How to use strategic insights to sustain employee success

The old rules no longer apply. Leaders cannot take anything for granted. In today’s economy, it is not the things we worry about that get us in the end. It is the things we take for granted.  You need to use strategic insights to sustain employee success.

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose."— Bill Gates

Success breeds failure. You lose your edge — the more successful your organization becomes — the more in danger you are. It would help if you became constructively disgruntled. There are no guarantees of continued employee success.

For this reason, excellent leaders are always in search of strategic insights to disprove their assumptions and question their biases. Most leaders become too close to their organization to see the opportunities and proactively deal with the ideas objectively. We find organizations are well equipped to implement the change if they know “what to change” and “what to change to”.

Here are six insights you need to know from Gallup's workplace research that can help you sustain employee success.

Where do you stand? Do you have proactive plans to reverse the trends your competitors are experiencing?

22% know their leaders have a clear direction for their organization

The most important role of a leader is to set a clear direction, be transparent about how to get there and to stay the course.” —Irene Rosenfeld

For decades the mantra has been to ensure you have a clear path that is understood from top to bottom. However, despite extensive communication plans, presentations and memos, shockingly few employees think their leaders know where their organization is going. Moreover, only 15 percent of employees strongly agree their leaders make them feel enthusiastic about the future.

Often the most significant reason is that leaders do not include many team members in shaping the vision of their organization. When your employees are engaged in the process, they will be naturally more enthusiastic about the outcome. They have a shared interest in the success of your organization. This leads to employee success.

26% believe their organization always delivers on its promises to customers

Here is a powerful yet straightforward rule. Always give people more than they expect to get.” – Nelson Boswell

Excellence requires delivering on your commitment to customers. Customer are concerned quality, delivery, service or experience. These metrics are essential for success. Moreover, in today's connected world, missing the mark can instantly damage your brand's reputation — most leaders understand the importance of their brand.

However, given that about one in four employees thinks their organization consistently delivers for customers, you should be worried. Failing to deliver on your promises affects the long-term health of your company.

Do you track this perception? Your employees are the first to know.

Excellence is what you do in the next five minutes.”—Tom Peters

Perfection has to do with the end process, whereas excellence has to do with the people and the process. We measure behavioural competencies, including “connects with customers” and “forthrightness” to ensure team members are customer-centric and will speak up when your systems are not delivering on your promises.

Employee fulfilment comes first, and excellence follows — not the other way around. This is employee success. Do you know what it takes to have your employees feel fulfilled at work?

12% think that their organization does a great job of onboarding

Employee orientation centers around and exists to help the individual employee, but it is the company that ultimately reaps the benefits of this practice.”— Michael Watkins

Every organization has an "onboarding" program. However, despite its ubiquity, most employees are not happy with the experience.

An excellent onboarding program must do more than take care of the administrative side. It would help if you helped new employees experience your unique culture. Employee success requires you to help them understand how they fit into the organization and see how their work matters. More important they need to know what is expected of them. This understanding stands with the job posting. What are the four to six things that if done well in the next twelve months you would say the employee is doing a great job? List them in the posting. Use these needs as part of the interview process. This helps to provide them with a vivid picture of what they are expected to do. At regular intervals continue to refine the picture. They will see a meaningful long-term career path with you.

14% are inspired  to improve by the performance reviews they receive

Generally, no one on either side of the table likes or enjoys the process. It’s time-consuming for the supervisor and creates anxiety on the employee side and involves talking about the positives and negatives that came out of your last review.” — Fred R. Cooper

The traditional annual review process is in need of a severe overhaul. Fast Company reports that 74 percent of younger workers leave reviews unsure about what their managers think of their performance. Also, fewer than three in 10 employees feel that their performance reviews are fair and accurate.

The primary cause is that performance conversations happen infrequently. With current business changing so quickly, when managers and employees finally talk, few of the goals or measurements make sense anymore. However, you can make performance discussions something employees look forward to doing. This leads to employee success.

67% experience burned out at work

Burnout is nature's way of telling you; you've been going through the motions your soul has departed; you're a zombie, a member of the walking dead, a sleepwalker. False optimism is like administrating stimulants to an exhausted nervous system.” ― Sam Keen

Burnout is a serious matter for employees and your company. Employees who are burned out are 63 percent more likely to take a sick day. They are 23 percent more likely to visit an emergency room.

Burnout has a considerable price. It impacts your employee performance, retention, career growth, and even their family life. It is inevitable. Do not celebrate it as part of a so-called "hard-working culture."

51% are searching for new job opportunities

A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory.” —Arthur Golden

About half of your employees are looking for a new job. In addition, nearly half of this group (47 percent) also feel that it is an excellent time to find a better job outside of your organization. So, what do your workers want in a job?

Many employees want flexibility and opportunities to grow. However, working for a paycheque is not enough to retain excellent people. Workers want a job that fits with their life and allows them to develop their talents. Employees are looking for fulfillment. Help them achieve employee success at your organization — it is better for you and your employee.

So, what does this mean for leaders?

Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” — Bill Gates

Today, business is moving faster than ever. The old ways of doing things are not working anymore. Moreover, executive leadership needs to be more connected — in a persistent, "always-on" capacity — with the emotions, opinions and attitudes of their employees.

Ask yourself, are your employees waiting for a year:

• to figure out if they belong with you?
• to talk with their boss about their performance?
• to grow professionally?
• to address feeling burned out?
• to know leadership's vision for your organization?

When you leave your employees waiting to resolve these critical issues — they are already going — and that should worry any leader. Resolving them as they happen leads to employee success.

Employee Success — What’s next?

The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers as guests and employees as people.” —Tom Peters

We provide strategic insights to help you improve these numbers for your organization. I previously shared some thoughts on how to find high-potential employees and unleash your high-performers.

Contact me to explore our services that help you sustain employee success. Learn more about:

• designing a winning employee experience
• installing an outcome-based selection and onboarding process
• providing development plans based on measured gaps in behavioural competencies versus high-performers
• improving performance management practices by integrating goal alignment
• creating and implementing a program for your workplace that will help you outperform the competition
• providing a customized plan and coaching for leaders at all levels in your organization, leveraging the competencies they naturally have and providing strategies to manage their challenge.