1: To change workplace culture, the best CEOs survey team members to understand how engaged they are and how well they know the organization’s vision and strategy.
The first metric to measure? Will associates fill out the survey?
At Eaton Corporation, the power management technology company, former CEO Sandy Cutler and his team achieved a spectacular 96 percent participation rate on their voluntary survey across 175 countries and in 37 languages.
“The most important number we have in our company, out of all the hundreds of numbers we have,” Sandy says in Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra‘s book CEO Excellence, “is our employee survey participation number.
“As long as that’s high, that’s telling me that people feel it’s worthwhile: They’re expressing their opinions on what we’re doing well and what we’re not doing well. And if you see that number start to drop, that means we’re not getting back to you, we’re not solving the issues you’re bringing up.”
Sending out the survey is step one. The critical step two is following up on results vigorously.
So, Sandy created a group of associates who were charged with addressing the issues raised by the survey, saying: “Here’s something that’s been highlighted. We want volunteers: Work on this and bring recommendations back.”
At one of the company’s work sites, the survey came back with terrible scores.
Sandy “replaced every manager at the plant, and said to his new managers, “This has got real consequences to it. You’re expected to lead your people, not to let them just feel like they’re unattended and have no leadership.”
That got people’s attention.
2: Surveying team members is also a great way to understand overall alignment.
“After all,” says Caterpillar former CEO Jim Owens, “how do you expect employees to help you deliver on your goals and move you toward your vision if they don’t understand what that vision is? If they don’t understand what their unit has to do to contribute to achieving that vision? If they don’t feel that their manager lives those values day in and day out? If they wouldn’t recommend it as a place to work to a friend or colleague?”
According to Gallup, U.S. employee engagement was 33% for 2023, with top companies shooting for 65%.
That measure seemed far too low to Jim and his team at Caterpillar, who set a goal of 90 percent.
“How can you be a great company,” argues Owens, “unless at least ninety percent of the people understand what you want to do, what role they have to play in helping you get there, and are enthusiastic about you as an employer?”
During his last seven years as CEO, Jim and his team increased their engagement metric every year. By the end of 2009, Caterpillar earned an 82 percent approval rating.
“People were rolling up their sleeves,” Jim recalls, “and thinking about how I can make this company better.”
3: While surveys are an important way to measure workplace engagement, other CEOs take a much more personal approach.
“I’d write two hundred notes—every Sunday,” recounts Frank Blake, the former CEO of home supply retailer Home Depot.
Frank created a process where great customer service stories would be collected at stores nationwide. The best stories would be sent to district management and then to regional before making their way to the CEO.
“And I’d write these handwritten notes saying, ‘Dear Joe or Jane, I understand that you did this.’ I always was specific. ‘I understand this. You’re awesome. You did this, you’re awesome, I love you, Frank.'”
Looking back, Frank says, “This was probably the thing I was most passionate about.”
More tomorrow.
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Reflection: How often does my organization survey our team members? What do we do with the results?
Action: Discuss with my team.