1.
Purpose
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Welcome to our presentation on
Employee Engagement. Our purpose is
to offer alternative perspectives on the
definition of employee engagement and
how to best to increase it from our global
experience.
“Keeping employees happy seems like
common sense but the formula for
achieving engagement is still elusive.”

2.
Overview
What We Think Engagement Is
What are factors in engagement?
Culture vs. Strategy
Is engagement just a management strategy?
The Stakeholder
What is the employee’s role in engagement?
Case Stories
Increasing Engagement? Get Involvement.
What gets engagement results?
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3.
What We Think It Is
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What are the key findings related to
engagement in 2014? Do the questions
define what engagement is?

4.
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5.
What is Engagement
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Satisfaction is
NOT the same
as Engagement.
Employee Satisfaction: A measure of an employee’s “happiness” level
at their current job, mostly around factors of job security and family
benefits. Overly satisfied employees are not necessarily productive.
Employee Engagement: A measure of an employee’s emotional
commitment to their organisation, the amount of effort an employee
is willing to expend on behalf of the organisation.

6.
Critical Success Factors
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What makes employees go the extra mile for their
organisation? According to our UAE studies:
Feeling Valued
Fairness, Respect, Voice is Heard
Higher Purpose
The job is contributing to a noble goal
Ability to Trust and Be Trusted
Every managerial action / decision must
build trust as a foundation for action

7.
Culture vs. Strategy
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Is engagement about having the right
strategy? What do the best companies in
the world do?

8.
Strategy Out, Culture In
Hot Prediction: The days where CEOs
cascade strategy down the organisational
hierarchy are numbered.
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“This is our new
pricing strategy.
Roll it out.”
“He’s really out of touch if
he thinks this will work with
our B and C customers.”

9.
Effects of Strategy vs. Culture
Strategy Aims for
Satisfaction
Imposed without
consent
Increase happiness
and job security
Business goal is to
maintain retention
Absenteeism, sick
days measured
Problems sought and
diagnosed by a few
Culture Aims for
Engagement
Embedded in all
through involvement
Increase commitment
to take action
Business goal is to
equate individual
identity to Company’s
Focus on measuring
the impact of trust
Positive futurising
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10.
Best Practice Examples
Google
Hiring based on consensus and culture fit
Do not measure absenteeism or sick days
Zappos
Offer $2500 not to join the Company if they feel they
can’t fit or add value
THE One (Paper I wrote available via email)
Involvement in ‘Onederworld’ CSR program
Dubai Land Department
“Seehaam Day” for paraplegic employee who won a
Gold medal in Paralympics
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11.
The Individual
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What’s in it for the individual employee? Is
engagement just a management
prerogative? What is the individual’s role?

12.
What’s In It for Me?
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Satisfaction Engagement
Culture
For the Satisfied Employee:
Job Security, a Steady
Income, Happiness,
Contentment, Do what’s
minimally required.
Satisfied individual employees:
Wait till the end of the month for pay day
Will move for 5 more Dirhams next door
Look for promotions rather than learning
Act mainly to avoid fear and anxiety

13.
What’s In It for Me?
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Satisfaction Engagement
Culture
For the Engaged Employee:
Passion, Making a Difference, Free
Will to Act, Inspiration, Pride,
Trust, Community Spirit.
Culture makes it possible for
employees to deal with anxiety.
Only through an Engagement Culture at the
workplace can individual employees:
Face fear and take risks, ego matters less
Love what they do, go the extra mile
Relate their job to something higher
Deal with anxiety through peer support

14.
What is My Responsibility?
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Satisfaction Engagement
Culture
of
“You”
For an individual to be truly engaged at
their workplace, they must:
Know themselves and what they love
Look at failure as just a result
Initiate and demand insatiable learning
Offer unique questions and perspectives
Many a time, organisations offer
various platforms but employees
don’t engage with them. Why?
“We’re here to get through the
day, the coffee is really good here
though!”

15.
Start Engagement Early
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Satisfaction Engagement
Culture
Hire for culture fit and values, not
just skills and experience.
“Do we want to hire an employee
who can be satisfied or one who
will be engaged?”
Engagement happens when people are in
alignment with their Company’s culture.
Build and design your Company culture
deliberately in order to attract those who
are most likely to be engaged within it, and
they will give you their best.

16.
Case Stories
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What are some UAE-based employee
engagement stories? How did
engagement occur for these companies?

17.
Case 1: Electronics MNC
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CHALLENGE( RESULT(
UAE office with lowest employee
satisfaction among all global offices.
Task was to find out what quick fixes
can be done to bring up the score.
Dutch management, Indian
employees – huge cultural divide.
Management realized that a lack of
consideration for employee vacation
time translated into “Our Managers
don’t respect our family values”.
Immediate shift in attitude and letting
go of controlling employee time.
PROCESS(
After confidential individual interviews results were reported, we facilitated a
philosophical dialogue between management and employees.
Personal stories shared where Management realized there was a fundamental
difference between how they saw life and how their people saw it.
Commitments to make “understanding perspective” a part of their culture.
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18.
Case 2: TV Network
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CHALLENGE( RESULT(
Human Resource Office was
ineffective with no authority.
Dissatisfaction among different sub-
cultures for different reasons.
Company growth so fast, business not
coping in terms of managing people.
Company found that they had an
overarching cultural attribute that of
“care” and “family”.
The common facet of care united the
sub-culture groups of Admins and
Creatives under one key value.
PROCESS(
Focus groups conducted throughout all levels to discuss engagement issues.
95% of all people reported that they loved working at the company because of the
“people here care about you” factor.
Tussle between Administrative staff and Creative employees brought to the
limelight because of their opposite work styles.
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19.
The Best Way to Engage
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What are the latest trends in managing
change in such a way that it creates
engagement? Is the Middle East ready?

20.
Large Group Dynamics
Companies all over the world are embracing
large group interactive events that create
paradigm shifts and increase engagement.
Collect data through surveys, interviews, focus
groups, 3rd party builds trust within the system.
Create 2.5 day offsite agenda with an internal design
team where 100s get together in the same room.
The focus is on business goals, but the process has
profound effects on sustained engagement! Why?
They are involved from A to Z and everyone matters.
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21.
Engagement = Involvement
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“This is our new
pricing strategy.
Roll it out.” “He’s really out of touch if he
thinks this will work with our B
and C customers.”
Move from this…
To this…
“The B’s will shy away.
What do you say
Merchandisers?”
“Its worth a shot if our
margins are realized and
we get to save the tigers!
Whoop whoop.”
“Hey the tea boy said he
saw a C almost going for
it to impress his own
customer!”
“A Showcase
Center? What
an idea!” A-HA!

22.
Whole-System Transformation™ in Action
Real change happens dynamically when everyone is involved in
strategic decision-making for their level. The whole system is
responsible for change together and individual engagement rises.
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23.
Thank You!
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And last but not the least. Enjoy the film.
“We Love Our Workplace” by AppleTree