IMPROVING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT WHEN SENIOR LEADERSHIP IS THE PROBLEM Monthly Webinar Series April 30, 2015

2 Topic Agenda ItemTime (min) Introduction2 The Importance of Senior Leadership in Engaging Employees 5 What do the Best Leadership Teams do Better? 15 Tips on Breaking the News10 Q&A5 Norm Baillie-David SVP Engagement - TalentMap Monica Helgoth VP Engagement - Western Region Agenda

3 15 years in business 7,000+ employee engagement surveys since inception 1,000,000+ employees surveyed 500+ employee engagement surveys annually Only 1 Focus TalentMap by the Numbers

4 Sample Clients & Benchmark Award ProgramsTechnology & EngineeringNot-for-Profit & Association Financial Services Health Sciences Other

The Importance of Senior Leadership in Engaging Employees

6 From the foreword to The Pogo Papers, Copyright

The Engaged Organization 7

The Engagement Challenged Organization 8

Engaged Not so much

10 ….guess which one has issues with senior leadership? Are you looking for or thinking of accepting a job with another employer (% Yes)?

What do the best leadership teams do better? 11

Among employees providing positive comments: “Overall I am very satisfied with the company culture and think this is a great place to work. The company has fostered a team environment and is supportive of its employees.” “COMPANY is a great place to work. Strong communication of the firm vision is what drives and motivates employees to continue performing their best.“ “Stay transparent with the organization's objectives and developments. “ “The Executive group is a large reason why I am still employed with COMPANY. I feel they walk the walk and are supportive in most everything we do.” “The culture at COMPANY is unlike anywhere else I have ever worked. It really is like one big family.” EXAMPLE POSITIVE COMMENTS

Visibility, Connectedness and Empathy “Need more confidence that the organizational leadership is truly listening and doing everything within their power to support us” “They make decisions in a vacuum. They have no idea what’s going on on the front-lines. We never see them” Set, Communicate and Follow-up Clear and Realistic Goals: “Ambitious goals; perhaps not realistic - involve staff when establishing goals that impact practice rather than deciding and telling them” Decisiveness on Clear Priorities “Improve priority setting, as it seems everything is a priority.” “I would like to see more decisiveness. Projects are being delayed because either a decision is not made or work is being completed by the wrong person.” Articulate and Communicate a Clear and Compelling Vision “I can't say that leaders of the organization have painted a picture of the future of our agency. Most of their actions seem to be reactive to issues/funding changes that come up. It doesn't seem like there's a proactive approach to planning the future of the organization from my perspective.” EXAMPLE COMMENTS: REQUIRE IMPROVEMENT

LEADERSHIP PRACTICES THAT ENGAGE 14 Building trust and honest communication Transparency, especially in difficult times Frequent and forthright – answer employee questions Admit when you don’t know Senior Leaders take ownership of the people agenda (as opposed to it being “HR’s” problem) People priorities are clearly embedded in business strategy People take precedence, sometimes over short- term gain Talent is more built than bought (75% internal, 25% external)

 Effectively communicate the organization’s goals and objectives  Consistently demonstrate the organization’s values in all behaviours and actions (“they walk the talk”)  Appropriately balance employee interests with those of the organization  Consistently demonstrate empathy and caring for employees  Ensure presence and visibility – in person or virtually Connected with Employees 15

 Effectively communicate goals and objectives  Ensure goals and objectives are aggressive, yet attainable  Empower managers and employees and instil a culture of accountability Performance Focused 16

 Fill employees with excitement for the future of the organization  Ensure employees understand how they contribute to the organization as a whole  Consults widely, but decides quickly. Inclusive decision- making Genuinely future and development oriented 17

Tips on “Breaking the News” to Senior Leadership 18

UNDERSTAND STAGES OF RESULT ACCEPTANCE 19

 Meet with CEO alone first (if possible). Discuss how to broach the subject with the executive team.  Sometimes, leaving them the report and having them come to their own conclusion is most effective.  Avoid any comparison/contrast between VP areas of responsibility. Position it as a common issue – not isolated to certain executives only.  Are you the best placed to deliver the message? Your survey provider can help ensure no loss of face.  Avoid inclination for “told you so” or vindication.  Understand that many execs are probably not aware of how they are truly perceived. Some Practical Tips 20

 Allow the leadership (as a group) to come to the acceptance stage. Facilitate conversations if possible. Allow for introspection.  Focus on helping them identify specific behaviours.  Bring forward other experiences/best practices (e.g. this presentation). What have other senior leadership teams done? What do they do that we don’t?  Objective: commitment to behaviour change and accountability. Moving to Action 21

 Trust, confidence and positive perception of senior leadership is crucial for high levels of engagement.  Behaviour change will yield a positive ROI.  Anticipate stages of result acceptance, particularly denial and rationalization.  When ready, facilitate the move to action. Focus on emulating positive behaviours. Final Thoughts 22

EventFormatTopicDate Conference Board “Engagement 2015” Calgary NEW Research: 10 Years On – What Do We Really Know? May 25 th TalentMap Specialty Webinar Live WebinarEmployee Engagement: Maintaining Momentum – Part 2 May 28 th 12:00pm EDT TalentMap Monthly Webinar Series Live Webinar with special guest How Edmonton International Airport Improved Employee Engagement – from Survey to Implementation and Beyond June 25 th 12:00pm EDT TalentMap Monthly Webinar Series Live WebinarEngaging your Employees through a Compelling Organizational Vision July 30 th 12:00pm EDT Upcoming TalentMap Learning Sessions

THANK YOU! QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION 24 Monica Helgoth VP Engagement – TalentMap West , x515 Norm Baillie-David SVP Engagement , x504