Despite spending vast amounts of time and money on employee engagement, engagement metrics remain stagnant. What if, instead of obsessing about how to increase employee engagement, how to improve and position your employer brand, or how to fight the war for talent, you instead put serious effort into thinking about how to improve and position your employees?

1. it’s time to get over our obsession
with employee engagement
experience
transform the employee

2. surveys say

3. we have an engagement problem

4. customer service
isn’t a cool place to work

5. IT
isn’t a cool place to work

6. banks
aren’t a cool place to work

7. […]
isn’t a cool place to work

8. employee engagement is
write down the first 5 words or phrases come to mind

9. ?How can we increase
employee engagement?

10. How can we increase
employee engagement?
✗

12. hmmm, we need to change the
way we survey!

13. ?How can we measure
employee happiness

14. How can we measure
employee happiness
✗

15. you won’t build
empathy
from surveys

16. you won’t connect with
people
from surveys

17. you won’t discover
insights
from surveys

18. surveys
scratch hopelessly into
surfaces

19. quantifiable, rational,
but soulless

20. surface view into
function, utility, satisfaction

21. extrinsic focus
provokes jumping ship

22. leads to
“me too” sea of sameness

23. what will I get (money, benefits, time, status)?
how much does it cost (effort, time, money, status)?
how does it compare?

24. you’re asking the wrong
questions

25. how do I see this employee?

26. how do I see this employee?

28. …despite the high level of
corporate spending on engagement,
survey results released in January by
polling giant Gallup estimated that
less than one-third of U.S.
workers were engaged in their jobs—
meaning “involved in, enthusiastic about,
and committed to their work and
workplace”
~Fastcompany

29. Jeff Golden, flickr
do you think our kids
are fully engaged…?
we should do an
engagement survey!

30. INSANITY
is doing the same thing over and
over again and expecting
different results.
~Einstein

31. Most failures in industry are not that
people can’t solve problems; it’s
that they’re not always great
at identifying the
right problems
to solve.
~John Kembel, Stanford d.School

32. organizations are asking the
wrong
questions

33. organizations are solving the
wrong
problem

34. organizations are having the
wrong
conversation

35. what the surveys DON’T say

36. we have a
organizational
design
problem

37. or even better

38. we have a
business design
opportunity

39. we have an
innovation
opportunity

40. we need to
reform
workplaces

41. …using the word “engagement”
often limits our thinking. It’s
assumes that our job is to reach
out and “engage” people, rather
than to build an organization
that is exciting, fulfilling,
meaningful, and fun
~Josh Bersin, Forbes

42. …using the word “engagement”
often limits our thinking. It’s
assumes that our job is to reach
out and “engage” people, rather
than to build an organization
that is exciting, fulfilling,
meaningful, and fun

43. Jeff Golden, flickr
How might we create a
joyful home?

44. an opportunity for
discovering and shaping
the place where the
self meets the world
~David Whyte
work /werk/

45. …the consummation of work lies
not only in what we have done, but
who
we have become
while accomplishing the task.
~David Whyte

46. We’ll use the greatest violin maker in the world as
our example.. we’ll imagine that it’s an Italian violin
maker named Franco and that Franco has a studio
where 15 or 20 apprentice and journeyman violin
makers work alongside Franco making the most
exquisite violins in the world.
Is Franco happy? He is alternately ecstatic,
frustrated, transported, confused, exhausted and
lost in the zone. He and his work are inextricable
from one another. No one would say about
Franco or his employees “They’re happy.” Instead,
people in Franco’s town would say “Those guys
live and breathe violins, and people around the
world rejoice.”
~Liz Ryan
Brent Pearson, Flickr

47. The workmanship
was much better in
Bach’s time than it is
now. One had first to
be a craftsman. Now
we have only ‘talent.’
We do not have the
absorption in detail,
the burying of
oneself in
craftsmanship to be
resurrected a great
musician.
~Stravinsky

48. What we have to confront in the
present workplace is the reluctance
to engage in conversations that
really invite the creative qualities
hidden deep inside each human
being. It is a reluctance born of the
knowledge that by inviting creativity and
passion, the organization must also
make room for fear and failure…

