How Engaged Are Long-Term Employees?
There are many businesses who have long-term employees. In these times, it’s less popular for an individual to spend their entire professional career at a single company, however, there are many who have remained at their companies since the early days of their careers. The question is this: Is the 20+ year veteran of your company both loyal and engaged?
Not so easy to answer as there are varying degrees of loyalty and engagement. To answer this question, first, consider the traditional 9-box model that many HR leaders have deployed to measure performance and potential:
Personally, I struggle with a few of these “boxes” and some companies already use smaller versions of this model. For instance, how many employees does a company have that fall in boxes 1, 4, and 7? Do we, as leaders and managers, comprehend one who can be described as having weak performance, yet displays strong potential? Box 1 is clear, but I’m uncertain about box 4. Regardless, we can all agree that employees who fall in boxes 1, 4, and 7, are not at median, and, are damaging your business. Just lump them into box 1 and take action accordingly.
Leaders and managers can work with employees who fall into the remaining six boxes. Some employees are content in their roles and fall into boxes 2 and 3. Those who fall in to boxes 5 and 6 are capable of further development. Box 9 is clear. Box 8 is someone who was recently promoted, exhibits drive, yet can improve performance, and, perhaps is in a newer role.
Let’s switch this up by updating the y-axis to engagement:
Before analyzing this version, let’s propose high-level definitions of engagement. Disengaged refers to an employee who isn’t clear on, or, doesn’t believe in, their company’s mission and vision. Engaged refers to an employee who understands their company’s mission and vision. And, highly engaged refers to an employee who advocates for their company’s mission and vision.
As with the traditional model, employees who fall into boxes 1, 4, and 7, need to be addressed. While they (4s & 7s) can be engaged with your business, they may be in a role that’s outside their current capabilities, and, simply demoting them puts their level of engagement at risk. It can be easily argued that people who are promoted into a role are more engaged than those who are demoted into a role, however, there are rare exceptions.
Consider box 3. Here resides the employee who takes a lot of personal pride in their output, yet feels disenfranchised. These folks add a lot value, but, may have one foot out the door. Companies need to pay special attention to employees in box 3. Typically, these individuals are closer to the customer and have daily impact on the “customer experience,” either service, quality, or both. If they depart the organization, short-term gaps may arise to the point of customer churn.
My goal is to get you thinking about engagement before potential. The concept is simple yet, untraditional. Does potential really matter if the level of engagement isn’t addressed first? Does loyalty beget engagement? Just some things to consider when conducting a thorough evaluation of your staff, whether using a 9-box, 6-box, or 4-box. Effective career management is both an art and a science. Employers are best to incorporate performance, potential, and engagement into talent evaluation.