When your team is engaged, productivity and retention skyrockets. On a more human level, so does happiness.
As CEO and Co-founder of 34 Strong, Brandon Miller is on a mission to create a million smiles by using a strengths-based approach to build highly engaged organizations. One such company Brandon has come alongside with outstanding results is Road Runner. In this episode, Brandon and Sapidah Shefa, Vice President of Operations at Road Runner, discuss how they were able to increase their engagement score by 35%. As you listen, you’ll hear about the importance of including middle managers in engagement efforts and pick up key tactics around what to do and what not to do when implementing new initiatives.
Truth You Can Act On
1. Measure Then Remeasure
If we hadn’t taken the survey and gotten that direct feedback we may have as an executive team decided, ‘Okay, well, we need to invest here and we need to invest there.’ But getting the team’s direct feedback really helped us prioritize where we need to invest when it comes to materials and resources and we’ve done that. When we started, right before the pandemic, we were at industry average for engagement. We put in a lot of work during the pandemic and we took the survey again last September, and we increased our score by 35%.
2. Focus on Key Action Items
We warn every organization that goes through this process that you cannot take on all 12 drivers of engagement at once. You’re going to take on a few action items and those will absolutely cascade to the others. What people want to see is that, ‘You asked my opinion and perspective, I shared it with you, and you took action.’ There is no greater way to increase an engagement score than to simply make sure you do that and tell your people over and over again what you did. So they’re not only hearing it, but they’re seeing it reflected in their day to day.
3. Include Middle Managers in Engagement Efforts
90 minutes every month, every leader in the organization gets some level of training. It starts with knowledge, we train them on knowledge, then we train them on skills, and then we focus a lot on the behaviors. So they come back every month and we talk about challenges they’re facing and how to overcome them. We talk about the engagement level of their team and how they’re impacting that. We talk about those who are disengaged and how can we help them move the needle with those individuals. The buy-in from the team is outstanding. They really feel supported and they really feel like we’re finally investing in them.
4. Constantly Communicate
The Road Runner leaders listened very carefully and they made a list of what their people need. They went to work and they have invested in development. And I’ve been so impressed at their diligence at their consistency. Their president does such a great job of reminding the team, ‘Here’s what you said. Here’s what we’ve done.’ And that’s what makes for great places to work because what more can you ask for? You’re asking our perspective and you’re continuously improving. I’ve had executive leaders who’ve been in the organization for multiple decades say. ‘It has never been better here than what we’re experiencing right now.
Book Recommendation:
- For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
- Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard
Find 34 Strong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/34-strong-inc-/
Listen to the full episode: 165: Creating Employee Engagement Results with Brandon Miller and Sapidah Shefa