49. It is a high stakes
game for the
company

50. but it is also very high
stakes for the
individuals playing out
their life’s destiny
within its walls. ~David Whyte

51. work·horse /wərkˌhôrs/
a person or machine that dependably
performs hard work over a long period of time

52. Manager is derived from the old Italian and French
words maneggio and manage, meaning the
training, handling and
riding of a horse.
It is strange to think that the whole
spirit of management is derived from
the image of getting on the back of a
beast, digging your knees in, and heading
it in a certain direction.

53. The inherited language of the
corporate workplace is far too
small for us now. It has
too little poetry, too little
humanity, and too little
good business sense for the
world that lies before us.
~David Whyte

54. art·ist /ärdəst/
a person skilled at a particular task or occupation

55. In what way might your
talents and experiences fit
in with what we do?
~Skaltek interview question

56. Please take a few days to think
about whether you want to work
for us.
If the answer is yes, please send us
a proposal outlining what you
think you can do for us, what your
job description might look like…

57. Every human being is a Leonardo da
Vinci.The only problem is that he
doesn’t know it. His parents didn’t
know it, and they didn’t treat
him like a Leonardo.
Therefore he didn’t become like a
Leonardo.That’s my basic theory.
~Oystein Skalleberg, Founder Skaltek

58. en·tre·pre·neur /äntrəprəˈnər/
a person who organizes and manages any enterprise,
especially a business, usually with considerable
initiative and risk

59. transform each
employee from
someone who
takes orders
writes
code
to someone
who is an
innovative
thinker
innovation @infosys
~CEOVishal Sikka

60. innovation
is about designing
customers~Michael Schrage

61. innovation
is about designing
employees

62. who do
you want
your employees to become

63. who do
your employees
want to become?

64. Jeff Golden, flickr
how might we
create a home in which our kids
can grow up to become happy,
self-aware, and compassionate
adults?

65. questions
ask provocative
to learn more about asking
provocative questions, check
out my slideshare

66. ?How might we create an
environment in which people are
empowered to do the best
work* of their lives
*remembering our definition of work

67. ?How might we design an
organization in which ordinary
people are enabled to do
extraordinary things

68. ?
How might we rethink
performance management in a
way that helps people unleash
their imaginations and craft their
life’s opus

69. [Companies] must find a real way of
asking people to bring these hidden,
heartfelt qualities into the
workplace.A way that doesn’t make
them feel manipulated for the
subject of some five-year plan.They
must ask for a real
conversation.
~David Whyte

70. imagine
experiment
explore
conversation starts here
understand
reigning
myths
visualize
future
possibilities
play
with
assumptions

71. change, growth, transformation
always involve
identity, status, affiliation

72. EXPLORE
perceptions of the present and
the past, mythology of
employees, teams, communities
within your organization
which means you need to

73. explore
mysteries hidden beneath
measurable surfaces

74. qualitative
intuitive insights into soul

75. deep probing into
beliefs, desires, significance

76. intrinsic purpose
attracting commitment

77. leads to transformation
becoming unique

78. is this me?
does this fit into my world?
how does this make me feel?
how will it affect me?
what are other people doing?
does it provide meaning or pleasure?
how does it connect with my legacy?

79. WHY

80. provoked in
conversation

81. unraveled through
story

82. spread through
myth

83. WHY?
satisfaction
utility
behaviour
features, function
outcomes

84. STORIES
identity
beliefs
needs
desires
significance
satisfaction
utility
behaviour
features, function
outcomes

85. tools for exploration
LISTEN MAP PROVOKE
CONVERSATION

86. LISTEN
stories build empathy

87. If someone from Mars came down and
saw what you were doing as a
housekeeper, what would they call you?
Serenity Sisters
Clutter Busters
Peace of Mind Police
… they were creating a space for a traveler who
was far away from home to feel safe and protected.
~via Chip Conley
pedro alves, flickr

