LEADING THROUGH ENGAGEMENT:
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO
MOTIVATE AND RETAIN KEY TALENT
CHARLES COTTER
28 AUGUST 2014
HILTON HOTEL, SANDTON

KEY PRESENTATION TOPICS
 Defining employee engagement
 Strategic imperative and context of employee engagement
 Diagnosis of current levels of employee engagement
 Building a business case for employee engagement (value and
benefits)
 Key drivers of employee engagement
 Strategies to develop employee engagement
 Best practice guidelines (retention, engagement and motivation)

LEADERSHIP WISH-LIST

PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES
OFFERING
 Higher customer ratings (10%)
 Higher levels of profitability (21%)
 Higher levels of productivity (22%)
 Lower levels of employee turnover (25%-65%)
 Lower levels of safety incidents/accidents (48% employees and 41% customers)
 Lower levels of stock shrinkage/theft (28%)
 Lower levels of absenteeism (37%)
 Higher quality (less defects) (41%)

THE STRATEGIC VALUE OF
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

DEFINING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
 Engagement happens when people are committed to their work and the
organization and motivated to achieve high levels of performance
 Engaged employees at work are positive, interested in and even excited
about their jobs and are prepared to put discretionary effort into their work
beyond the minimum to get it done
 Say
 Stay
 Strive

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE AND CONTEXT –
DELOITTE S.A HUMAN CAPITAL TRENDS 2014
REPORT
 South African respondents recognized the following top five
trends in terms of the importance index :
 Leadership (77%) – readiness gap (40%)
 Retention and Engagement (71%) - readiness gap (43%)
 Diversity and Inclusion (70%) - readiness gap (45%)
 Workforce Capability (70%) - readiness gap (47%)
 Talent Acquisition and Access (69%) - readiness gap (35%)
 Despite these being the most urgent trends, many of the
companies surveyed expressed reservations about their ability
to address these issues in the short-to-medium term.

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE AND CONTEXT –
DELOITTE S.A HUMAN CAPITAL TRENDS 2014
REPORT
 The Capability Gap index shows that Retention and
Engagement has become an urgent challenge for leaders
worldwide, especially in Brazil and China.
 South Africa’s position shows the urgency for the trend, and
the low level of readiness. South Africa (-29) is number six on
the list.
 This may suggest that organizations do not have the
appropriate retention and talent strategies in place that cater
for the continuously changing workplace and the changing
demographics of the workforce.

MEASUREMENT OF EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT - 5c INDICATORS
 Are employees COMMITTED to the organization?
 Are employees proud to work for the organization – company/brand
ambassadors? CITIZEN
 Do employees put forth extra/discretionary effort to help the
organization and their colleagues achieve business objectives?
COMRADE
 Are employees innovative, enthusiastic and passionate about their
work/jobs? CREATOR
 Are employees CONNECTED (intellectually and emotionally) to their
work/jobs – offer value add?

FOUR STAGES OF EMPLOYEE
 What do I get?
 What do I give?
 Do I belong?
ENGAGEMENT
 How can we grow?

TYPES OF ENGAGED EMPLOYEES
 Engaged
 Not Engaged
 Actively Dis-Engaged

CURRENT DEGREE OF EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
 71% of employees are disengaged:
45% are not engaged
26% are actively disengaged
29% of the workforce are engaged
Engaged
29%
Actively
disengaged
Not Engaged
45%
26%

BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT

BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
 According to Gallup (2013), employers can reap the following benefits of an
engaged workforce:
 202% better performance
 $11 billion is lost annually due to employee turnover
 Direct correlation to 9 key business performance indicators

KEY DRIVERS OF EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
 According to Dale Carnegie research:
Relationship with the immediate supervisor
Senior Leadership’s ability to lead the company and communicate
its goals
Organizational Pride - vision of organization and corporate social
responsibility

EMOTIONAL DRIVERS OF
 Enthusiasm
 Inspiration
 Empowerment
 Confidence
ENGAGEMENT
95% of employees who experience any three (3) of
the above key emotions, are engaged

 Work
 People
KEY DRIVERS OF EMPLOYEE
 Opportunities
 Total rewards
ENGAGEMENT
 Company practices
 Quality of Work Life

STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
 According to Gallup (2013), three (3) strategies to accelerate
employee engagement are:
Select the Right People and Managers
Develop employees’ strengths
Enhance employees’ well-being

STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
 According to Armstrong (2011), the five (5) strategies to
enhance employee engagement are:
The work itself
The work environment
Leadership
Opportunities for personal growth
Opportunities to contribute

JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL
 According to Hackman & Oldham:
Skills variety
Task identity
Task significance
Autonomy
Feedback

LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES TO
DEVELOP EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
 According to Dale Carnegie research:
 Senior managers must articulate the company vision in a clear and compelling
way
 Senior managers need to define organizational goals and objectives in realistic,
clear and attainable manner
 Managers should determine how each employee’s personal motivators align
with organizational goals
 Leaders should ensure that employees understand how their role contributes
to the overall company success and should continuously demonstrate that
employees have an impact on their work environment
 Leaders should project a positive manner with employees, and be accessible

LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES TO
DEVELOP EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
 According to Dale Carnegie research:
 Managers should praise publicly, reprimand privately and coach team
members who demonstrate disengaged behaviour
 Employees should be encouraged to communicate clearly and provide input
into the company vision
 Direct managers should foster healthy relationships with employees
 Managers should show that employees are valued as true contributors,
giving them a sense of empowerment
 Senior leaders should create a climate of trust and encourage managers to
demonstrate that they care about employees (on personal level)

CREATING TRUST IN LEADERSHIP

BEST PRACTICE EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
 According to Gallup (2013) research, the best organizations
deeply integrate employee engagement into the following four
areas:
 Strategy and Leadership Philosophy
 Accountability and Performance
 Communication and Knowledge Management
 Development and on-going Learning Opportunities

DRIVERS OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION
 An effective retention plan calls for analysing more than just what causes
employees to jump ship – talent managers must also understand which
employees they are most at risk of losing.
 According to Bersin by Deloitte research (2013) on employee engagement and
retention, shows a variety of factors contribute to retention:
 Managerial excellence
 Recognition and rewards
 Career opportunities
 A flexible work environment
 Great online tools
 Corporate mission or purpose

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: “TAKE-AWAYS” –
RETENTION AND ENGAGEMENT
 In today’s digitally connected workplace, with the ever-changing
dynamics of the environment and employees, organizations need to
reinvent their retention and engagement strategies.
 These strategies should take into account employee needs for
career-life fit, the digital age of working differently and the high
levels of employee migration and job mobility that are available
today.
 In the African context, retention and engagement strategies also
need to be adapted to the cultural and various socio-economic
conditions of the diverse workforce with consideration of the
language and literacy barriers per employee demographic group.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: “TAKE-AWAYS”– RETENTION
AND ENGAGEMENT
 Companies should shift from “holding” to “attracting and engaging by
building commitment, aligning individual and corporate goals and
providing engaging work and a culture of development and growth.”
 The 2014 human capital trends demand change, investment and focus if
companies in South Africa want to effectively compete both as employers
of choice and as competitive businesses in a human-resource-constrained
market.
 Jobs in most sectors become increasingly knowledge intensive, and the
cost of replacing capable workers is high. Companies already recognize
that keeping good people and keeping them engaged and productive are
two separate things.
 The secret is designing a suite of systems (work, culture, flexibility and
social and community purpose) that supports a talent experience that
makes it easy for employees to be continually “signing up” for the work
they do.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: “TAKE-AWAYS”–
MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT
 Business Leaders need to transform from applying Compliance-driven
(extrinsic) motivational strategies to Commitment-driven (intrinsic)
strategies
 Business Leaders need to adopt a targeted (rifle) approach and not a hit
and miss (shotgun) approach to employee motivation and engagement
 Business Leaders need to transform employees into associates (sense of
ownership) and brand/company ambassadors
 Business Leaders need to develop a bouquet of recognition-oriented
strategies and de-emphasize the value of monetary rewards

LEADERSHIP LESSONS: “TAKE-AWAYS” –
MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT
 Businesses need to transform from Talent Management to becoming
compelling Talent Magnets
 Business Leaders need to transform from employee retention to building
Passion and Purpose
 Managers/Leaders are instrumental/pivotal to effective employee
engagement practices
 Businesses need to adopt an integrated approach/strategy to employee
engagement

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR JOURNEY TO
AN ENGAGED WORKFORCE

CONTACT DETAILS
 CHARLES COTTER
 084 562 9446
 charlescot@polka.co.za
 LINKED IN
 TWITTER: Charles_Cotter