Business Week recently posted a debate starting with the premise that a recession is no time focus on employee engagement.
The ‘Pro’ position stated that organizations should concentrate on the business, not the workers.
The ‘Con’ position stated that employees need a morale boost now more than ever.
Here’s the comment I added:
Healthy companies understand that employee engagement is a critical component to their success.
When employees are not engaged, more than likely the leadership team is not engaged either.
Engagement happens when four things occur:
1. The Leadership Team is aligned and cohesive
2. There is absolute clarity about organization direction (strategy)
3. Every person in the organization understands how what they do ‘fits’ with the strategy
4. Organization policies and practices support the above (this does not happen nearly enough)
One of my favorite quotes is from General Norman Schwartzkopf, who I heard speak not long after Desert Storm.
He said: “Great leaders never tell people how to do their jobs. They set the goals and establish the framework. Lousy leaders think they know it all, and all the while, their organizations sit there, aquiver with potential.”
What do you think? Cheers, Amelia
Tags: employee engagement
This is a “both … and” issue I think. At times of recession, it becomes especially important to focus BOTH on the business AND on employee engagement. Booming economic times make it easier to neglect both and still do OK. When the recession bites, dysfunctions in teams and organisations can get very exposed very quickly.