Improving Employee Engagement: It Starts with Managers

Staff engagement among the U.S. workforce has remained steady at 33 percent over the past few years, according to recent data from Gallup. This is quite low considering that strong employee engagement is the catalyst for company growth and success. Numbers worldwide are even starker, with 87 percent of workers reporting being disengaged at the office.


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As managers across the country scramble to increase feelings of ambition, connection and enthusiasm among employees, they should first start by looking within. While a wide range of factors can impact one’s feeling of involvement within his or her company, poor management ranks at the top. Managers are reportedly responsible for 70 percent of feelings of imbalance and discontentment. The good news is that there are a number of simple, effective ways managers can boost employee engagement.

“A great leader understands that the success of a company relies heavily on the dedication, commitment and achievements of the employees,” says Suzanne Rice, director of global franchise development for MRINetwork. “By creating an environment that encourages open communication and fosters trust, managers have the opportunity to empower their employees to not only become engaged, but to go above and beyond.”

Rice provides the following tips for raising employee engagement:

1. Cultivate trust
Cultivating an environment of trust is an important way to ensure that all staff members feel valued, heard and comfortable. Trust is not just about leaders acting in a fair or equitable manner, being accountable, or honoring the agreements that they’ve made with staff. Employees also want to feel their managers will back them up in tough or negative situations, even sharing in the blame when necessary. When an environment of trust is created in this manner, it strengthens relationships with employees, making them more likely to want to work hard and do well. On average, those with supportive supervisors are 67 percent more engaged in the company, based on data from The Energy Group.

2. Promote open communication
Regular meetings, consistent social contact and open channels for communication are key for promoting open and honest dialogue between managers and employees. When managers are empathetic and aware of others, they’re more likely to be in tune with the general consensus among employees. Responding to all questions, concerns and feedback - and taking each one seriously - in an adequate time frame confirms that each employee’s voice is heard and valued.

3. Maintain visibility
Rather than being tucked away in a corner office with the door frequently closed, managers should be accessible and visible throughout the workplace. Doing so makes employees feel more comfortable reaching out and asking questions. It also further enhances open communication. Along the same lines, recognizing the hard work and accomplishments of employees is just as important. Publicly acknowledging the work of staff members encourages a healthy commitment to advancing the organization’s mission.

4. Lead by example
When managers lead by example, not only are employees more likely to remain at the company, they’re also much more engaged. Workers don’t just want their leaders to be accountable, they want managers to provide mentorship and guidance for how to be more effective, based on their own experience. By demonstrating the behaviors and qualities that are expected of staff members, and investing time in developing direct reports, managers can boost engagement and improve work ethic.

“Improving employee engagement should be at the forefront of a manager’s responsibilities, and holding themselves accountable is the most effective way to do that,” adds Rice. “When managers are open, flexible and authentic, employee happiness and engagement will naturally skyrocket.”

To view the full article on MRINetwork click here.

Insightful Hiring: Looking Beyond the Obvious to Uncover Right-Fit Candidates

A hiring manager posts an opening, describes the ideal candidate, and resumes come flooding in. After doing some interviews, the manager has to decide who the best person is for the job. Research shows that more often than not, managers pick someone whose qualifications most closely match the exact criteria for the job or whose background is similar to theirs. Using this process, frequently poor hires are made, and competent and qualified people don't get the job - or sometimes even an interview - because they do not fit the preconceived notion of the right fit. This reality presents a great opportunity for companies to reconsider and potentially improve how they view, screen, interview and engage with talent.

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“People with responsibility for hiring have a tendency to see what they’re looking for, especially when they are primed and ready to look for specific things,” says Nancy Halverson, vice president of global operations for MRINetwork. “Focusing too much on set criteria for the ideal candidate or being blind to red flags can lead to serious hiring mistakes, especially when everybody on the hiring team is looking at applicants through the same lens.”

Cultivating the ability to identify and recognize the right people for the job, even individuals with non-traditional backgrounds or with skills outside the exact criteria, can be a tremendous advantage for a business. “You get multiple perspectives for problems or challenges, and fresh perspectives in your day-to-day operations,” Halverson observes. “Although there are instances when hiring candidates who don’t fit the exact profile isn’t feasible, that is less of an issue than many hiring managers may think.”