88. I don’t just deliver mail.
I see myself helping to
connect people
to other people.
I help build the
community.
~via Alex Pattakos
Christian Weidinger, flickr

89. How do employees
see themselves their situation?

90. What did you think about on your way to work today?
What is your most important job (not job description)? What gets in the way of you doing it in the
best way possible? What helps you to do it in the best way possible?
What about your job makes you want to jump out of bed? Hit snooze?
If you won the lottery and no longer had to work, what would you miss?
When do you go home feeling like you had a great day?Tell me about a great day you had recently.
When are you excited to come in on a Monday morning?Tell me about the last time you were really
excited to come into work.
When do you go home feeling like you had a terrible day?Tell me about the last time that happened.
Who do you like to work with? Why? How about when you run into a problem or need information,
who do you seek help from?
Tell me about a time when you felt like you did the best work of your life.Why? Who else was
involved? What conditions were present? What did you value most about the work the team did
together? In what ways did the work make a unique contribution?
When you see an issue, or have an idea of something that could be improved, what do you do?
What brings you joy?
If you had a magic wand, what would be the one thing you would change about your organization, your
work, your role, or your responsibilities?
Is there anything else that is important to you that we haven’t talked about and that you think I should
know?

91. You are still telling people about your experience at
[company] and how it helped you become the person you
are today.
What is the story you tell?
What was your legacy?
Why are you still an ambassador for [company], even
though you no longer work there?
Imagine yourself 5 or 10 years in the future

92. ask a few provocative questions

93. then listen deeply

94. channeling your inner
psychotherapist

95. map
journeys weave larger
narratives

96. Brady Bonus's journey as a Mad*Pow employee

97. digitalgov

98. franklinandrade.net

99. dreaming
looking
applying
starting
finding fit
contributing
growing
transitioning
advocating
emotional journey at [company]

100. provoke
uncover build cultural
myths

101. Penguins are not nurturing of their sick.When one falls behind or
is injured, the other penguins attack it.They cannot be weighed
down by the infirm. It defines pack behavior.
Elephants, by contrast, are
majestic animals that care for
one another.When one of
them is sick, the entire herd
rallies around and nurtures the
sick one until it is better or
passes.The entire tribe is
affected.They feel a
connection that keeps
them looking out for one
another.
“We are the penguins,”
the COO liked to say often, smiling and proud.
Mark Dumont, flickr

102. What are stories that are
so-[company]?
David Stanley, flickr

103. Bring [company’s] culture
to life using your medium
of choice [pictures, video,
story, music, improv…]

104. Imagine you’re at a
cocktail reception. How
would you be able to tell
if someone works
at [company]?

107. What 5 words or phrases would you use to
describe what it’s like to work here?

108. If you were to write a completely honest
Glassdoor review, what would you say?
Advice to management
Cons
Pros
Rating

110. […]
isn’t a cool place to work

111. this isn’t an engagement problem

112. this is an innovation opportunity

113. a complex design challenge

114. a challenge of identity

115. a challenge of culture

116. a challenge of mission

117. and it matters because

118. EMPLOYEESare the soul of your brand

119. EMPLOYEESimbue magic into your products
services

120. EMPLOYEESignite your touchpoints

121. EMPLOYEESbreathe imagination into crevasses
of frozen business models

122. To acknowledge the hidden part of
human beings is to
make a home for them
and to create a loyalty beyond the bottom line.
… These hidden human dynamics of integration
are more of a conversation, more of a synthesis and
more of an almost religious and sometimes almost
delirious quest for meaning than a simple attempt at
daily ease and contentment.
~David Whyte

123. Instead of thinking about how to increase
employee engagement, how to improve and
position your employer brand, how to fight
the war for talent… think about how to
improve and position
your employees

124. change is the result of facilitating
thousands of conversations

125. start the conversation

126. unleash the Leonardo hiding
within each employee

127. mentor each employee in the
crafting of their life’s opus

128. craft the unique legacy of your
organization

129. interested in transforming
your employee customer
experience?
joycehostyn.com
joyce_hostyn@yahoo.com
EMAIL me!