Some of the best innovations come from answering the challenges that people with disabilities face. Kerri Hollis looks at some of the ideas coming out of Microsoft and explains why inclusivity isn’t an obligation. It’s an opportunity for smart companies to innovate.

Imagine the moment you walk into a room, an app on your phone starts to describe what it can see. Or while you’re out shopping, the same app tells you all about a product. It lets you know its name, its ingredients, and even how to prepare it.

It’s called Seeing AI. And it’s a sort of intelligent camera app that tells you about the world around you. If that sounds handy, imagine how it could change life for a person with a visual impairment. Is that a bit of luck? Not at all. Seeing AI came out of a hackathon led by Saqib Shaikh, a blind coder at Microsoft. As Saqib says, “As someone who is visually impaired, this has become a key tool in my daily life.”

Impressive as Seeing AI is, it’s not alone. People with disabilities and the challenges they face are behind a lot of today’s exciting ideas.

Here’s another example. What happens if you’re visually impaired and aren’t sure of your surroundings? Check out Microsoft Soundscape. It uses innovative audio tech to help people get a better feel for where they are, what’s going on around them and so on. And once they’ve got that, they quickly get confident.

Inclusivity drives innovation

Smart companies today see inclusivity as a way to get real innovation in their business. The best way to look at it is that people with disabilities are real-life problem solvers. They face challenges every day. And they take them on and win. That helps them develop different skills. And as a result, they often find ways to solve problems other people wouldn’t think of. So, when those people develop ideas in your business, they’re likely to come up with ones packed with imaginative thinking.

Include the world in your design

Around 20% of the UK population have a disability. But being inclusive will help more than just that 20%. It’ll start to help you connect with all your potential customers. That’s because most accessibility tools have value for everyone. It doesn’t matter whether they have a disability or not. Sure, visually impaired people benefit greatly from apps like Seeing AI or Soundscape. But those apps could just as easily help a fully-sighted person.

And of course, if a tool helps someone with a permanent disability to do great work, it can do the same for someone whose disability’s only temporary. Microsoft Dictate is a great help for those with mobility limitations, for example. But it can be just as useful for someone recovering from a broken arm.

If you were at the recent Disability Confident Event, you may have heard Hector Minto talking about this. He’s the Technology Evangelist for Accessibility at Microsoft. As he said, “People with disabilities are having an amazing impact on our product. When we innovate around [them], we just end up with amazing products that suits a much wider range of people.”

Inclusivity – another word for opportunity

So what should we be aiming for? Well, in the end, it’s society’s attitudes that hold people with disabilities back. Accessibility isn’t an obligation. It’s a great enabler. When it’s put to good use the results can be fantastic. Because everyone will finally have the freedom to create and do great work. And as Hector said, giving people with disabilities the power to do more will benefit everyone.

Find out more

Re-imagine Accessibility

Our journey to accessibility

About the author

I have been at Microsoft for almost seven years and have worked across sales, partner, and now the Business Group. I often think about what I love most and quite simply it’s about making life easier for people – why should you need to check a hundred different places for information? Why should it not just be at your finger tips? That’s exactly why I lead the Microsoft UK Accessibility V-team. We’re responsible for empowering every individual on the planet to achieve more, regardless of physical or mental ability.

The post Inclusivity – the spark behind innovation appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

We keep hearing about the war for talent and how companies need to recruit and retain the best. But here’s a question that I keep asking myself. Why would a company want to limit the size of the talent pool that’s available to them?

This is exactly what more than half of workplaces are doing. It sounds almost unbelievable. But it’s absolutely true. They’re excluding people with disabilities. A couple of years ago, Acas reported that companies employed over three million people with disabilities, but that still left nearly five million without a job. The ridiculous thing is that this is completely unnecessary. It’s generally founded on misconceptions. And in fact, by excluding this pool of talent, they’re excluding some extraordinary performers.

Misconceptions like…

Many people still have preconceptions about disabilities. They believe that employing people with disabilities is going to cost more money. That it’s going to take up more resources or people will have more days off sick.