However, there’s a reason many companies don’t take risks when hiring new talent. Employees with traditional backgrounds and similar skill sets yield predictable results. The tricky part about expanding the hiring horizon is finding the right fit even if the candidate’s background falls outside the range of the safe, defined criteria.

Halverson suggests several ways to avoid mistakes while widening the candidate pool:

Focus on the candidate's potential. Pay close attention to the personality of the prospective new hire. While having the right skill set may seem essential, skills can be acquired, but personalities cannot. Social intelligence - being able to navigate social situations and work well with others - should be under scrutiny during the interview. Don't become pigeonholed into thinking the person with the exact necessary experience is the right person for the role. Give equal consideration to communication skills, thought processes and emotional intelligence.

Ask the right kinds of questions. While your interview format should retain some standard questions, you can uncover good candidates by adding non-traditional questions into the mix. Asking candidates what they see as the most effective approaches for managing them, for example, can provide insight on both cultural fit and working style - whether they’re low-maintenance and function best with minimal guidance, or perform well under detailed direction and support. Depending on the existing managerial style at your organization, the response may signal an ideal fit or a potential problem aligning with your leadership.

Provide personal insight about the company culture. To help both the organization and prospective candidates determine if they are right for your company and the particular position, it's important to discuss the company's work environment. Be open and honest about what it's like to work at the organization, and talk about the positive aspects or even perks that have personally made your job more enjoyable. Replacing canned corporate responses with insight about your individual experience allows you to connect better with candidates, and both parties can more clearly ascertain if the applicant will thrive in the company culture.

Cover all the bases. Probably the most important step in deciding to extend an offer to a candidate who has a different type of experience or education from the set criteria, is making sure the company has covered all its bases. This includes determining the business rationale behind the hire, what skills and qualifications the candidate has to offer the company, and if the decision will ultimately produce the desired result.

“In today’s competitive world of business, no organization can risk the expense and productivity drain that a bad hire brings, and yet bad hires are surprisingly common,” adds Halverson. “Being open-minded to looking outside of your defined criteria or even your industry can yield a more diverse but equally qualified short list, and may result in a better fit between the successful candidate and your organization.”

For more information, view the full "Insightful Hiring: Looking Beyond the Obvious to Uncover Right-Fit Candidates" article on MRINetwork by clicking here. 

6 Job Interview Questions Every Employee Needs to Ask

Sometimes the questions you're asked are more important than the answers job candidates give to your questions.

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/6-job-interview-questions-every-employee-needs-to-ask.html

Article published by Jeff Haden, Contributing Editor at Inc.

Recruiting and Hiring Trends in Civil Engineering

Civil engineers are in demand. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of civil engineers is projected to grow 20 percent from 2012 to 2022, faster than the average for all occupations. As infrastructure continues to age, an increased number of civil engineers will be needed to manage projects rebuilding bridges, repairing roads, and upgrading levees and dams. 

But what kinds of specific skills do you need to meet that challenge and boost your engineering career? 

In this ASCE Interchange, Anthony Fasano, P.E., M.ASCE, founder of The Engineering Career Coach, discusses the must-have core skills you need to succeed in a civil engineer career today.

Appeal to What Candidates Value Most

Tips for Attracting Candidates by Appealing to What They Value Most

The recruitment landscape in the executive, managerial and professional sector remains a candidate-driven market in 2016, and moving forward, companies need to ask not what candidates can do for them, but what they can do for potential hires. To attract the best candidates, companies should broaden their perspectives beyond salaries and benefits and think about what makes their organizations not only great places to work, but enviable ones.


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As trends change, highly qualified candidates have the resources necessary to be more discerning about the companies to which they apply, and the offers they ultimately accept. Now more than ever, these candidates are thinking about a company's culture and values. They're weighing whether the company fosters a positive environment and whether its values align with their own.

"Highly qualified candidates are prioritizing a positive and inspiring company culture over pay or benefits," says Suzanne Rice, director, global franchise development for MRINetwork. "They want to work somewhere that helps them grow not only professionally but personally."

Rice recommends the following tips for revealing the company traits that job seekers value most:

Define your values. Think about your company's mission and values, and how you can effectively convey these attributes during your next candidate interview. Go beyond financial or strategic goals and reflect on community impacts such as ways your company benefits society, makes people's lives easier or demonstrates goodwill in the world.

