Employee Engagement: Make money a non-issue

BI WORLDWIDE Canada describes employee engagement as an equal balance between the investment employers need to make in their employees, and the intensity in which employees perform their jobs.

As a way to look at engagement in the workforce, practice leaders at BI WORLDWIDE have fielded research, identifying the New Rules of Engagement℠. 

What are the New Rules of Engagement?

The New Rules of Engagement are, put simply, a diagnostic tool. They act as levers to help managers with improving the commitment and performance of their employees and give managers the ability to look at employee engagement in a different way, conducive to the conditions of today’s dynamic workforce.

The first four of the 12 Rules of Engagement are for forming a foundation and building employee commitment and a culture of performance.

I truly understand my employees, and they’re not afraid of me, losing their job or getting ahead within the company. What’s the 3rd part in building a foundation for improving commitment and performance?

…you didn’t think we could get through this without mentioning money, did you?

Money isn’t everything. It only gets you so far. But companies that mishandle this emotional area will make it a bigger deal than it has to be.

People look out for (or are expected to) the long-term financial health of the companies they work for, it makes sense to have the company reciprocate this for their employees by looking out for their (employees) long-term financial health.

Employees measure their financial success compared to others – they want to know that they are making more money than “the other guy”. Sad, but true. 

How can I, as a manager, ‘make money a non-issue’?

Five factors that should be present in order for this to happen; employees need to be able to say:

• I am paid fairly
• My organization is actively helping me reach my long-term financial goals
• Over the long-term, I believe I can earn more here than I could somewhere else
• I receive excellent benefits
• I get a generous amount of paid time off (e.g. vacation and personal time)

Where does Canada fit in?

Data from a recent (2014) survey BI WORLDWIDE conducted shows that in Canada, in terms of the New Rules of Engagement, compensation and benefits are combined under one category.

‘Make money a non-issue’ is ordered 2^nd most important in driving commitment among Canadian employees and 10^th most important of the 12 rules in driving performance.

The good news:
The majority, (greater than 50%), of Canadians surveyed agree they get a generous amount of paid time off, receive excellent benefits and are paid fairly.

Where we need work:
Less than 1/3 of respondents agree their organization is actively helping them reach their long-term financial goals, and less than half of them agree they could earn more money at their current organization than they could elsewhere.

To learn more about how we can help your company with employee engagement or the New Rules of Engagement survey, we welcome you to get in touch at: canada@biworldwide.com.

If you are new to BI WORLDWIDE Canada’s perspective on employee engagement, check out our first post of this series here.

The New Rules of Engagement are also the subject of a book called Widgets: The 12 New Rules for Managing Your Employees As If They’re Real People.