Wrong, wrong, and wrong.

To start with, any adjustments you need to make – and bear in mind that you may not need to make any – may be small or low-cost. For example, a designated parking space won’t cost a thing. Nor will giving someone a dedicated place to work instead of hot desking, or offering them a more flexible working pattern.

Don’t be embarrassed to ask what would make a difference to someone’s ability to do the job. It’s a question you’re already asking if you operate a choose your own device policy.

And remember, around 70% of people don’t have any visible sign of their disability. They could have diabetes or epilepsy, for instance.

So what can you do to create a workplace that’s truly diverse and welcoming? You create a culture of inclusion.

Why an inclusive culture is better

Having a culture of inclusion is about creating a place where everyone feels included and valued. And where gender, disability, and ethnic background aren’t relevant to people’s abilities to do their jobs. Helping people to be their best means that the business – and others – benefit as well. If you can enable everybody to achieve more, you’re not just empowering those with a disability. You’re helping everybody on the planet to do more.

Word spreads fast if you’ve got such a culture. You attract talent from everywhere. You also help your existing employees with disabilities – even those with hidden ones – to be happier and more productive. And why not? They’re getting a chance to shine.

Accessibility is ultimately a business imperative. A study by Accenture revealed that companies that embrace best practices for employing and supporting persons with disabilities in the workplace outperform their peers with:

• 28% higher revenue
• 2x higher net income
• 30% better performance on economic profit margin

Here’s something else that’s cool about an inclusive culture – your employees act as a bridge to your customers. A representative workforce is more likely to be able to understand customers and give them what they want and need.

Make everybody part of it

Developing this sort of culture isn’t done in a flash. You’ve got to help your organisation become disability-confident. Here are four tips to get you started:

1. Your leadership team is a good place to start. Right from the top, you need to recognise that what the business really needs is a culture that includes different nationalities, ethnicity, genders, sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
2. Acknowledge the conscious or unconscious biases that exist in the business. It’s the only way to tackle them.
3. Embrace difference. If you keep relying on the same people, you’ll get the same ideas and the same results. Bringing in fresh people means opening the door to new ideas and innovation.
4. Give your team access to the tools that will help them excel.

Tech’s about expanding what people can do

Tech and accessibility features can make a big difference in an inclusive culture. The main thing to remember is that the devices in your business may already have the perfect tools built in so you should start by encouraging people to use these features:

• Voice-controlled software provides an easy way to navigate around the screen and use apps.
• Sticky keys cut out the need for people with mobility issues to use complex multiple key strokes.
• Speech tools turn speech into text or read out text.
• The Office 365 accessibility checker helps people prepare documents that work for everyone.

Call on everybody

Use your available accessibility tools to draw on the talent of people with disabilities – rather than miss out on this asset. But don’t stop there. The same tools could help all your employees find the best way of working. Success will come if focus dedicated attention on creating a culture of inclusion and keep your mind open to different ways of doing things. So think inclusive, act inclusive, design inclusive. You’ll be delighted by the results when everyone gets involved.

Find out more

3 ways modern tech can foster and inclusive culture 

Re-imagine accessibility

A practical guide to building a more accessible workplace

About the author

I have been at Microsoft for almost seven years and have worked across sales, partner, and now the Business Group. I often think about what I love most and quite simply it’s about making life easier for people – why should you need to check a hundred different places for information? Why should it not just be at your finger tips? That’s exactly why I lead the Microsoft UK Accessibility V-team. We’re responsible for empowering every individual on the planet to achieve more, regardless of physical or mental ability.

The post How a culture of inclusion stops companies from missing out appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

You never really know what someone is thinking.

That was the thought photographer and artist Gillian Wearing had in 1992. So she took to the streets of London to begin a new project she called Signs that Say What You Want Them To Say and Not Signs that Say What Someone Else Wants You To Say. She approached members of the public and asked them to write down on a sign what they were thinking. Then she snapped a photo.