The modern, highly qualified job seeker is more altruistic-minded than his predecessors, and wants to work somewhere where he or she can contribute to a larger effort that transcends simply making money. An interviewer who can confidently share with a candidate the company's higher purpose and the concrete ways it's contributing to the common good will make a job offer that is much more attractive.

Put employees first. Top candidates are prioritizing company culture, and how it's created by the employees to get an idea of the people with whom they will be working. To effectively discuss your company's culture with applicants, analyze the positive qualities that are shared by employees across your organization and spend extra time looking at the specific traits of your top-performing employees. Spend time talking with workers to gain a better understanding of the personal qualities and attitudes that they bring to their work.

Also observe the overall atmosphere of your office. Are socialization and bonding activities in and outside of work encouraged? Or is the atmosphere stressed, negative or draining? If that's the case, improving your company's culture should be a priority.

Size up the organizational structure. Examine how work is being accomplished across the company. Today's job seekers are looking for alternatives to the top-down organizational structures of the past. Instead, they want to work at a company with a more collaborative organizational structure that not only welcomes and encourages opinions and suggestions from all employee levels, but also responds and takes action on these ideas.

Ethics in the workplace and sound business practices are also very important to candidates today. They want to work at a company where leadership is held responsible for their actions. Consider whether your company has an open organizational structure, accountability measures in place and ways you can improve them.

"Spending time reflecting on these important traits of your company, and prioritizing them in your discussions with candidates, helps ensure that your hiring practices respond to the unique needs and attitudes of today's job seekers," adds Rice. "A modern, self-aware company is one in which most qualified top performers will want to work."

For more information and to view the full article on MRI Network, click here.

What Your Review Process Says About Your Company Culture

The holidays have come to an end and companies are ramping up for the new year. While executives are getting ready to roll out new operational plans, strategies and budgets, many employees are preparing for their annual performance review. Although the review process is a necessary part of business, it can be a time-consuming and tedious exercise for both managers and their direct reports. Workers can also feel they are in the hot seat with regard to their performance from the previous year. Most importantly, it can delay feedback and two-way conversations that would have been more beneficial at an earlier time. This postponed interaction is causing some employers to look at alternatives to the annual review to build a stronger, more cohesive company culture.

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Accenture is a company that recently decided to eliminate annual reviews. With a workforce where 70 percent of employees are Millennials, the organization realized that traditional evaluations were not effective for engaging and motivating this generational group which values frequent, real-time feedback. As a result, Accenture developed a digital approach that encourages managers to “coach in the moment” from any device, instead of “after the moment”. Their goal was to create a culture that promotes continual growth and learning for all employees.

“It is not surprising that workforce expectations are changing and are being influenced by the social, mobile world in which we live,” says Nancy Halverson, vice president of global operations for MRINetwork. “Companies that understand the implications of this, and are nimble enough to adopt new technologies and different approaches to work, will be most successful with attracting and retaining top performers that will become the future leaders of tomorrow. Analyzing the effectiveness of the review process and what it says about the organization’s culture can be a great place to start.”

Halverson suggests companies that are looking to re-evaluate their performance review process ask the following questions:

Is the annual review the main time that feedback is provided on performance? Look for opportunities on a regular basis to set priorities, discuss work outcomes and coach team members. Whether it is weekly status meetings, daily advice or a combination of the two, employees are frequently more engaged when they feel their managers are committed to helping them become more successful workers.

Does the company provide mentoring opportunities beyond the insight provided by supervisors? Employee groups that facilitate peer-to-peer mentoring, internal networking and presentations from leadership on career ascension can help organizations develop a culture of growth and development.

What technologies or new approaches can be leveraged to expedite feedback? Not every company will find it necessary to implement a digital process like Accenture, but business leaders should continually consider whether they are communicating with their direct reports in a meaningful and timely manner.

Eliminating the annual review is not necessarily the answer, as many companies find the procedure effective in evaluating employees and holding them accountable. “The key is to find ways to augment the process by creating opportunities to promote dialogue that will improve work flow, productivity and career advancement,” adds Halverson. “Ultimately, that is the type of environment that top performers seek.”

