Situation
Our client was struggling to get the most out of long-tenured, experienced employees who were underperforming compared to past successes.
Solution
When a company is not frequently and specifically measuring employee engagement, it leads to executives making vague assessments of employee satisfaction, low morale, reasons for turnover, lack of effort, etc. Without clear metrics, leaders may end up with the feeling something is wrong but be unsure of the problem. Staff grumblings, an off-hand comment in an email, or a poor Glassdoor review could leave a leader feeling they don’t have everyone on board and lead to rash or even unfounded decisions and directions.
Proxxy deployed a short survey founded on proven and tested industry standards. It asked employees a battery of questions related to the essential components of engagement: basic needs, individual foundational needs, teamwork, and growth. The survey resulted in metrics that identify strengths, improvement opportunities, and comparison to an industry benchmark. Employees were segmented into three categories: highly engaged, neither engaged nor disengaged, or disengaged, and improvement-focused initiatives were developed and implemented. The survey was repeated at planned intervals to track progress.
Proxxy presented results to leadership and then to employees. At this stage, it is important to celebrate what the company is doing well before moving on to problem areas. Based on the areas that performed the lowest on the survey, Proxxy made recommendations for improvement.
Outcome
The survey revealed that employees weren’t clear on their goals. This lack of clarity led to dissatisfaction with management, a lack of trust that their coworkers would be held accountable, and no way to receive meaningful recognition for a job well done. As there were no regular meetings to discuss progress based on trackable metrics, meetings happened haphazardly and usually only when the goal was missed. It also became apparent that when employees did not meet their goals, their teammates weren’t sure anything would be done about it.
To resolve these problems, a weekly goal-setting and tracking meeting was instituted to keep the sales staff aligned, encouraged, and course-corrected as needed. In addition, a monthly all-hands meeting was started to provide an opportunity to celebrate measurable success and for leadership to give public recognition. Annual reviews were also instituted to provide performance feedback and goal setting.
Employees are in a better headspace now that they see their coworkers being held accountable. The team is much more successful and committed thanks to receiving regular praise in meetings when they meet their goals. The tone has entirely changed thanks to clear metrics and regular opportunities to assess individual progress. The percentage of Highly Engaged employees increase by 50% (from 50% to 75%) over the next two years. In addition, monthly sales production has increased by 20%.
