Employees’ perceptions of their companies — from if an individual feels they are being heard or have an opportunity to express their creativity — and their willingness to endorse the company, directly impacts their engagement with their employer.
The Ken Blanchard Companies‘ Vice President of Federal Solutions Paul Wilson, who explained that government officials need to understand the root of their employees’ disengagement in order to be able to make lasting changes and improvements.
WashingtonExec: How does The Ken Blanchard Companies help agencies diagnose and treat the root cause of employee disengagement?
Paul Wilson: Blanchard has been in business for 35 years, focusing on leadership development. Seven years ago, we began an in-depth study into employee engagement knowing that engagement is a huge contributor to productivity and overall organizational vitality — whether it is for stockholders in the private sector or tax payers in the public sector. We developed a survey called the Employee Work Passion Assessment, which delves into the root causes of disengagement and what leaders can do to improve engagement levels.
Many surveys out there come back and tell you that your organization is ill in a certain area of disengagement, but very few identify the root cause. We are using the Blanchard assessment to prescribe solutions across twelve work environment factors and five intentions. That is the first thing I would recommend organizations do — understand the cause of the disengagement.
Government agencies need to help millennials working in the private sector understand that public service can be innovative and creative and can provide real opportunity. … Government in the past has had an environment of command and control rather than collaboration — at least that is how the millennials viewed the government.
WashingtonExec: When you are looking at surveys and reports, what are some of the findings? What are the issues you see coming up as far as engagement goes at agencies in particular?
Paul Wilson: We are finding that less than positive perceptions of current work environments are affecting discretionary effort, retention, intent to perform and willingness to endorse the organizations. Where before people would say, “This bureau is fantastic to work with,” and recommend it to their friends and associates, that’s happening less and less. Some of the EVS and FEDS results are finding the same thing.
WashingtonExec: We are reading and hearing a lot about the millennial generation and how this generation is changing the way business is done. What do you think the organizations should do to both attract and retain the best millennial talent?
Paul Wilson: Government agencies need to help millennials working in the private sector understand that public service can be innovative and creative and can provide real opportunity. That would entail fixing some of the things that are causing the millennials not to want to come or to stay, such as the lack of creativity and autonomy on the job and the feeling of not being heard. Government in the past has had an environment of command and control rather than collaboration — at least that is how the millennials viewed the government. It is also important to have millennials hear positive feedback from their peers who are currently working in the government.
WashingtonExec: Do you have any advice for companies that want to develop leaders, not just when they get to the top or toward the top but from the very beginning; from entry level all of the way up to senior executives?
Paul Wilson: We have found that the most effective organizations are those that treat leadership development as a high priority—from the time someone walks in the door right out of college all the way through to when they retire. This requires each organization to produce a common framework and leadership language that is used for the entire process rather than having one manager leading in one way and another in a different way. Government departments are filled with people from all over the world. If you take 20 random universities in our own country, there is no common language or framework for leadership. Having a framework and language that can be utilized by everyone is highly important. We need to develop folks from the day they walk in all the way through the senior executive level.
WashingtonExec: Could you describe some ways that agencies can strengthen morale in employees to increase their productivity as well as the overall agency’s mission success?
Paul Wilson: It starts with developing a culture of engagement and productivity. The productivity will flow once people have a positive environment to work in. You can’t deliver blanket approaches, necessarily—they have to be customized. Folks in an IT environment in an intelligence agency will relate to things very differently from those in an operative environment. Senior leaders need to spend time laying out and communicating a plan, then following up so that everyone understands how their personal efforts, creativity, and ideas fit with the plan. This is important for everyone but especially with millennials. The millennial workforce is going to be filling in the leadership gap that will happen in the next five years.
WashingtonExec: What do you like to do to relax in your free time on the occasions when you aren’t working?
Paul Wilson: I have two weeks coming up in May and early June when I will be heading to the Caribbean. That’s my place of choice when it’s time to unplug. Anyplace I can use suntan lotion and have a drink with an umbrella in it is a great place to be. I also love sports. I used to own a professional sports franchise, and I really love the intricacies of baseball, softball and football, so I love to look at that from not only a fan’s perspective, but also how the different organizations are operating.
WashingtonExec: Which team?
Paul Wilson: The Washington Glory – it was a women’s professional fast pitch softball team. It has moved to Orlando, Fla. This is outside of spending time with my family of course.
WashingtonExec: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Paul Wilson: I absolutely love not only what The Ken Blanchard Companies does as a firm, but also my work in leading the federal practice. The United States government is the largest and most important workforce in the world, and it is such an honor to serve in this capacity. There are a lot of folks that talk about how negative government work is and how difficult it is—and it can be difficult to navigate in some areas—but it is such an honor. It’s also fun to see the actual shift in cultures where folks are being highly engaged and productive as they help to serve the country.