When the series premiered at the City Racing gallery, then later appeared at the Tate, it was praised for juxtaposing what people look like and what they think. One photo especially stood out. A well-dressed businessman holding an unexpected sign saying: I’m desperate.

It’s easy to make snap judgements about individuals or entire groups of people. Especially at work, when you’re trying to deal with lots of people and keep them all happy. And we know it’s wrong. Unfortunately, though, business leaders still do it when trying to engage millennials.

Many people think millennials are changing the way we work because they’re completely different to any generation that’s come before. They must require a completely different approach to engagement.

But if you want to truly engage someone, you have to truly understand them first.

What’s the difference?

Ian MacRae is a workplace psychologist and author of the book Myths at Work. He’s also a millennial. And as a millennial, he knows just how wrong the assumptions about his generation are. I sat down with him to find out why.

“There’s actually been a huge amount of scientific research,” Ian tells me. “And the research finds there’s no difference. Millennials vary as widely within them as any other generation. Whether it’s Gen X, Gen Y, Baby Boomers…”

Yes, it’s true that we may have up to five generations in the workplace. And millennials are contributing to a changing workplace. But what Ian has found is that there are as many differences within groups of employees as there are between groups of employees.

Like the ways they prefer to work.

The stage they’re at in their career.

Their ambitions for the future.

So it’s not just millennials. Everyone in your business is contributing to a changing workplace. And as Ian points out, “If you use stereotypes about broad groups, you’re not going to manage people effectively. You’re going to get it wrong about most people.”

When it comes to leading and engaging people, you never really know how someone responds best. Until you ask them.

Ask a millennial

When I asked Ian how he defines employee engagement, he told me, “It’s feeling passionate and really putting yourself into the work.” It made me think that, for employees, millennials or not, to put themselves into their work, they need to be able to be themselves. To not hide behind some generalisation. To be able to work how they want to work, and not how someone else thinks they should work.

Leaders have to stop trying to guess what their people are thinking. Stop treating everyone in a group the same way. And, dare I say it, stop reading blog posts about how to engage millennials at work.

Instead, engage your people as individuals. Ask what they want from their workplace, how they prefer to work, and what they’re really thinking. Like Gillian Wearing, you might be surprised at what they tell you.

I sat down with Ian MacRae, workplace psychologist and author of Myths at Work, to find out more about how generational stereotypes can get in the way of effective employee engagement. You can join the conversation here.

The post Ask a millennial: there’s more to your employees than meets the eye appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Imagine a ruler only one centimetre long. So you have to shuffle it along the entire length of whatever you’re measuring.

Or a champagne glass with two flutes on one stem. So as you sip from one, the other empties its contents all over you.

Or open-toed rain boots. So as you splash through a puddle, well, I’m sure you can picture it.

The thing is, somebody did imagine all this. Katerina Kamprani is an industrial designer and creator of The Uncomfortable, a series of products she’s designed to be, well, uncomfortable. To draw attention to the little design features we take for granted every day.

Kamprani’s collection makes a point about product design. But the same applies in business. In a rush to do things better, business leaders often overlook the things that are most important. And their best intentions for improvement turn into uncomfortable results. Kamprani’s series is a lesson we could all do with learning.

Before you can make something better, like rulers, champagne glasses, or (you guessed it) employee engagement, you need to make sure the fundamentals are in place.

You need to focus on what’s most important.

An engaged state of mind

“Employee engagement is essentially a positive state of wellbeing in the workplace.” That’s Ian MacRae, workplace psychologist and author of Myths at Work. I sat down with him to find out what he thinks is the most fundamental driver of employee engagement.

“It’s feeling passionate and really putting yourself into the work.”

So the most fundamental driver of employee engagement is the employee? Actually, no. While it might appear to be the employee’s responsibility to be engaged, they can only do so much. It’s as much up to the leadership team to get employees into the right state of mind. If work is not a place they enjoy coming to, employee engagement is going to be an uphill struggle.

