Delete Employee EngagementWe all use methods, procedures, policies, etc., that reduce the time or energy needed to accomplish something.1 While shortcuts can be useful, it is important to note that they can also be detrimental. Employee-related shortcuts that impact employee experience cause companies to miss valuable opportunities to improve engagement. Let’s consider some common shortcuts and the negative impact they can have on employee engagement.

 

 

The ATS Shortcut

The first shortcut occurs before someone is hired.  It’s your applicant tracking system (ATS).  These systems shortcut the resume/application review process through the use of keywords and other criteria. While  “applicant tracking systems help employers save time and paper and help them stay organized,”2 they are responsible for rejecting potentially great and perfectly good candidates.3 Given the current 4.0% unemployment rate4, companies need to review and adjust their ATS criteria in order to improve their candidate pools and improve candidate goodwill toward the company.

 

 

The Hiring Process Shortcut

Companies need to improve their approach to identifying/vetting candidates. Typical hiring process shortcuts include (and aren’t limited to):

  • Copying/reusing previous role descriptions without determining their relevance to the current role
  • Foregoing formal interview training for interviewers and not holding them accountable for being fully prepared before the candidate arrives
  • Winging the process instead of establishing a formal hiring process
  • Allowing interviewers rely on gut feelings instead of using objective and consistent evaluation criteria

All of these negatively impact the candidate experience and can potentially lead the company to place the wrong person in the wrong role. And let’s not forget the salary discussion shortcut of relying on a person’s previous salary to benchmark their new salary.

 

 

The Onboarding Shortcut

“Employee onboarding is the process by which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviors to become effective, engaged members of their teams, departments and the organization. he goals of onboarding are to socialize new hires within the organization, shorten new hire time to productivity and encourage long-term retention.”5

Again, more shortcuts. When companies wing their onboarding process (if they even have one), employees are denied a consistent and comprehensive understanding of where they fit within the organization and how their work will impact their coworkers, company, customers, and community.  Company leaders shortcut their engagement with new hires by using recorded videos instead of appearing in-person or by having junior level employees present on their behalf.  When a formal onboarding process is lacking, the company misses an opportunity to bond with their new employees and establish a caring and mutually beneficial relationship with them.

 

 

Development Shortcuts

During an employee’s tenure with their company, there are more shortcuts that impact the likelihood of an employee remaining the company.

 

Communications Shortcuts
Over-reliance on technology for communication (emails, texts, messaging systems, etc.). These cold and impersonal options limit face-to-face interactions where body language and nonverbal communication are a key element. “It is so much faster and easier to establish trust when people physically meet”6

 

Performance Management Shortcuts
“Performance management is an iterative process of establishing goals, measuring results, and providing feedback to employees that is designed to help your business achieve its goals by executing the strategic and operational plans of the organization.”7Regardless of whether there is a formal performance management process, it comes down to how effectively each manager drives the process.  When managers fail to provide feedback, employees are rebuffed in their desire to:

  • Understand where they fit into the company and how they contribute to the overall success of the organization
  • Identify gaps in their skill sets
  • Identify opportunities and paths to further their career within the company

 

Training Shortcuts
Businesses are in a constant state of flux.  When companies fail to focus on preparing their employees for change, employee are left to cope with new internal systems and processes. Getting your employees up-to-speed quickly will enhance productivity and decrease unnecessary frustration. ‘Learning opportunities are among the largest drivers of employee engagement and strong workplace culture – they are part of the entire employee value proposition, not merely a way to build skills’. – Deloitte8

 

Employee Engagement Shortcuts
There are many companies that believe they focus on employee engagement just because they administer an employee engagement survey. Employee engagement surveys alone do nothing to improve engagement and often result in the opposite outcome when the feedback isn’t considered. Well-written surveys can lead to improved employee engagement if the feedback received is acted upon. Unfortunately, that’s usually not the case. The surveys are sent out, a small percentage of employees complete them, the results are analyzed and reports are developed.  It ends there for a lot of companies. In others, the process dies shortly after action plans are created.

Another option companies use are Employee Appreciation Days. While these can be fun and enjoyable, they do little to address the real issues that impact employee engagement: employee-manager relationship, recognition and rewards, growth and development, and advancement opportunities.

 

 

When considering the lifecycle of an employee’s interaction with a company, you’ll begin to recognize how each of the shortcuts above undermines employee engagement. Employee engagement needs to be a daily focus and should be considered in everything you.

 

 

 

How many of these shortcuts have you and/or your company taken? What other shortcuts should be considered as detrimental to employee engagement?

 

 

1 “Shortcut.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, LLC., www.dictionary.com/browse/shortcut.
2 Hu, James. “8 Things You Need To Know About Applicant Tracking Systems.” Jobscan Blog, Jobscan.co, 15 July 2018, www.jobscan.co/blog/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-applicant-tracking-systems/.
3 AppliView. “The Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Applicant Tracking Systems for Recruitment.” LinkedIn Pulse, LinkedIn Corporation, 28 October 2015, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/benefits-drawbacks-using-applicant-tracking-systems-appliview-the-ats/
4 “Bureau of Labor Statistics Data.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000.
5  Krasman, M. (2015). Three must-have onboarding elements for new and relocated employees. Employment Relations Today, 9-14. doi: 10.1002/ert
6 Goman, Carol Kinsey. “The Immeasurable Importance Of Face-To-Face Meetings.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 11 Mar. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2016/03/11/the-immeasurable-importance-of-face-to-face-meetings/.
7 Squyres, Debra, et al. “Understanding the Value of Performance Management.” Trinet, Trinet, www.trinet.com/documents/solution_brief/webinar_series/trinet_sb_webinar_series_pm.pdf.
8 Greany, Kirstie. “Seven Ways That Learning and Development Can Foster Employee Engagement – Engage Employee.” Engage Employee. Engage Business Media, 22 Apr. 2016. Web. 30 June 2016.

 

 

 

Let’s Engage! 

I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.

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