The Engagement Factor Part II: Engagement in Independent Agencies J. LEE WHITTINGTON, PhD University of Dallas; Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business

The Engagement Factor An Evidence-based Approach for Building a High Performance Organization J. Lee Whittington, Ph.D. The University of Dallas

The Engagement Factor “70% of U.S. workers are not engaged at work”

We Need an Evidence-Based Approach

The Engagement Factor

What is Engagement? “The simultaneous employment and expression of a person’s ‘preferred self’ in task behaviors that promote connections to work and to others, personal presence, and active full role performances.”

What is Engagement? Physical engagement: the energy exerted and the physical involvement within the job. Emotional engagement: the level of pleasantness and enthusiasm experienced at work. Cognitive engagement: the intensity of focus and concentration applied while performing work related tasks.

Antecedents to Engagement: The HR Value Chain On-BoardingOn-GoingOff-Boarding Recruitment Selection Hire for “Fit” Orientation Socialization Employee Separation Pay & Rewards Training & Development Career Development & Management Constructive, Corrective & Timely Correction of Deviance

The Importance of Hiring for “FIT” IndividualJob SkillsRequirements NeedsRewards ValuesCulture

Antecedents to Engagement: The Performance-Management System Use a participative method for goal-setting. Clarify expectations Create S-M-A-R-T Goals Provide frequent informal expectation feedback Use the performance plan as the basis for the performance evaluation

Enhancing Engagement “The task that a person performs and the person to whom the individual is responsible are probably the two most basic points of contact that employees have in the organization.” “People don’t quit companies. They quit managers.”

Enhancing Engagement: Contingent Rewards “We get the performance that we expect and that we allow.” Contingent reward behavior is a process that creates a compact of expectations and mutual understanding of roles, performance expectations and rewards for meeting these expectations enhances employee performance and commitment to the organization.

Enhancing Engagement: The Leader-Follower Relationship Leadership is an intentional influence process that takes place in the context of a relationship between the leader and the follower. High quality relationships between a leader and an employee are characterized by mutual trust, respect, liking, and reciprocal influence. Followers in these high quality relationships have frequent interactions with their leaders and enjoy the support, confidence, consideration and confidence of the leader. The positive impact of the quality of the leader-follower relationship has been established.

Antecedents to Engagement: MEANINGFULNESS The quest for meaning is a universal human need and there is a growing recognition that people have a strong desire to experience work as meaningful. Meaningfulness means that both the work itself and the context within which the work is performed is perceived as purposeful and significant. When people are pursuing a profound purpose or engaging in work that is personally important they experience significant positive effects.

WAMI: The Work and Meaning Inventory Positive Meaning: individuals want their work to matter and to be meaningful Meaning-making Through Work: translates the concept of an individual’s work into a broader context. Greater Good Motivations: work has more meaning if it impacts other individuals

Antecedents to Engagement: MEANINGFULNESS at Work People want to be involved in something greater than themselves. Meaningfulness at work can be enhanced by providing a sense of meaning by being part of an organization instead of what an individual does. This is done by transformational leaders who connect the individual’s contribution to this larger purpose.

Antecedents to Engagement: Full Range of Leadership Effective Active Passive Ineffective Laissez-faire Contingent Reward 1 Inspirational Motivation 2 Mgt by Exception – Passive 1 Mgt by Exception - Active 1 Idealized Influence 2 Intellectual Stimulation 2 Individualized Consideration 2 1- These leader behaviors are typically described as Transactional Leadership 2-These leader behaviors are typically described as Transformational Leadership

Full-Range Leadership Intellectual Stimulation Intellectual stimulation shows the degree to which you encourage others to be creative in looking at old problems in new ways, create an environment that is tolerant of seemingly extreme positions, and nurture people to question their own values and beliefs and those of the organization.

Full-Range Leadership Individualized Consideration Individualized consideration indicates the degree to which you show interest in others’ well-being, assign projects individually, and pay attention to those who seem less involved in the group.

Full Range of Leadership Idealized Influence Idealized influence indicates whether you hold subordinates’ trust, maintain their faith and respect, show dedication to them, appeal to their hopes and dreams, and act as their role model.

Full Range of Leadership Inspirational Motivation Inspirational motivation measures the degree to which you provide a vision, use appropriate symbols and images to help others focus on their work, and try to make others feel their work is significant.

Full-Range Leadership Contingent Reward Contingent reward shows the degree to which you tell others what to do in order to be rewarded, emphasize what you expect from them, and recognize their accomplishments.

Antecedents to Engagement: MEANINGFULNESS in Work Meaningfulness in the work involves organizational practices that enrich the job themselves. These practices enhance the individual employee's fit with their job. Among the practices that may increase meaningfulness in the work are job redesign efforts, increased employee involvement, efforts to clarify the connection between meeting performance expectations and rewards.

Critical Psychological States Core Job Dimensions Individual and Organizational Outcomes Growth Need Strength + General Satisfaction High Internal Motivation High Levels of Performance Satisfaction Low Turnover & Absenteeism Sense of Meaningfulness Sense of Responsibility Knowledge of Results Task Variety Task Identity Task Significance Autonomy Feedback JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL

Antecedents to Engagement: Bringing MEANINGFULNESS to Work Employees have an “inner life” that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of community. Work may be the preeminent venue through which people give expression to their "innermost essence.“ People who view their work as a calling see their work as having intrinsic value. These individuals do not work merely for financial rewards or for advancement, but for the fulfillment that doing the work brings.

2015 IIAT Survey of Engagement Factors IIAT Average Response Scale Format Comparison Sample Average ORGANIZATIONAL-LEVEL DRIVERS: Human Resource Value Chain point 3.28 Performance Management System point 3.46 MICRO-LEVEL DRIVERS: Job Characteristics-Actual point 3.69 Job Characteristics-Desired point 4.01 Quality of Leader-Follower Relationship point 5.03 Trust in the Leader point 5.03 Transformational Leadership point 4.70 Contingent Reward point 4.78 EMPLOYEE OUTCOMES: Engagement point 3.94 Job Satisfaction point 4.60 Affective Commitment point 4.19 Organizational Citizenship Behavior point 4.00