So how can you, the leader, make your employees passionate about coming in to work? Ian has a hint – it’s not ping pong tables or slides or ball pits in the office. It’s not fluff. “I think it comes from a good place,” he tells me. “But it misses the mark.”

Employee engagement starts with the work

The most fundamental part of your business is the work. To engage your employees, the work they do must be interesting. And once you realise that, it’s simple. It just takes this three-step structure.

First, agree objectives with your employees – for their work and their careers.

Then measure the outcomes and invite employees to track and share their own development and successes.

Finally, hold people accountable for a job well done, and reward consistently high performance.

Employees want to have jobs they’re good at and that develop them as people – both in the workplace and in their personal lives. The structure above gives them that. And though everyone has days when they’re just not feeling their best, if an employee can look at the big picture and see that the work they’re doing is adding value to the business and to themselves, they’re far more likely to be engaged.

You’ll get some rewards of your own, too. Fulfilling work has measurable benefits like fewer sick days, reduced stress, and lower staff turnover. All of which makes your business a better place to work. And employee engagement becomes its own driver.

Ping pong tables can’t do all that.

I sat down with Ian MacRae, workplace psychologist and author of Myths at Work, to talk more about how business leaders can make sure that work, above all else, is engaging employees. You can join the conversation here.

The post When ping pong fails: the real driver of employee engagement appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

E.B. White once said: “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”

Which begs the question: what are the ideal conditions? Are they a private office by day, a buzzing café during the morning rush, a slow night train into the city? Everyone has their own ideal conditions for getting work done. Need proof? James Clear has collected together some of the world’s greatest authors’ writing habits.

First up: Murakami. When he’s writing a novel, he gets up at 4 AM. Day in, day out, for as long as it takes.

Vonnegut would rise at 5:30 AM and liked to punctuate his creative sessions with push ups and sit ups.

Angelou? She travels to a local hotel every morning to avoid the distractions of home.

No matter what you think of these writers’ daily routines, I’m sure you’ll agree – they’re all very different. And the same applies to modern professionals. Each one of your employees has a place and a time that they’re their most productive.

So when it comes to getting them to work together, how do you keep everyone engaged – even when their working habits are so different?

Divided by time, united by tech

Geraint Holliman runs a number of small businesses in the marketing and consulting sectors. He looks after employees, freelancers, and contractors all over the world.

“The biggest challenge,” he explains, “is time. I’ve often had people working for me in the States and the Far East. Some as far as Australia. We can’t physically get together at the same time, and it’s not reasonable or practical to ask people to get up at 4 AM.”

Like the writers we met earlier, your employees want to be able to complete their duties however and whenever they work best. And this level of flexibility is even more important for freelancers, who might only work in the evenings or be juggling more than one project.

“It means that the collaboration tools we use become extremely important,” Geraint says. In order to engage disparate teams and make sure freelancers’ individual working habits don’t get in the way, you need the very best workplace tech.

Technology needs to be the thing to bridge the gap between diverse time zones, locations, and habits.

Success starts with trust

I think that Helen Tupper, co-founder of Amazing If, put it best: “Engagement is people being able to bring their best selves to work, and do their best work at work.”

So enforcing a rigid timetable won’t do. To get everyone engaged and doing their best work, you have to trust them to work when they feel most productive. And then you have to enable them to do just that.

After all, Geraint tells me, freelancers want to share and identify with the vision of the company they’re working for. So it’s up to employers to provide tools that enable flexible working and effortless collaboration, no matter the time difference.

And once your people have both of these things, it doesn’t matter the place, time, or ideal conditions. You can be sure they’re doing their best work for you.

I caught up with Geraint to find out more about how he uses technology to engage disparate teams – including freelancers and remote workers – and build networks of great talent between businesses. Join the conversation here.

The post When do you work best? Work habits of famous writers (and great employees) appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

It’s great being independent.

Liechtenstein gained independence in 1866. Before that, it had been a member of the German Confederation, presided over by the Emperor of Austria. So when the Austro-Prussian War kicked off that same year, Liechtenstein was still obliged to send its entire military – a total of 80 people – to go and fight.

