of chaos is the place to be
Totally Stable Edge of Chaos Chaotic
Too rigid, no novelty Balance? Too disorderly, novelty
overload
Couch potato Moving around/exploring Headless chicken
Stuck in the past Lives in the present Obsessed with the future
No innovation Constant flow of Innovations conceived,
innovations not delivered
Change doesn’t occur Constantly adapting Change cannot be co-
ordinated
Little flow of relevant Constants flow of Info overload
info relevant info
Static mental models Lots of single-/double- Learning disconnected
loop learning from reality
Ossification certain Survival chances are high Disintegration inevitable
Source: Dave Snowden, On Innovation, 2007

7. A healthy organization is alive

8. ... and interconnected

9. Equipping managers to engage:
getting connected
Organizational
Define the role: Create
Assess the
building conditions
organization
connections
Individual
Provide ongoing support

10. The manager’s role
Do you want your managers ... or move around the
stay within their box.... organization?

11. To engage, managers build
connections at three levels
What do you think What do you feel
about your company? about your
company?
Cognitive Affective
E
Behavioural
What do you do in
relation to your
company?
Source: ISR, 2006

12. To engage, managers build
connections at three four levels
What do you think What do you feel
about your company? about your
company?
Cognitive Affective
E
Spiritual
Behavioural
What does
What do you do in your work mean
relation to your for you?
company?

13. Equipping managers to engage:
getting connected
Organizational
Define the role: Create
Assess the
building conditions
organization
connections
Individual
Provide ongoing support

14. Create conditions for managers to
engage
You want to set your managers up for success at
two levels:
• Organizational
• Individual
quot;You figuring it out doesn't mean anything
until something changes
in the hearts and minds of the people in the
organization.”

15. Create conditions for managers to
engage at two levels:

16. Organizational level: create
conditions for managers to engage

17. At the individual level…

18. ... give each manager the tools to
engage

19. At the organizational level: lead ...
Make
strategic Involve people
decisions
Lead Engage
Communicate

20. Lead and engage
Make
strategic Involve people
decisions
Engage
• Create a dialogue • Ongoing feedback
• Agree on values loop
• Have a vision and • Inclusive decision-
determine strategy making
• Keep the line of sight • Shared processes
• Walk the talk • Valued input
• Hire for talent and fit
• Listen and check reality

21. ...listen and do a reality check...
Seven drivers of engagement - people:
37 %
• Trust senior management
• Are asked for their ideas and opinions on important <50 %
matters
• Clearly understand the organization's vision and 33 %
strategic direction
42 %
• Trust their supervisors
• Receive recognition and praise for good work <50%
34%
• Have a clear say in decisions that affect their work
• Perceive their supervisors as caring and considerate 45%
of their wellbeing
Source: Warren Shepell, 2006

22. Communication matters
Out of the seven drivers of engagement, four are
directly influenced by communication:
• Trust senior management
• Are asked for their ideas and opinions on important
matters
• Clearly understand the organization's vision and
strategic direction
• Trust their supervisors
• Receive recognition and praise for good work
• Have a clear say in decisions that affect their work
• Perceive their supervisors as caring and considerate
of their wellbeing
Source: Warren Shepell, 2006

23. Reality check: communication and
performance
Communication effectiveness is a leading indicator of financial
performance:
From 2000 to 2004, companies with
effective communication increased
shareholder return by 57%
+57%
100%
2000 2004
Source: Watson Wyatt, 2005/06

24. Reality check: communication,
performance and engagement
Effective communications create engaged employees create loyal
customers who in turn create bigger profits
Companies with effective
communication are 4.5 times
more likely to report high levels
of employee engagement
4.5x
Engagement
levels
Source: Watson Wyatt, 2009

25. Reality check: barriers to
communicating effectively
• Managers do not see
communication as part of their day-to-day job
• Managers have not developed their communications
skills
• Communications channels are absent , inappropriate
or oversubscribed
• Communication around corporate citizenship is
disjointed
Source: Andy Parsley, Management Issues, 2005

26. At the organizational level: create
conditions to communicate and
engage
Leverage your HR and
communications
Develop a common
functions
language: define what
communication is
Keep a clear line of sight:
agree on the manager’s
Engage role and competencies
Maintain direct dialogue
Provide a relevant
with senior leadership:
infrastructure
provide specific and
timely information

27. Agree on what communication is
• Information is not communication
• Communication is behaviour
• Communication changes behaviour
• There is no such state as ‘no communication’
• Communication must be two-way: listen and listen and talk
and listen
• Communications is a process: it’s never complete
• Simple communication doesn’t mean easy communication
“ If the communication changes behavior, it’s good
communication; if it doesn’t, it’s bad communication.”
-- T.J. Larkin

28. At the individual level: give
managers the tools to engage and
lead
• Walk the talk: e.g.,
• Link engagement with
give managers time
vision and values
• Use personality
• Let managers get to
assessments
know their leadership
style
• Let managers build on • Empower managers
their strengths to focus on few
development areas
• Give, receive and
• Keep engagement
build on feedback
relevant

29. Let managers get to know their
leadership style
Let managers get to know their leadership style
and build on it. Some elements:
• • Team building
Building a vision
• • Conflict-resolution
Communication
• • Stress response
Facilitation
(grip)
• Problem solving
• .... it’s really about
• Decision-making
the basics

30. Let managers build on their
strengths
There are countless skills – and very few basics
• Listening
• Asking effective questions
• Giving and receiving feedback
• Delivering negative messages
• Developing own presentation style
• Selecting the right tools and media
• ....

31. Equipping managers to engage:
getting connected
Organizational
Define the role: Create
Assess the
building conditions
organization
connections
Individual
Provide ongoing support

32. Provide continuous development
and support
• Provide opportunity for ongoing dialogue and
feedback with leadership
• Incorporate engagement skills development into the
overall career plan
• Provide various venues for development
– Provide training
– Establish a mentoring program
– Establish a coaching program
• Establish a variety of feedback channels
• Acknowledge progress: celebrate

33. More on mentoring
Mentoring is a process by which “experienced people who go
out of their way to help you clarify your vision and personal
goals and build skills to reach them.” -- Dr. Linda Phillips-Jones
In recent years, an increasing number of public sector agencies
and more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies have
established and sustained a wide variety of structured mentoring
systems.
Source: International Association of Business Communicators, 2009

34. More on coaching
“Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and
creative process that inspires them to maximize their
personal and professional potential.” – International Coach
Federation
Organizational coaching options include:
External : Internal
Manager-to-employee : Peer-to-peer
Personal development : Professional skills only
...“boosting employee engagement” is cited by about 41% of
respondents as the purpose for which their organizations use
coaching. – American Management Association, 2008

35. More on coaching
Coaching is a convenient
and cost-effective way to
support behavioural
change and accelerate
human and organizational
evolution. Training
88%
increases productivity by Coaching
22.4%, while training with
coaching increases
productivity by 88%. 22.4%
Training
Source: International Personnel Management Association

36. Discussion
Jitka Holt
Holt Communications Inc.
www.holtcommunications.ca
jitka@holtcommunications.ca
+604.724.4597