To View the Full Article on the MRI Network Click Here

An Interview with Pat Havard on Job Hunting in CE Magazine

Pat Havard, Owner & Manager at Principal Resource Group, was recently interviewed by David Hill of ASCE's Civil Engineering Magazine for their Seven Questions feature article.  In the article, Pat shares wisdom and guidance for successful job hunting in the engineering field.

The article spotlights: what qualities an engineer should look for in an employer; how to set yourself apart in the application process; how to bolster your resume; the role networking plays in finding a job; using professional organizations as a job hunting resource; and how to prepare for an interview including what talking points a candidate should employ during an interview.

Pat provides some great career building insight to both young engineers as well as seasoned engineering professionals.  To view a PDF of the article click the link below or you can read a digital copy by logging into CE Magazine with your ASCE member login info.

Seven Questions Article in Civil Engineering Magazine

90% of Our Recruiters Surveyed Still Feel the Labor Market is Candidate-Driven

The U.S. labor market continues to expand, and in 2015, 230,000 new jobs has been the monthly average through October. Many companies are in growth mode, focusing on key strategic hires to support this expansion. At the same time, a great deal of attention is being placed on engaging and retaining top performers that will ultimately join forces with new hires to build stronger, more dynamic teams. Despite this focus on harnessing quality, skilled talent, companies are finding that recruitment and retention is increasingly problematic, especially in the executive, managerial and professional sector. This is due to the candidate-driven market, an environment in which top candidates have the upper hand because of more available job opportunities and a growing shortages of highly specialized talent. As high performers have multiple job offers to consider and the ability to reject less desirable work opportunities, employers are faced with making fundamental changes to their recruitment and talent management strategies to gain greater access to the brightest talent in 2016 and beyond.

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New data from the most recent MRINetwork Recruiter Sentiment Study, a biannual employment landscape survey of MRINetwork recruiters across approximately 600 worldwide offices, indicates that the candidate-driven market, which has experienced a consistent uptick since 2011, is at an all-time high. Remaining unchanged from survey findings in the first half of 2015, 90 percent of respondents feel the executive, managerial and professional sector is candidate-driven.

Additionally, top performers continue to reject job offers. Forty-four percent of participants listed “accepted another offer” as the primary reason for offer rejections, up from 37 percent in the first half of 2015. Low compensation packages and counteroffers were also top reasons for turndowns.

The candidate-driven market and offer rejections are nothing new. However, as companies increasingly concentrate on recruitment of skilled, strategic talent, they face the dilemma of properly vetting candidates, while also creating a streamlined, engaging applicant experience that top candidates have come to expect. Then add to that the need to engage and retain top performers. With more employees looking for new opportunities and companies forced to prioritize their retention efforts, recruitment must now compete with retention, despite the desire to bring on new talent.

There are possible signs of recruitment slowing behind retention, when we look at how long it takes to get an offer. In previous years of the survey, recruiters reported that most offers were being extended between 1-4 weeks of the candidate’s first interview. In the most recent survey, recruiters say job offers are now being presented between 3-6 weeks. Additionally counteroffers are rising, up two percentage points from the first half of 2015. These trends have emerged, in spite of recruiter recommendations since 2011 to expedite the hiring process and provide more competitive compensation packages to avoid losing “A” players.

So what will employers need to do differently in 2016?

Create a more candidate-centric experience that demonstrates interest in the incumbent vs. just trying to see how interested the applicant is in the organization.

“Candidates want quicker and simplified ways to apply for openings and go through the interview process, yet employers and HR departments make the simple process of applying for one of their openings more complicated”, said a recruiter responding to the study.

Consider the entire hiring process from the candidate’s stand point, from the time they apply for the position to the start of onboarding.  What does the process look like when you consider the level of interaction and communication from your staff? What does it say about the organization, the company culture and the work environment that the future hire can expect? Above all, what lasting impression does the process leave with candidates?

Compensation is important, but advancement opportunities lead. When evaluating a potential job move, top candidates are primarily focused on their future employer’s ability to provide opportunities for them to move up within the company, both immediately and in the future. In fact, according to the survey, almost half (45 percent) of recruiters felt advancement opportunities would be the most important consideration for candidates looking to make a job move in 2016. While counteroffers may temporarily help you keep key employees on board, these individuals will eventually leave, if this is the only thing keeping them there.