The war didn’t last long. In fact, before Liechtenstein’s army could see battle, the war was over. Prussia beat Austria, and the German Confederation was broken up. Liechtenstein was made independent before its army could even return.

And when the soldiers did eventually arrive home, their number was 81. They’d picked up an Italian friend, eager to join the newly-independent country, along the way.

I suppose when you find something in common, even free agents can be convinced to join a bigger group.

It’s the same with freelancers and your business.

Freelancers are at the top of their game. They can work how, when, and where they like. The best of them can pick and choose between roles.

So how do you make sure they choose a role in your business?

What motivates a freelancer?

If you’re anything like Geraint Holliman, this is a question you’ll ask yourself regularly. Geraint is a serial business owner. For his businesses to run, he relies on freelancers. I sat down with him to get his unique take on engaging them.

He explains: “We have to work hard to not only sell to our clients, but to sell to our prospective workforce. We have to make it attractive to them.”

That means appealing to a freelancer’s sense of independence, ambition, and agility. So how do you do that?

Think back to the early days of your business. If you started it, why did you start it? If you joined in its early days, why did you join? To do things your way. To be at the top of your game. To work how, when, and where you liked.

You might recognise the independence, ambition, and agility of your freelance workforce – you possess it yourself. What Geraint has found is that business leaders and freelancers have more in common than they might think. When it comes to engaging your freelance workforce, that common ground is where you should start.

Independent ownership

“Employee engagement is how we, as an organisation, get the people that work with us to feel that they own part of [the organisation’s] success,” Geraint explains. “We think that owning part of the success of the business is something that motivates people; it gives people a clear sense of why they’re doing it.”

Remember, you’re not just buying their time or their skills. All employees, permanent or freelance, expect that they’ll be involved in the way a business works – beyond just doing the job that’s asked of them. For your freelancers to engage with your business, you need to treat them as you do your full time employees.

Give your freelancers access to the tools, resources, and information they need.

Invite them to work with and contribute to your culture and vision.

Tell them their deadline, and trust them to meet it how, where, and when they want.

Empower them with responsibility, and they’ll see you’re a business worth working with – a business that values independence as much as they do.

I sat down with Geraint to find out how he’s built that image and that love of independence into each of his businesses. To find out how you can too, join the conversation here.

The post Work for independence: how to engage your freelancer workforce appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

North of Grenoble and far off the beaten track is the Monastery of the Grand Chartreuse. In 1737, the monks of the monastery blended 130 different herbs to create an elixir now known around the world: Chartreuse.

It’s not easy getting to the monastery. Park two miles west of St. Pierre de Chartreuse. Hike a mile through the forest. Cross the signposted ‘zone of silence’. Arrive at the Monastery of the Grand Chartreuse. And then get told to go away. Because the monks won’t let you in.

The secret formula for Chartreuse, the unique blend of 130 herbs, is closely guarded and known to as few as three monks.

I can’t help but think of this story when I think of Chess. Because the way it works is completely different.

Chess is a technology provider with 550 employees across six offices, and you can find directions to any one of them on the company’s website. Chess is unique because it just topped the Sunday Times list of 100 Best Companies to Work For 2018.

But the main difference between Chess and the monastery is that Kate Wood, Director of Culture at Chess, doesn’t mind revealing her own secret formula. I sat down with her to find out how she’s improved employee engagement at Chess.

Improving engagement regularly and rigorously

So imagine my surprise when Kate tells me: “There’s no magic formula in being a great place to work.” No one way to do it, known only to a select few.

Instead, Kate explains, it takes lots of little things to improve engagement. Lots of little things that everyone sticks to rigorously.

“We’ve got a cultural methodology – with Microsoft technology at the heart of it – that we’ve embedded across our entire organisation,” Kate says. “What that means is we do the same things week on week, month on month, year on year, so all of our people know what to expect.

“And everything we do leads back to communication.”

