A Royal Engagement

Thomas Mahoney of ITA Group explains the importance behind employee engagement and tells us how it plays a critical role in company success.

What impact can an insufficiently engaged workforce have on an organization’s success? Is it possible to accurately measure the costs of insufficient engagement?
Thomas Mahoney. Whether you are a service or manufacturing organization, retaining and growing your business comes down to two things: quality and service. Employees and channel partners ultimately define the customer experience and an engaged and motivated workforce will lead to higher levels of quality and customer service and, ultimately, greater levels of customer satisfaction. The lack of workforce engagement is not a sustainable business model. Revenues and profits will suffer without a highly engaged workforce.

In our company, we tie workforce productivity to overall customer satisfaction. It helps us understand the important balance between productivity, engagement and overall customer satisfaction.

It is possible to accurately measure the costs of insufficient engagement. One such benchmark is employee turnover. Insufficient engagement on behalf of your workforce will lead to increased turnover and organizations should measure and understand the costs associated with employee retention. We also measure customer satisfaction utilizing the “net promoter score”. We utilize all PPM initiatives within the company, to demonstrate our belief in best practices.

What methods can be employed to build employee engagement? Is it purely a question of providing material incentives or are there other approaches?
TM. People want to understand the mission and vision of their company. They need to believe the desired goals are rational, and that they are skilled and empowered to support the success of the company and customer. Team members also want to feel emotional connections to their positions and organizations. Appreciation for exemplarily performance with the appropriate level of recognition and reward will drive rationale and emotional engagement.

Building employee engagement through material incentives is highly effective and a great motivator for employees. Companies can choose to use a mix of recognition strategies to motivate their staff. At ITAGroup, we use a mix of material incentives and public recognition to ensure our employees are recognized, motivated and engaged. This mixed strategy reinforces the proper behaviors in our employee owners and helps drive organizational performance. Many tools can be used to establish a strong link between the employee and company: salary, benefits, leadership, recognition and rewards, incentives, self-accomplishment and development. The key to success is in understanding the best practices for use, and developing a customized solution for specific needs.

Can engagement be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach or is it necessary to tailor your efforts to specific workforce demographics to ensure success?
TM. The methodology and best practices to achieve engagement can benefit many organizations. Large complex organizations, with multi-generational workforces, and several different lines of businesses require a customized approach to maximize the ROI relating to human capital. It is critical to understand the diversity within your employee base and develop and implement the appropriate communication and recognition strategies to engage and motivate them on an individual level.

What role does company culture play in building engagement? What are the key features of a strong corporate culture?
TM. The company culture is mission critical to building engagement. To create rational and emotional engagement, the vision must be sincere and accurately communicated at all levels of an organization. Senior management must believe that the people of the organization are it’s greatest asset, and their performance and level of engagement will define the company’s competitive advantage. Building a strong corporate culture requires the following sequential steps: 1) clearly define your company’s mission or vision; 2) openly communicate that brand message; 3) effectively engage your employees by showing them how their individual performance will help drive the overall corporate brand; 4) recognize and reward those efforts that positively promote the goals and objectives of your mission.

Thomas Mahoney is President & CEO of ITAGroup, Inc. He joined ITAGroup as a National Account Manager. In 1989 he became Director of Marketing, and was promoted to Vice President the following year. In 1992, he expanded his role as Vice President-Sales and Marketing. In 1998, he was named Executive Vice President – Sales and Marketing. In 2006, he was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer, and in 2009 was made President and CEO.