Employee engagement is often a misunderstood term; to many managers confuse it with employee satisfaction. In short, engaged employees aren’t just happy ones, but have a strong emotional bond to the organization that employs them and proactively look to improve the position of the organization.
An engaged employee is more likely to:
• Understand and support through action a company’s vision and goals
• Recommend the company’s products and services to friends and family
• Work smarter and longer hours without being asked twice
• Enjoy challenges and problem solving
• View their own personal growth as linked to the company’s performance
Of particular note, Intranet 2.0 tools are massively engaging if used correctly. Giving employees a chance to express their opinions – and seeing them count and contribute to change – are tantamount to highly engaged employees. To that end, make sure you please take 10 minutes to take the Intranet 2.0 Global Survey and you’ll get a copy of the full results including the good, bad and learned lessons.
(TORONTO, ON) According to an
inter-generational survey of workers, the younger generations of workers are
set to dominate the workforce, but have slightly different motivations. The
study reveals that by 2012:
Gen X workers will comprise
33% of the workforce (Xers are presently 32 – 43 years-old)
Millenials will be 37% of the
workforce (millenials are presently 24 – 31 years-old)
The older generations, the
Boomers and the Silents (ages 44 – 75 years-old) will drop from 54% of the
workforce to only 30%
In short,
the older generations are retiring in droves and the kids are taking-over
(disclaimer: this writer finds himself smack dab in the middle of the Gen X
cohort, and am only too thrilled to be loosely classified as a ‘kid’… my own
kids are uproariously laughing at my expense). Understanding the younger,
emerging workforce will be paramount to employing, motivating and retaining the
most capable Internet and intranet managers (and intranet consultants).
The study
of 1,000 workers of various ages was conducted by The Learning Café and among other
things reveals:
The top motivator for all
ages was challenging, stimulating and varied work
The number one de-motivator
for millenials was “boredom, no challenge”
The number one de-motivator
for Gen Xers was the inability to learn, grow and develop
The number one de-motivator
for boomers was lack of appreciation, respect or recognition
A bad boss was the number two
demotivator for every generation except millennials
While
there are plenty of similarities in the motivations and demotivations of the
various generations, we all know that there are key differences. For example, I
use Facebook (sparingly), but not like the typical 24 year-old does. I send the
occasional text message on my Blackberry, but the volume pales when compared to
that of the new generation of Crackberry profligates.
“What you
notice in the survey, regarding millennials and motivators, is millennials are
alone in having a motivator around pay. That makes complete, life stage sense
to us. When you’re younger, what you need is money. Considering that, combined
with the fact that the average millennial graduates from college with about
$20,000 in debt, that makes sense.
A healthy work/life balance was a big one for the Xers. It distinguishes them
just a bit from the other common motivators. We attribute some of that to how
Gen X has been growing up, very independent. They pioneered work/life balance,
pushed on us all for more flexible hours, and they are more determined than
previous generations to spend time with their children.
We found that, specifically looking at the younger portions of the work force,
when Xers were asked what makes a bad boss, they said things like “the boss
micro-manages me,” “the boss is in my face,” “the boss doesn’t just give me a
goal, the boss outlines everything and does everything but go to the bathroom
with me around it.” The Xers say they are mid-career, almost mid-life and they
know how to do these things themselves.
The other piece that Xers were quick to point out was around work/life balance.
What supported the data we found was that Xers are spending more hours per day
with their children than boomers did at equivalent ages, and they are defining
good parenting as “being there” and not just “providing things.” So we saw that
Xers were the quickest of all four generations to say that a bad boss was
someone who tried to make them feel guilty or someone who placed nuanced
pressure on them. Things like calling meetings very late in the day during
Little League season, for example.
Millennials have none of those concerns. When millennials were asked to
identify characteristics of bad bosses, quite a few of the bosses they were
talking about were Xers. That was kind of intriguing, because we find that
millennials have come into the workplace and they actually like us. They’re
looking for structure, looking for how to integrate into an organization.
They’re looking for us not just to be their boss and say, “Here are your three
goals for the year,” but also for personalized work. They want their boss to
take interest in them as a person. Those two (generations) are a great
contrast.”
So, why is this stuff important to intranet managers? For starters, if its not the most important communications vehicle (though a replacement for face-to-face communications), the intranet should be your most important (or one of the most important) communications vehicles. And human resource and employee engagement considerations should be a priority for any intranet manager or intranet owner. More importantly, it is critical for intranet managers and owners (and intranet consultants) to understand the target audience -- particularly their information habits, and how they navigate and digest that information.
Shreef has a number of recommendations, but none bigger than taking the time to
understand the motivations and demotivations of employees through conversation:
“It’s helpful to be able to have conversations that count. So a simple
perspective about what’s important to a generation overall can help managers
have more meaningful conversations,” says Shreef in his IT Business Edge
article. “The second skill is to be engagement minded. That means really
thinking about the motivators and de-motivators”
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