It all starts with a blueprint, which every employee and leader knows and works by. And, as a part of that blueprint for improving engagement, Chess gives everyone regular opportunities to communicate – and sticks to them rigorously.

Every day, teams have their daily huddle, online or in person.

Every month, employees have a one-to-one with their manager, during which both parties rate how the other is doing.

Every year, the whole company gets together for a conference to celebrate individual and business-wide achievements.

And every employee feels valued and cared for, puts their all into their work, and loves what they do.

The secret’s out

There is no formula for being a great place to work.

No elixir for improving employee engagement.

It’s pretty simple. Clear communication. Openness and collaboration. Everyone knowing what’s expected of them, and what they can expect from the business in return. And no secrets. As Kate pointed out, it’s easy with technology at the heart of your strategy.

I sat down with Kate to learn more about how she helped Chess become the best company to work for, the role of technology in her success, and her ongoing plan for improving employee engagement. Join the conversation here.

The post Here’s the secret to being the #1 company to work for appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

It was 1968, and Dr Spencer Silver was working for 3M. His task was to develop a kind of super-strong adhesive. It wasn’t going well. In fact, Silver found his most notable development was quite the opposite – a not-very-sticky glue that he found he could use to apply, remove, and reapply objects to surfaces again and again.

It took five years and plenty of guessing for Silver to find a use for his invention. But eventually, a fellow 3M employee named Art Fry stumbled across the perfect application. When Fry stuck the glue to the back of his bookmark, he found it stayed put in between the pages until he removed it himself.

Just a little piece of colourful paper with a sticky back. Now one of the biggest things in stationery. Art Fry helped Dr Spencer Silver invent Post-It Notes and it was a total accident.

You might already know the story. The reason it’s worth telling again is that accidents like this are one in a million. You can’t luck your way to success.

Least of all when it comes to employee engagement.

Plan to succeed

Kate Wood knows better than most the importance of a plan. She’s Director of Culture at Chess. Chess just topped the Sunday Times’ Best Companies to Work For 2018. And it’s all down to the business’ plan for employee engagement, which Kate explains starts with knowing exactly what you want from your employees.

I sat down with Kate to find out how she measures employee engagement. What does she want from a Chess employee? It’s simple, really:

• A person who succeeds within themselves.
• A person who helps their team succeed.
• A person who drives the company’s success.

And Kate can put it so clearly and concisely because these expectations are a fact of life at Chess. “As soon as we get people into Chess,” she explains, “right from the interview process, we make sure they understand the Chess culture and what they can be part of.”

It’s these clear criteria and everyone’s rigorous dedication to Chess’ plan that help Kate drive and measure employee engagement.

A guide for employee engagement

The plan is important, yes. But just as important and often overlooked is the importance of sticking to it.

“Everything that we do goes back to our blueprint which was created about 15 years ago for Chess by the people at Chess. And that’s our company vision, our company values. And that underpins absolutely everything that we do.”

That’s why Chess is such a great place to work. Not just because it has a plan. But because, when they know the plan, every employee has a guide to what’s expected of them and how they can get there. And when every employee knows how they fit into the business, they’re far more likely to get involved.

So the acts of planning and measuring employee engagement become drivers of employee engagement.

With all her expertise to share, I just had to find out more about Kate’s successful approach to employee engagement. So we sat down to talk about not only her plan for Chess, but how she develops and defines that plan for employees. And you can join the conversation here.

The post Stick to the plan: the key to measuring employee engagement appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

As of the 1300s, MPs aren’t allowed to wear armour in the Houses of Parliament. Edward III passed this law to keep the peace in the House of Lords and House of Commons.

As of the 1870s, it’s illegal to herd cattle while drunk. Intoxicated wranglers could be fined as much as 40 shillings. The law also applies to operating steam engines.

As of the 1930s, a full time job is 40 hours a week. During the second industrial revolution, this was found to be the optimum period of time for employee performance.

Sometimes, the old ways of doing things just aren’t relevant any more.

