The Green Way to Employee Engagement
By Karen Toole
Recently I attended a Performance Management and Succession Planning meeting where one of the topics addressed was retention. The discussion proceeded down the path of retention solutions in an environment where scarcity of resources exists. The panel discussed a variety of low cost actions they directed at high-potentials in their organizations such as increasing career discussions, mentoring programs, exposure opportunities with leadership and high visibility projects. As I was listening, something was nagging in my brain. These efforts have been around for some time and certainly I agree that high-potential focus is critical, but what about the other 99.99% of the population? What are we doing to ensure that during this stressful time we have an engaged workforce? Sometimes we get so hung up on the high-potentials that we forget we need to make sure that the rest of the population are engaged and committed to the role we need them to perform every day. What are we doing to ensure we are re-recruiting as many of the total associate base as we can, and how?
Let's face it, even in today’s environment the associates, the high-potentials, and high-performers who we are so focused on know they can still move and have absolutely no qualms about doing so. I wouldn’t be so quick to count out the steady performers in that group as well. While we may think that the economy may restrict movement for the high-potential & high-performers, I urge you to think again. This group of folks came into the workforce with no intention of staying in any one place for too long a time—especially once they believe that their needs are no longer being met. And what are those needs? I would suggest that for the Gen X and Y they are interested in the areas of self-actualization such as personal and professional development, praise for a job well done, opportunity to move forward in their career, fun, and to work where their personal values are synergistic with the company’s values. It is the synergy between the values where I suggest there is a big cost-effective opportunity to re-recruit and an opportunity to engage the employee population—especially now when we need them committed the most.
Several years ago I was the HR Lead for White Barn Candle Company a subsidiary of Bath & Body Works headquartered in SoHo, New York City. It quickly came to my attention that there was no recycling in the office. Just let me mention, most, if not all, of the client group were in the Gen X/Y categories—brand managers, fragrance designers and such. This was not on the top of my list as I was getting grounded in a new job in a new industry. However here is the funny part, intuitively I was carrying my recyclables home several times a week, water bottles or cans to and from New Jersey. I am a recycler.
As the associates and I built relationships, and they noticed me hording my recyclables in my office, they became more vocal about wanting a recycling program in the office. Finally I acted. I recruited a couple of associates I knew were green die hards along with my facility manager and got moving. When we were ready to roll out the program we made a big event out of it. On the day of the roll-out, we decorated the lobby with “Green Themes” and, as associates came into work they were welcomed by one of the task force members and received a pamphlet about the new recycling program and a recycling wastebasket for their office or cubicle. I took photographs to post in the office and later that afternoon we celebrated with cake and words from the senior leadership.
The return on the investment was phenomenal—the associates were thrilled. The program was self-monitored and what we had accomplished spread like wild fire. Soon we were getting calls from corporate and other locations wanting to duplicate our efforts. But, think about this in terms of retention, commitment and re-recruiting—it connects with individuals’ personal values and there is no stronger way to get someone to want to work for you. We eliminated a huge dissatisfaction that was important to the associates.
A well known software company, which has a longstanding commitment to a green workplace, is an example of an organization which understands “The Green Way” to employee engagement. They found in their 2008 employee satisfaction survey a strong correlation between employee engagement and their green corporate values and practices. The survey also revealed the correlation demographic was not just limited to Gen Ys and Xs but also to the X-plus generation. Why? As a legacy for their children!
A telecommunications organization in partnership with its internal employee committee recently held a Green Fair. This was the first of several more to come. The Fair was well attended with various vendors from the private and public sector. The partnership has an established Green Living tradition that includes a toolkit for associates. The Fair was a next step. Is there data to say there is a direct correlation between this event and employee engagement—no or not at the moment. However, there is a long tradition in research substantiating the correlations between the more alignment between personal and corporate values the higher employee engagement.
It is my belief that the world we operate in has fundamentally changed and as such we must begin to think about retention, commitment and engagement differently as well. The same list of cost effective solutions is no longer THE only answer. Think differently about the new workforce, what matters most to them, and craft a solution to meet their needs. One thing we know is that being able to reconcile personal and corporate values is important and high on the list. Try the Green Way as an alternative way to engage, retain and re-recruit your workforce and see what happens.
