Someone asked me yesterday “So how do we drive employee engagement? What causes that to happen?”
Off the cuff, my answer focused on 4 things:
1) having a compelling vision and
2) truly effective leadership
3) clarity of what is unacceptable about the current state
4) an idea of how you’re going to get there.
Aside from change management 101, it’s also important that you create processes that break through the operational focus that pulls people away from strategic considerations. You want your people engaged in their operational functions, but while keeping the strategic context in mind. This is most effectively achieved through a combination of leadership and process.
Here’s a practical way to work through the alignment process:
Company builds the strategy -> Communicate your positioning/growth/client experience strategies
Determine what corporate improvements drive your strategy -> Build a strategy map
Which measures most effectively speak to each objective? -> Built a scorecard
Where would improvement have the greatest supportive impact on strategy? -> Prioritize stretch/maintain targets
Determine which teams impact each measure -> Link performance/incentive management
Maintain accountability for results -> Reporting, strategy reviews, performance plan reviews
Test whether the theory held and adjust for the coming cycle -> Tweak the system and do it again