“Seth saab” has an oil manufacturing facility in Patoki with its head office in Lahore. Distribution networks are spread throughout Punjab, covering all major cities and smaller districts as well. Each distributor is equipped with one or two sales officers who are employees of the company.
One fine morning the receptionist at Seth Haroon’s office chatting with her friend over the phone mentioned how the day today would be a relaxed one as her boss is traveling to Islamabad. “He has a visa immigration interview at some embassy shembassy” she mentions. As fortunate as he could get, Mahmood, the regional sales manager was standing close by to over hear this conversation. It wasn’t long before every sales person in Islamabad, Pindi, Peshawar and surrounding areas were called with instructions to make their brand of oil as visible as possible.
Each distributor was informed of seth saab’s visit and were requested to use their goodwill with shop keepers to ensure proper display of their products. Mahmood is well aware that his performance appraisal is mainly in the hands of seth saab. His displeasure could lead to a scolding from him and if he is pleased, it would lead to a ‘shaabash’ and eventually a salary raise in the future.
Employees with such an attitude lack a psychological bond with their organisations. The strength of a relationship or a bond that an individual has with his or her subordinates, peers, supervisors, leaders and the organisation at large determines his level of engagement. Inadequate planning and ineffective communication of performance measures leads to such disengaged employee attitudes prevailing in most mid-sized companies.
Most businessmen strongly believe in the carrot and stick philosophy. “I held my companies electrician from his collar and hung him on the edge of the building rooftop, since that day every other worker in the office is straight like an arrow with me” says a local carton manufacturer. Who is to blame for this attitude? Is it the personal experience of business owners accumulated over years, that has made them follow a tried and tested practice or is it the prevailing business culture acting as a stimuli conditioning employees to behave in this manner?
Adeel Anwar, who is the General Manager HR at Dawood Hercules Chemicals Limited and an employee engagement specialist, feels that such a mind set was ineffective and most progressive business owners had long given up such practices. Speaking at an HR forum he said, “I do not believe in the carrot and stick philosophy. The burden of employee engagement (an employee’s psychological bond with his/her organisation) now lies on the employer rather than the employee. In modern times, the job market is no longer an employers’ market rather it is an employees’ market, as individuals have more awareness and choices to move for a better place of work”.
Employee engagement is a phenomenon that has recently gained recognition in the world. Companies world wide are taking steps to strengthen relationships that employees have with their peers, subordinates, supervisors, leaders of the company and the company itself.
A recent research conducted by Gallup Inc, an international research firm, showed that engaged employees are more productive, satisfied and are less likely to switch jobs. According to results of the survey, organisations with highly engaged employees compared with those having lesser engaged employees showed a positive impact on key business metrics. Such growth resulting from high employee engagement policies and practices, especially in times of a bearish economy, is astonishing. The results can be seen in the infographic.
Goals need to be S.M.A.R.T
Steps to engage employees could begin from employers spending more time on planning, defining goals and developing feedback mechanisms. Definition of goals can be an exhaustive and time consuming exercise; however the return in the form of employee motivation and productivity out weighs the effort involved. It is important that goals must be S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time constrained). Goal setting should not only be an exercise done by the business owner or higher management and then communicated to those responsible for achieving them rather employees should be an equal part of the goal setting process.
Effective two-way communication is vital
At the heart of any relationship is effective communication. Once goals are in place, there is a need for an efficient two-way communication channel between the employee and the supervisor. Platforms for employees, line managers and functional heads to interact must be ensured on a regular basis to review performance.
“If an effective two-way communication channel does not exist the goal setting and performance review exercise can be counterproductive for both the employee and the organisation at large,” says Adeel Anwar. Elaborating on the importance of two way communication he said “It is a God given right of each human being to defend himself against his actions and past performances which explains why there is a need for communication. When an employee is being rated on his performance he has to be part of the performance evaluation so he can communicate his point of view and vice versa for the supervisor. Without such communication, neither would know where they are heading to. With employee engagement being the larger goal in mind of the appraiser, performance reviews should not merely be an exercise conducted once or twice a year, it should be an ongoing process coupled with effective two-way communication.”
What costs are involved?
So does implementing performance measurement in medium sized firms mean loads of paperwork, forms and surveys, time consuming reports and very costly training sessions conducted by garrulous trainers?
“No not at all” says Mr. Anwar, “Performance management is as simple as a pat on the back and a shabaash! It is and should be more of an informal communication process which occurs continuously through out the year. The basic purpose of performance management should not only be to review an employee and reward him rationally. It should more importantly focus on employee growth and consequently you also decide about how to reward on performance.”
Having predetermined performance measurement standards which are well communicated to employees could greatly affect each employee’s engagement level. Employees should be able to clearly link rewards to their performance.
CCL Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is an example of a local company which has implemented several employee engagement practices. “We strive for our employee to have a mind set endorsing our core values, which are collective responsibility & integrity, participative management, ongoing interpersonal communication, mentoring & nurturing other colleagues and continuous improvement,” noted CCL Pharma HR manager Abdul Basit. He explained, “We have already defined career structures whereby employees have a clear understanding of growth within the company. Each year we celebrate employee performance by hosting an employee night, where long service awards are presented to employees who have stayed with the company long enough. We also have several activities allowing employees to interact with colleagues and supervisors such as bi-monthly movie screenings. Another unique practice in our company is the celebration of employees’ birthdays. Each month the entire office, from directors to junior officers, collect at the cafeteria where birthday cakes are cut, photographs of the event are uploaded on our intranet and shared between distant offices. Other social activities at departmental levels are also encouraged in our company. The results of all such policies are moderate and healthy employee turnover rates in our company. We have examples of people working with us for as long as thirty years.”