As people and lifestyles develop, it’s important the rules we live by keep up. And fortunately, the UK Law Commission has a team to take care of outdated laws.

But changing the way we measure employee performance, well, that’s up to individual businesses like yours.

The new good

We used to measure an employees’ performance by the hours they worked.

By how quickly they progressed through a linear career.

By the number of roles they had on their CV.

But things have changed. Our lifestyles demand flexibility. Not everybody wants to be a manager. And today’s children will have up to 40 roles throughout their careers . Helen Tupper, co-founder of career development company Amazing If, explains why.

“There’s lots more change, both in your company and outside your company,” she explains. “There’s also lots more freedom to develop in your career.” Many of us now have what Helen calls a squiggly career.

In a squiggly career, everyone is moving in their own direction, at their own pace, toward their own goal. Your employees have more options for how and where they work. Instead of moving up a corporate ladder, they’re more interested in developing their unique skills, to add value to the business in their unique way.

And when everyone’s adding value in a unique way, you have to measure employee performance in a unique way, too.

Not by the hours they work.

But by the value they add.

Employee performance for business performance

Employees have their ambition. The business has its vision. Employee performance is how well the two work together.

To find out, it starts with a conversation.

Where is the company going and how can the employee help it get there?

How will the success of the business help the employee achieve their own ambitions?

What can you do to develop employees into their best selves – at work and in life?

When you can answer these questions, you’ve got a measurement for employee performance that isn’t just how many hours they spend at work. When your employees know how they add value to your business and what’s in it for them, they’ve got a good reason to be engaged.

That is, after all, Helen’s definition of employee engagement. “It’s empowering people to bring their best selves to work and do their best work at work.”

I sat down with Helen to find out more about the ways we measure employee performance and its influence on employee engagement. Join the conversation here.

The post We still measure employee performance like it’s the 1930s. Here’s how to change. appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

What is a duck?

Yes, this is still a blog post about employee engagement. And yes, it’s an odd question. But think about it for a moment. While you probably can’t give a dictionary definition, you almost certainly know a duck when you see one.

This is what’s known in the legal world as the duck test. A form of abductive reasoning – a series of observations leading to the most likely explanation. Some things are easy to spot. You just have to look at the characteristics.

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, well, it’s probably a duck.

And you know a duck when you see one just like you know employee engagement when you see it. An engaged workforce boosts your business’ productivity and its profitability. So if your people are keeping busy and your business is making money, your employees must be engaged, right?

Well, abductive reasoning isn’t the same as certainty. You can put on a coat of feathers and quack, but that doesn’t make you a duck. And your business can be productive and profitable, but that doesn’t mean your employees are engaged.

When it comes to really understanding employee engagement, there are subtler markers to look out for. So what are they?

The true characteristics of an engaged employee

“Employee engagement is people being able to bring their best selves to work and do their best work at work.” That’s Helen Tupper. She co-founded a career development company called Amazing If. I sat down with her to find out what the characteristics of employee engagement really are. What will business leaders see in an employee who’s bringing their best self to work?

• They’re encouraged to share their opinions.
• They contribute to the direction of the business.
• They’re good at what they do and eager to get even better.
• They recognise the value they add to the business.
• They feel rewarded.

Of course, these characteristics aren’t as easy to spot as feathers and quacking. They’re not as easy to measure as productivity and profits. And, since every employee has a unique best self, you need to understand what motivates the individual before you can engage them.

The engagement test

What does this employee’s best self look like? Do they know what’s expected of them? Is their progress reviewed regularly? Are they being recognised when they do good work?

These are the questions that will reveal what motivates your people. And it’s these drivers that will help you engage them. After all, you can’t understand employee engagement just by looking. Abductive reasoning isn’t enough. You have to have a conversation to identify the less conspicuous indicators of engagement.

To find out more about employee engagement, I had a conversation of my own. I sat down with Helen to talk more about how to spot low employee engagement, what might cause it, and how HR leaders can overcome it. And you can join the conversation here.

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