b'ENGAGEMENT3.A lack of what many call psychological safety canengagement. Their research has shown that its one of create an insurmountable obstacle. People needthe most important factors in determining how pro-to know they can bring their whole selves to work,ductive a company is and how much revenue it gen-give feedback, share input, and do their jobs with- erates. So, its smart to periodically stop and consider out fear of judgment or negative repercussions.whether youre on track.During any culture initiative, its important thatThere are a few different ways to figure out how people can be vulnerable, share mistakes, and askengaged your people are:for help.4 Silos can prevent effective communication and1 The good news is that you can measure employee present a big obstacle to a culture initiative. Bar- engagementand its easier than you think! Use riers erected between teams, departments, ora world-class engagement survey to get the full divisions inhibit information sharing and causepicture of how engaged your employees are. employees to become more focused on protect- Whether youre aware of it or not, every employee ing themselves than providing excellent servicehas an opinion about what your companys cul-to others. ture is like. Its better to know what those opinions 5 Communication breakdowns are also a problem.are than to allow your employer brand to erode They frequently occur when leaders feel strappedand your top performers to leave. Start with a for time and fail to give employees the informa- baseline survey to capture the total engagement tion they want or need. Strong communication isscore and understand your current performance necessary for culture improvement, and its aboutin the Four Engagement Elevators. Build strategies more than just disseminating information. It alsoaround your areas of improvement, then repeat means ensuring that the message resonates withthe survey annually.employees in a way that moves them to action! 2.Also, look at your overall company performance: 6 Command and Control can be major roadblocksWhen a company has a strong culture, they gener-as well. Ideally, organizations hire talented andate five timesor 500% - more revenue! A recent capable people they can trust. This allows com- Gallup study shows that companies with high levels pany leaders to give employees the autonomyof employee engagement have 3x higher revenue they need to do their work. Lack of freedom andgrowth than those with low levels (49% vs. 16%). feeling of mistrust squelch their capacity to thrive. If you want to bring in more revenue, you need to 7 People need more recognition than we usuallystart by improving employee engagement!realize. Recognition is a driving force of motiva- 3.Look at your recruitment efforts. Do you have a tion for humans, and when it is absent, employeesstrong talent bench and a large number of appli-feel unimportant, less motivated, and eventuallycants? Companies with a strong culture are tar-resentful. This kind of void can stifle a culture ren- geted by 94% of job seekers!ovation. 4 Consideremployeeabsenteeism.Areyour 8.Finally, an overall feeling of reluctance to changeemployees taking an inordinate number of days can be an enormous inhibitor. The only way a cul- off? Are they often arriving late or leaving early? ture renovation can be successful is if leaders areAccording to Gallup, organizations with a high level open to, and even excited about, change. Leadersof engaged employees see 81% less employee who lack flexibility and are averse to change pre- absenteeism.vent long-term success. 5 Finally, measure your customer retention. There is a strong connection between employee engage-How Do You Know if Yourment and customer retention. Companies with Culture is Good and Your Peoplestrong engagement have 63% lower customer loss rates, and customers working with engaged are Engaged? employees bring in 37% more revenue than other For more than 70 years, Gallup has studied employeecustomers (Gallup).142 The Ultimate Guide to Company Culture'