Incentive - December 2007 - (Page 16)

COVER STORY “I picked three employees to come with me to talk about the program. We presented for one and a half hours, and mesmerized them.” Raj Sharma — James M. Guyette, to make a presentation about his program at corporate headquarters in Chantilly, Va. “I picked three employees to come with me to talk about the program,” Sharma says. “We presented for one and a half hours, and mesmerized them.” What fascinated Rolls-Royce executives was not only the powerful financial results the Oakland facility enjoyed as a result of the division’s new program, but also the daring empowerment that Sharma put into the hands of his workforce. “To be fully engaged, we believe employees must have a rational understanding of their company’s goals and values, that they have an emotional attachment to the organization and a motivational connection—a willingness to make an extra and discretionary investment of time and energy,” says Julie Gebauer, managing director of workforce effectiveness for Towers Perrin, based in Stamford, Conn. Where Does It Fit In? Employee engagement combines various aspects of communications, motivation and recognition. In fact, each of these can be a key driver in an overall attitudeand performance-enhancement program. But human resources or marketing initiatives alone don’t tend to achieve the hard business results that sound employee engagement programs do, say experts. In these situations, employees go “above and beyond” and feel personally connected to their company and its financial success. Call it the ultimate in incentive and motivational programs. But it isn’t very common. A 2005 study by professional services firm Towers Perrin showed that just 21 percent of employees in the United States (and only 14 percent worldwide) are fully engaged on the job and willing to go the extra mile for their companies. The survey—of 85,000 people working for large and midsize firms in 16 countries—revealed a vast reservoir of untapped employee-performance potential that, the firm also discovered, can drive better financial results. Kicking Things Off Acknowledging long-standing employee cynicism at his division about previous similar efforts, Sharma enlisted the help of employee engagement consultancy L.M. Dulye & Co., based in Warwick, N.Y., to help craft his employee engagement program. “We knew that the first thing employees might say was, ‘We’ve heard all this engagement stuff before,’ ” says Sharma. “So the first decision we made was to involve a third party as consultants. I don’t like consultants in general, but I felt if we really wanted to hear the opinions of employees and to change our culture, we needed a third party to help them open up.” With the Dulye firm shaping the program, the company held focus groups in early 2006 to gain a better understanding of the results from the 2004 survey. The company then asked for volunteers to work on two key issues—increasing both mutual trust and business knowledge. Of some 70 volunteers, 26 were selected to brainstorm and poll their fellow workers. While leadership was not involved in the process, they were kept informed of the teams’ progress through The Winning Workplace program keeps employees from getting complacent, says machine programmer Brad Burkett divisions in the survey, but we were still not pleased with our employee communications and engagement,” says Sharma. “I made the decision to really improve the workers’ perception—and the reality—of our company.” The results—termed Winning Workplace—have powered Sharma’s 500employee division to the top of RollsRoyce North America’s employee engagement ranking and well beyond corporate expectations. Last spring, Sharma was invited by the president and CEO of Rolls-Royce North America, 16 | Incentive | December 2007 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com

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Incentive - December 2007 Contents Editor’s Note: Revved Up In the News Cover Story: Rolls-Royce Empowers Its Own Case Study: Booz Allen Hamilton Beating Your Best Incentive Primer: Add Value to Your Event Keeping Safety In Mind Incentive Interview Potentials Here and Now Research: Corporate Gifts Facts Report Tabletop Awards: Travel Gift Cards Travel News Viva Puerto Vallarta Indigenous Spas Advertiser Index Off the Cuff: Ambassador Christoph Bubb Luxury Brands Special Supplement

Incentive - December 2007

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