The Engagement Factor Part II Engagement in Independent

The Engagement Factor Part II: Engagement in Independent Agencies J. LEE WHITTINGTON, Ph. D 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-Boarding On-Going Off-Boarding • Recruitment • Pay & Rewards Training & • Employee Development Separation • Selection • Hire for “Fit” • Career Development & Management • Orientation • Constructive, Corrective & • Socialization Timely Correction of Deviance

The Importance of Hiring for “FIT” Individual Skills Job Requirements Needs Rewards Values Culture

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

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 Individualized Consideration 2 Intellectual Stimulation 2 Inspirational Motivation 2 Idealized Influence 2 Contingent Reward 1 Passive Mgt by Exception - Active 1 Active Mgt by Exception – Passive 1 Laissez-faire Ineffective 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.

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

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 • Performance Management System 3. 44 3. 59 5 -point 4. 09 4. 24 5. 46 5 -point 5. 79 5. 22 5. 08 7 -point 4. 21 5. 10 5. 33 5 -point 3. 28 3. 46 MICRO-LEVEL DRIVERS: • Job Characteristics-Actual • Job Characteristics-Desired • Quality of Leader-Follower Relationship • Trust in the Leader • Transformational Leadership • Contingent Reward 5 -point 7 -point 3. 69 4. 01 5. 03 4. 70 4. 78 EMPLOYEE OUTCOMES: • Engagement • Job Satisfaction • Affective Commitment • Organizational Citizenship Behavior 4. 21 7 -point 5 -point 3. 94 4. 60 4. 19 4. 00