TEAM SUPERPOWER: Employee Engagement Program

Annual evaluations are absolutely necessary, but they are perhaps the most odious and unappreciated activity in personnel management. When I ask other managers about them, they tell me they hate them, procrastinate them or outright avoid them. Employees from these companies tell me they usually don't get them, but if they do there is nothing useful or complimentary that comes out of them. I know companies that have spent thousands for software and training to make evaluations easier and more effective, but it inevitably results in a glum story.To all parties, managers and employees alike, the evaluation process seems a big waste of time and money.

Evolution of Pioneering Evolution's Engagement Program

What if I told you there was a way to hold meaningful annual evaluations that work and that everyone appreciates? Pioneering Evolution, LLC (PE), has achieved just such a program.

During my time at PE I participated in the formation of the "Engagement" program. I was originally attracted to the company by their values and culture, where priority was given to both the achievement of excellence and positive Jim Collin's style employee relations. When I was interviewed, the last question to me was "Why should we hire you? What do you bring that other candidates don't? My answer was, "I know how to say 'thank you'."

In my first year I found PE's management struggling, just like everyone else, with making the evaluation process useful and less unpleasant. Company owners were strongly committed, and they had paid for rigorous programs and software in the past, but none of it achieved what we were looking for. It was all just going through the motions — there was no meaning.

It was during a meeting of managers and executives that we found the answer. We were struggling with the question of how to execute yet another annual evaluation cycle and what form the final deliverable document would take. It was agreed the it should be a letter to the employee which contained everything we had to say about them, whether good or bad.

Ken Michaud, who would become the managing partner of PE, wanted to focus more on the positive, and less on the negative. It had to be something that could be celebrated. This brought to mind my own practice of annual Christmas letters to my family. My tradition has been to write letters expressing my love to each of my children and put them in the tree on Christmas eve, to be read the next day. It's a highlight of our holiday.

So I spoke up and said to the group, "It sounds like we want to write a 'thank you' letter," and I explained about my Christmas tradition. The room went silent for a moment, before erupting in "yes, that's it!" Everyone was in instant agreement. Thus was born what is now known as PE's annual Narrative. It's a formal letter written to each and every employee from their supervisor, and it's 100% positive — no negativity allowed. Compromising constructions like "despite", "in spite of", "although", "even though" or "except" are not allowed. If there are issues with an employee, it's management's responsibility to resolve those issues (not punish the employee) over the course of the year.

Buildup to the Engagement Narrative

The Narrative is the ultimate objective of the Engagement program, and everything else is calculated to contribute to its success.

• To begin with, each employee is given a Position Agreement which is generic to their position. It outlines the particulars of their title and the contract, qualifications required to get the job, a statement of results, a list of tactical responsibilities and a list of corporate standards.

• Supervisors (leads, managers, directors) must meet formally with each employee at least monthly in what's called the Monthly Engagement. There they discuss the employee's progress, work quality and their personal concerns. Managers are expected to inform and advise, but mostly to listen.

• Work quality and productivity are measured and recorded on a regular basis during the year. This informs supervisors on how to advise and train employees. It also contributes to the annual evaluation.

• Supervisors are expected to record employee accomplishments regularly during the year. We found that everyemployee accomplishes good things, and all we have to do is to pay attention when they happen.

• Competencies are also measured on a semiannual basis. We designed a  competencies template for each vocation which includes both technical and non-technical areas, and these are scored by no fewer than two technical peers of the employee. Competency scores tell us about an employee's potential and what they might be expected to accomplish in the coming year.

As the end of each year approaches, all company supervisors gather the information they have been collecting and begin drafting their narratives. Workshops are held beginning in the fall for each management level of supervisors to assist and critique each other's narratives in multiple progressive iterations, the completed form of which must be signed by two levels of supervisors and printed on company letterhead.

As narratives are refined, supervisors submit recommendations for compensation increases. There must be a recommendation to reward or recognize each employee, including possible non-monetary options which might be appreciated by each individual.

The BIG REVEAL comes for each employee when their supervisor and next level manager formally present the narrative in a private meeting. That's when a full year of hard work by everyone culminates in a meaningful declaration of the employee's self worth for the year. It's gratifying to all, and sometimes a little emotional. Then or at a later meeting, management presents to the employee a statement of compensation increases or other rewards, including any bonuses, profit sharing, or 401K benefits.

CONCLUSION

Pioneering Evolution's Engagement program has been a huge success, and I would recommend it to any company that cares about their employees. The resulting company culture has become a popular selling point by employees to their friends and interviewees, and our Glass Door rating has increased by more than a third since implementing it. The regular Engagement meetings and participation have improved relationships between employees and management on all levels. We get employee evaluations that are meaningful, not just numbers, and employees are motivated to improve themselves and to grow. To me, there can be no greater success.

~ Tom/*