Involved employees: inestimable value for the company

Low levels of employee engagement have long been an important issue for human resources (HR) professionals. This notion of employee engagement still represents a difficult challenge to overcome. Numerous studies highlight the negative impact of disengaged employees on an organisation, while demonstrating that engaged employees add organisational value to a company not only through increased productivity, but also through measures of customer satisfaction, low staff turnover, profitability and innovation.

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Major differences between employees involved and those who are not

One of the most important studies on the subject was published by Gallup in 2013. This study shows that 70% of American workers are not reaching their potential in the workplace and identifies their lack of motivation. Organisations urgently need to create a supportive culture that recognises the value of engaged employees.

Four critical capabilities differentiate engaged employees from the rest:

• Knowledge acquisition. This includes processes, routines and theoretical knowledge as well as practical skills. Engaged employees learn these processes through active discussions that allow them to express their concerns and discover personalised pathways for acquiring information. Disengaged employees, on the other hand, passively follow established procedures without criticising them or seeking to improve them.
• Knowledge sharing. Involved employees share their knowledge with others in a transparent and appropriate manner and understand that all the organisation's activities and projects are interconnected and have a reciprocal impact. In contrast, disengaged employees work in isolation. They are disconnected from the rest of the business and are unaware of how their actions contribute to or impact the bottom line.
• Problem solving. Engaged employees can easily apply their knowledge and/or seek the expertise required from others to deal with problems quickly. However, disengaged employees lack the organisational know-how and have limited visibility of the organisation's strategy and vision to be able to solve problems appropriately.
• Alignment with the company's vision. Engaged employees remain vigilant and actively seek ways to acquire and develop the skills needed to respond proactively to current and future business challenges. Disengaged employees tend to feel that their creativity is stifled by the organisation's rigid grand strategies and business plans.

Qualities of engaged versus disengaged employees

As companies seek to increase employee engagement, it is essential to foster a participative culture where employees understand and feel invested not only in day-to-day operations, but also in the company's strategic objectives. This culture requires skilled managers who seek the opinions, critical feedback and recommendations of their employees. In addition, these managers must be transparent with their teams and provide insight and justification in their business decisions.

Spreading this idea of a joint collaborative effort sends the message to the employee that their opinions and ideas are important to the overall wellbeing of the organisation, giving them a higher position in terms of goals and community spirit in the workplace. Employees see their efforts as contributing to and aligning with organisational goals, which motivates them to do their jobs more thoroughly and with greater involvement.

The Self-Developing Organization concept

The concept of the Self-Developing Organization (SDO) was introduced by Josh Bersin when he became interested in the fact that organisations need to provide their employees with opportunities for development and training. What is important to understand with this concept is that an employee has the ability to experiment, learn and develop in order to better meet an organisation's objectives, as well as to fulfil their own personal and professional aspirations.

An SDO understands the importance of each role or job to the overall success of the organisation. This approach creates the conditions for the continuous development of all employees' organisational capabilities and their ability to learn and innovate. This is the essence of an SDO.

At the heart of the SDO lies the alertness and adaptability of each individual, who will be required to follow a self-learning course of personal and professional development, enabling them to contribute effectively to the success of the organisation.

An essential objective of an SDO is to enable the success and development of each individual. Each employee understands and determines with greater precision the path best suited to his or her own professional development objectives within an organisation, all within a well-defined framework, which helps them to identify the actions and content that will take them forward.

• By adopting this new approach, companies can create an environment where employees feel empowered to pursue their own personal development, whatever their role. As a result, knowledge acquisition is no longer the sole responsibility of management and highly specialised experts, but each role or position within the organisation is responsible for its own learning and development path.
• Another important element for the organisation is the need to share information that is open and transparent. Such an approach to sharing information generates more knowledge and, therefore, more competent employees - it inspires confidence and facilitates collaboration between teams.
• Learning programmes and activities, whether formal or informal, are easily accessible to everyone in the organisation. Employees find it easy to identify these initiatives and determine which activities are most relevant to enriching their professional development.
• Managers at all levels of the organisation need to combine their own development with the need to understand and develop the capabilities of their teams.
• Organisations need to create conditions that encourage career mobility and ensure that individuals have a clear vision of the different types of career paths available to them.
• Aligning individual behaviour with corporate objectives becomes intuitive. Information on the strategic objectives of individual departments and the organisation as a whole, as well as contributions, are easily accessible to all employees.

Cloud of keywords about the Self-Developing Organization

A SDO offers individualised development right from the start (or even before the first day), which impresses new employees. Professional development is fundamental to the company's culture and is a personal experience for each employee. While employees receive guidance from managers, learning officers, trainers, etc., it is their responsibility to define their own development in the context of their short and long-term goals within the organisation.

In short, an SDO understands that its talent drives business growth and provides a competitive advantage - and that it must nurture and develop that talent to ensure its full potential. It recognises that it must make it easy for individuals to identify development opportunities and define a personalised path for their career development, and that it must also put in place learning tools that are not only easy, but also enjoyable to use.

Digital transformation and the Self-Developing Organization

In today's digital world, employees expect a certain level of engagement with the tools they use to get the best results. Employees will not accept procedures that encompass isolated applications. This is because these procedures result in a fragmented experience when they engage in the learning activities required to reach their development stages. Accessible and continuous learning, linked to the right stages of professional development, is key to growth.

Learning technology enables organisations to manage training and learning programmes, including the administration and delivery of targeted and contextually appropriate learning. In addition, learning technology typically designs the user experience in a consumer-specific style, in terms of visuals and feel, highlighting ubiquitous applications such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc., as these are the applications that employees are most familiar with and use on a regular basis. The result is an infrastructure that optimises learning processes by making training available anywhere, anytime.

Digital transformation and SDO

Regardless of their level of structure and formality, the learning offer available not only enables employees to familiarise themselves with processes and procedures, but also fills gaps in skills and expertise, thereby improving employee engagement. Organisations therefore need to ensure that employees are well informed about all the learning and development options available to them.

Although an organisation's human resources management may recommend specific development options, it is the responsibility of its employees to participate in the learning activities they consider most appropriate for their development within the organisation.

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Employee engagement: key points to remember

Maintaining highly productive and engaged employees in today's business requires organisations to address human resource challenges - insufficient skills, inadequate or non-tailored training, few opportunities for development and advancement, or misaligned corporate objectives and strategies.

The SDO approach describes a game-changing method for the way companies attract, engage, develop, commit and reward their people. Organisations that adopt this approach offer diverse and highly individualised solutions that enable employees to pursue rational, learning-based development in line with the most important imperatives of time and place. In this way, they provide the tools needed to easily identify development options and define a personalised path for career development.

These organisations also recognise that fostering collaboration and continuous development keeps employees engaged and productive, leading to better business results. Finally, SDOs realise that individuals are looking for those organisations that offer well-established learning and development plans, that keep them engaged, and that offer the best possible overall work experience.