When asked how employee goals are set and reviewed, Basit replied, “Unlike other ‘Seth’ companies we involve our employees in annual appraisals. Subordinates sit with their line manager to review past performances and define future goals.
By developing a culture of participation, we expect our employees and their supervisors to regularly communicate the reviewing performance and realigning goals.”
Appreciation on-the-go
Employees always look forward to annual performance appraisals as they are followed by actions such as a raise and promotion. It is important that small businesses take time to have performance reviews more frequently such as on a monthly or quarterly basis and employees are provided feedback on their performance. These frequent appraisals should be recorded and be part of the annual appraisal. Apart from actively engaging employees with the organisation, such an exercise would offer a number of other benefits to the company including retaining high performing employees, regular alignment of corporate goals with individual employee goals and high employee motivation.
As much as monetary rewards motivate employees, acknowledgement and appreciation from the leaders of the company helps build a strong bond between the employee and the employer. Imagine the boost in motivation when an employee is asked to enter the room where no one dares to enter and is praised by the leaders of the company.
The cause and effect patterns are keenly observed by most employees, interpreting them as the culture pertaining in their organisations. Once you have laid out career development paths and defined the rewards of high performance, you are driving your employees to achieve them. By communicating with them on regular intervals you are engaging them in a psychological bond with the organisation, such engagement should yield high results but promises made must be backed by action. If rewards are not given in a timely manner it would shatter the trust an employee has bestowed in his or her organisation.
Well written Usman….I thank you for sharing this with me. We must meet up soon!
I have found the SMART goal setting process to be highly limited in business, it was originally developed for the sports, and even then is limited. There are a few methods which are far more effective, one of which is the POWER process. I have used this process in my book 'How To Do What You Don't Want To Do' Diet and Exercise Motivation Made Easy (search for it online).
Here's a little something about POWER goals, for those who are interested there are some really significant differences with this process that take someone from a goal toward a 'well formed outcome'.
Happy reading:
Effective Goals are not a vague wish list, but a careful and detailed plan requiring thought and consideration. In NLP terminology the POWER process is defined as creating a well-formed outcome.
Goal setting is a decision process and planning tool.
Use it to:
explore what you want
plan how to get it
know the consequences of achieving .
understand what resources you will need,
e.g. skills, knowledge, beliefs, money
BUT REMEMBER – WITHOUT ACTION THERE IS NO CHANGE
It is not a magic formula or a genie that materialises your wishes and desires. You will need to work at it even when the going gets tough.
But Setting a goal does not have to be complicated – it is like planning a day out.
How often do you drive the car and go where ever it takes you. A Saturday evening tour of the local pubsand bars is great, but not many of us have freedom to live our lives in that way on a daily basis.
Knowing what you want and where you are going, does not stop you taking the 'scenic route' or the 'motorway' – it is still your choice.
The POWER model of goal setting from Neuro-Linguistic Programming offers a systematic approach to achieving significantly better results in your life. Look upon it as a road map like the one you might use to plan your day out.
The NLP POWER process also provides a framework for designing realistic goals as it has a built-in ecology check. You wouldn't want to end up in the middle of a big city if you were intending to have day at the beach, or forget to pack the food if you were planning a picnic by the river.
The NLP Power model for Goal Setting Success
The questions you need to ask yourself are quite straightforward.
P = POSITIVE What do you want?
Your goal MUST be stated in the POSITIVE, not what you don't want.
To hone your thoughts down to the best possible goal, ask yourself 'what will that get me?'
Focus on the benefits of your intended outcome. For example what will having 'more money' get you?
O = OWN IT or OWN PART What will you be doing to achieve it?
Is it really your goal?
Do you believe in it?
Was it initiated by you?
Is it within your control or are there outside influences?
W = WHAT SPECIFICALLY Who, where, when, what and how specifically?
It cannot be vague or it will be ambiguous. Know every detail.
Who else is involved?
When – Specify a time scale – it could be short-term Hours or days, medium-term (weeks or months) or long-term (1 year or several)
How will your achieve it?
What and where specifically – set your goal into a context – does it relate to work, home, leisure, health etc?
E = ECOLOGY If you could have it would you take it?
E = EVIDENCE What will you see, hear and feel when you achieve your goal, inside (emotions) and outside.
What would happen if you got it?
What will you gain?
what will you lose?
No point in chasing promotion if it means you'll be away from home for even longer hours and your relationships collapse because of it.
R = ROUTE What route will you take?
R = RESOURCES What resources willl you need – both mentally and physically?
What will you need to achieve your goal – physical resources, money, skills, knowledge, co-operation, partnership, time, mentor, premises etc..
Will you need inner resources e.g. strength, perseverance, dedication etc.
Route – How will you get there?
Are there smaller steps to your bigger goal?
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