Measures Employee Thriving Not Engagement Why Microsoft, the world’s largest company, chooses to use employee growth as a measure instead of measuring employee engagement with their jobs and organizations.
In terms of Employee Engagement, the involvement of employees in the organization, both in terms of feeling like they want to participate and have a bond with the organization, are things that executives and owners of the organization are always looking for. If people work well with their colleagues and when everyone in the organization can talk happily, that organization will have an enviable working atmosphere.
“Even though employees are engaged, they still struggle to do their jobs.”
In Microsoft’s annual Employee Engagement Survey, they began noticing how engaged their employees were. Over the course of several months, they tracked employee engagement. What they found was that employee engagement and engagement scores indicated that things were going well, that they were productive and producing quality work. But it was also clear that employees were still struggling to find answers at work.
“Compensation, Privileges, Personnel, Pride and Purpose”
After Microsoft discovered that engagement wasn’t the be-all and end-all of work, they began looking for new metrics that could set a high bar for the employee experience and allow the company to explore new, more important metrics. One of those metrics was what Microsoft Chief People Officer Kathleen Hogan calls “ The 5 P’s, ” which are similar to Maslow ’s hierarchy of needs and define five areas: compensation, benefits, people, pride, and purpose.
“Prosperity is the antidote to laziness.”
Microsoft has taken the time to encourage many of its employees to reflect more on their roles in work and career in life, exploring more specific perspectives than ever before. One of the inspirations for the new metrics came from Ross School of Business’ Gretchen Spreitzer and colleagues’ research into employee growth and development as a cure for work burnout. Microsoft decided to focus on employee growth instead.
“Empowered and empowered to do meaningful work.”
Microsoft defines employee advancement as “being energized and empowered to do meaningful work.” The new goal the company has set for its employees is a version of themselves who have achieved the advancement they want. The company challenges employees to constantly push their employees to feel like they are pursuing that advancement. Another benefit of the company is that their work performance improves over time due to their employees’ ambitions.
“What looks like prosperity”
When Microsoft first surveyed employees, the average company’s growth was 77 points out of 100. The survey was based on surveys of employees across the company, ensuring that the results reflect both positive and negative sentiment. The average score is strong and actionable. When the 77 points were broken down into three components, the company found that meaningful work scored 79 points, authority 79 points, and enthusiasm 73 points.
“Organizational culture is important for advancement.”
When we delved deeper into the data, when each employee responded to an open-ended written questionnaire, we found that all employees described the company culture in different ways. The most progressive employees described a collaborative and team-oriented environment, with a culture that provided autonomy, flexibility, and support for employee well-being. The less progressive employees described confrontation, bureaucracy, and a lack of engagement. They felt like cogs in a machine, rather than employees in the company they were meant to be.
“My leader treats me with dignity and respect.”
It is clear from the survey that the role of a leader is very important for all employees in the company. A leader is someone who helps the team through all the uncertainties. It is a blessing for the team and the leader that they get the chance to shine during difficult times. The leader who treats the team with dignity and respect scored 93 points, which means that all employees strongly agree that a leader should have this quality. The confidence in the effectiveness of the leader was also found to be as high as 87 points. Although these scores are strengths, the company must make sure that all employees receive positive results.
“Advancement and work-life balance are not the same thing.”
As companies think about how to advance their employees, it’s important to address work-life balance as well. Advancement focuses on employees being empowered and empowered to do meaningful work in their work roles, but work-life balance also reflects an employee’s personal life. Employees rated their work-life balance as being satisfied with a 71, meaning it’s somewhat important to them. But sometimes advancement and work-life balance move in different directions.
“Some employees have to sacrifice their life time to advance in their careers.”
56% of employees at Microsoft said they were progressing. Their work-life balance also improved, while 16% said they were progressing but scored lower on their work-life balance. Employees who are new to their jobs feel underutilized and thus have a better work-life balance than employees who have been in the workforce for a long time. Sometimes employees feel fulfilled by working hard for advancement, and they trade short-term work-life balance for long-term advancement.
“Challenges for progress on the path forward”
It’s important to take the time to understand what metrics matter to your company and make sure they align with the goals you’re trying to achieve. In this day and age, it’s important to listen to your employees because it allows you to grow with them. Paying close attention to your employees will allow you to flourish together. Ultimately, every metric provides a foundation from which to understand, listen, learn, improve, and adapt to the new changes that lie ahead. You need to start understanding how you can unlock growth in your workplace, your career, and the creative ways you work.
Conclusion
As we navigate the COVID-19 crisis, many people are working a hybrid schedule that doesn’t lend itself well to life. People analytics researchers at Microsoft realized they needed to measure employee progress instead of engagement — or, in other words, power and empowerment that make work more meaningful for employees. Learning what data can tell us about how employees want to live their lives can help us uncover new ways to build metrics for progress both on and off the job, beyond engagement.
“One thing is clear: in our world, everyone is different. The more people change, the more obvious it is that the employees in the company are changing too. The best way is to give them the opportunity to make that change.”
Source :
Why Microsoft Measures Employee Thriving, Not Engagement
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