Engage employees by making career-pathing part of your company culture and value proposition.

Career-pathing takes advancement opportunities to the next level by mapping out a long-term plan for each employee’s incremental progression to new roles within the company. Providing fun things like cool technology, flexible scheduling and employee appreciation events are great, but ultimately your top performers will leave if they see there are no real opportunities for upward mobility. Making career-pathing a fundamental part of your talent management strategies and promoting it in the interview process can reduce some of the time and effort spent on retaining key employees, enabling you to spend more time on growing your teams.

Prioritize succession planning now.

You know your baby boomer employees will eventually retire, however their departure appears to be accelerating. According to the survey, vacancies from retirement grew to nine percent, up four percentage points since the first half of 2015, and after remaining relatively static in previous years. It’s clear that the more senior members of your staff are beginning to feel more confident about retiring. Now is the time to begin grooming key staff members who can become the company’s future leadership.

All signs point to 2016 being a pivotal year for recruitment in the executive, managerial and professional space and potentially the overall labor market. The insight and trends that recruiters have been observing the past few years, in regards to the candidate-driven market, are coming to light across virtually all industries and sectors. If employers truly want to expand their teams, and not feel burdened by retention issues, they will need to create modern, full cycle practices that look at recruitment and talent management strategies as an inter-connected process, rather than two separate efforts.

To view the complete study, visit www.MRINetwork.com/recruitersentiment.

Attracting Talent with Public Relations

Public relations, or PR as it's often called, is something we've all heard of but what does it really mean? Frequently companies think that PR should be leveraged to promote company news; everything from new hire announcements, office openings and website launches, to new products or services, and mergers and acquisitions. While some of these events may be deemed newsworthy, PR is most powerful as a tool to raise a company's profile, communicate the brand and culture, and continually position internal experts as industry thought leaders. Most importantly, when public relations is leveraged effectively, employers can extend their ability to reach top candidates and attract them into their organizations. All too often, this is an opportunity that is missed when it comes to recruitment and hiring, because many companies only focus on archiving as many "look how great we are" press releases on their websites as they can.


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So how does PR work and how can companies use it to entice top performers? Press releases are what most people think of when it comes to PR, but in actuality this is just one of various tactics that can be used to gain media coverage and communicate a compelling message. Additionally, PR is often mistaken for marketing, with the expectation that there will be a dotted line to a sale or new business. "Companies that are most successful with PR understand that at the core, PR is a public service, the purpose of which is to educate and connect with the community at large," says Nysha King, media relations specialist for MRINetwork. "Working in concert with marketing, the focus of PR should not be on self-promotion, but instead on the insight that the organization can provide, and how this information contributes to an ongoing dialogue, creating consistent, positive messages and stories about the company. These messages work over time to create a positive perception of the organization, ultimately making clients and prospects more receptive to engaging in business transactions, while also piquing the interest of 'A' players who could potentially work for the firm."

King offers the following tips for companies looking to attract talent with PR:

Seek out opportunities to discuss industry trends, challenges and projections for market activity. Contributing an article, submitting recent research findings and speaking at an industry conference are all ways that employers can offer up industry knowledge and different approaches to work that will raise their organization's profile. These efforts can start with a simple pitch note to the editor, or a proposal to the events committee. Top candidates want to work for companies that are innovative and forward thinking; media coverage provides the opportunity to leverage thought leadership that can be enticing to prospective hires.

Showcase your company culture. Whether it's through social media or company ambassadors, one of the best ways to communicate what it's like to work at the organization is through employees. Capture fun events and unique aspects of the office environment that demonstrate why it's a great place to work. Then post pictures and describe what is being depicted on social media, the company website and other external communication vehicles. Additionally, identify high performers who can represent the organization and share their unique stories via career spotlights or contributed articles in publications.

Partner with other organizations on initiatives that complement your business focus. Engaging in philanthropy or other projects that align with the company's mission is a good way to demonstrate goodwill. Collaborating with associations and institutions that may benefit from the organization's expertise on a volunteer basis, provides a softer, human element that provides more depth to the company culture which can be especially appealing to candidates. Today's talent are increasingly focused on working for employers who are ethical and display a commitment to meaningful causes.

Manage your reputation on employer review sites. At some point, you're bound to receive poor reviews from disgruntled former employees, on sites like Glassdoor.com. Get in front of these reviews by responding to any negative information and presenting the company in a more positive light. In your online posts, admit to any past challenges and discuss how the organization is working to improve these areas. Many times, just the simple acknowledgement of an issue diffuses the situation and demonstrates a company's integrity.

Whether a company is big or small, media coverage is something that every organization can successfully pursue to attract and recruit top talent. "Employers must first identify what they want to convey about their culture and then determine the available resources to disseminate this information through consistent messaging," adds King. "Once this is established, employers can create and roll out manageable PR strategies that communicate why the organization is a great place to work."

Leveraging Modern Communication Methods to Engage and Build Company Culture

Your organization has accomplished the hard task of attracting and bringing A-players on board. Now how do you keep them? That's a question that companies face more and more, as confidence builds in the labor market, and top performers feel more comfortable about making job moves. A focus on internal communications has become increasingly important as a way to connect and engage staff, and ultimately build a desirable company culture that encourages high-performance and instills the brand from within. Modern communication methods and tools are helping pave the way in this effort.

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There is nothing new about the concept of internal communications. Most organizations use the same basic methods to communicate information across the company, whether it's an employee publication or intranet, memo or all hands meeting. What differs among companies is how these tools are leveraged, both to keep the lines of communication open, and to maintain an enthusiastic and positive outlook about the organization. "Companies that are most successful with internal communications use a strategic approach across multiple platforms - it's not just about communicating company announcements but making a concentrated effort to define your culture," says Scott Bass, director of marketing & communications for MRINetwork. "When modern, interactive communication methods are incorporated into the process, employers increase their ability to engage staff and create an environment where people are 'checked-in' as opposed to 'checked-out' at work."

Bass provides the following insight to companies looking to engage with modern communication tools:

Extend communication through internal social platforms. The success of social platforms like Facebook and Twitter can have a similar impact when used internally. Internal social networking tools like Yammer provide employees with a quick way to share positive company news, recognize the contributions of individual staff, and collaborate on projects, with the added ability to include pictures, documents and videos. It also breaks down physical silos, exposing employees to other parts of the company they would not normally get to see.

Augment traditional company-wide meetings with video and audience polling tools. Company-wide meetings are a quick way to communicate information from the top down, but they can also become routine and mundane. Bring to life the leaders of your company and others through brief video messages or webinars. There is only so much passion that can come from a static text memo or audio conference call. This does not have to be produced by expensive, professional video companies. Most modern mobile devices have high-quality recording capabilities and available easy-to-use editing apps that are more than appropriate for an internal communication. In addition, polling tools, such as Poll Everywhere, can help invigorate meetings by expanding the capacity for a two-way conversation, and showing staff their opinions matter by letting them vote on topics, instantly showing their feedback in real time.

Involve all levels of the organization in your communication strategy. Antiquated communication methods that just focus on a business leader addressing the organization do not lead to desirable results. Highlight successful individuals in the organization and have them lead meetings or draft communications. Allowing them to share insights and best practices about their daily routines will not only help others become successful, but bring to life the personality of your company. This will also create recognition opportunities for your top performers, as they will now be perceived as the "celebrities" within the company creating even more stickiness.

Share highlights of your communication methods with clients. Companies prefer to do business with forward-thinking, modern organizations where employees have a sense of pride. Your company culture can be a major differentiator when competing. Summarize your company culture, along with your communication methods that drive it, in sales presentations. Share examples of your communication methods to not only highlight this competitive edge, but to motivate other organizations to do the same. This "behind-the-scenes" look at your company will result in stronger relationships with clients, exposing the human-element behind your company.

Implement communication tools that fit your business. Ultimately, no matter how fun or cool modern communication methods may seem, consideration should be given to whether they are right for the company culture and size. Focus on technologies that present the most potential for improved interaction, excitement and discourse across the company that will support business objectives.

Technology is enabling companies to breathe new life into standard internal communication methods like never before. "Leveraging these platforms in a meaningful way is increasingly becoming necessary to drive employees to become active participants in the work culture," adds Bass. "While modern communication methods are not a fix all for talent retention, they are key in creating an enjoyable, engaging work environment that provides top performers with one more reason to stay."

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