Gaining buy-in and sustaining change is one of the most challenging aspects in implementing a strategic plan. In 2013, the Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a study on organizations and their relationships with strategic plans. They found that 61% of c-suite executives recognize that their organizations do a poor job at closing the gap between formulation and execution of the strategic plan.
Identifying the precise reasons behind strategy implementation failures poses a significant challenge. Strategy, with its inherent complexity, is subject to myriad influences, many of which lie beyond a company's control. Yet, amidst this complexity, one factor emerges as paramount in determining success or failure: employee engagement.
Low employee engagement stands as a central obstacle to effective strategy implementation. This pervasive issue fosters a predominantly negative relationship between employees satisfaction and the strategies they are tasked with executing.
Understanding Employee Engagement:
Employee engagement encompasses the emotional and intellectual bonds between individuals and their organizations. It reflects the depth of commitment an individual harbors towards their role and the organization at large.
Emotional Connection:
Emotional ties to the organization often stem from alignment with its purpose or vision. Additionally, they extend to interpersonal dynamics, encompassing satisfaction with leadership, communication practices, and organizational culture.
Intellectual Connection:
On the intellectual front, engagement is marked by a profound understanding of one's role and its significance in advancing organizational objectives. This understanding deepens when employees find their work intellectually stimulating and challenging.

How to improve low employee engagement?
1. Focus on the Onboarding Process
The onboarding process is critical to the performance of a new employee. Unfortunately, most organizations fail to harness its potential, leading to employees feeling confused about their roles, responsibilities, and objectives. Onboarding isn't just about introducing the new hire to colleagues, managers, and their workspace with a simple tour; it should thoroughly prepare them to succeed. Here are some ways organizations can improve their onboarding processes:
Tips:
+ Ensure the new hire understands the vision of the
organization
organization
+ Have clear roles and responsibilities and describe how their
day-to-day activities connect to the strategy
day-to-day activities connect to the strategy
+ Encourage open feedback and establish a rhythm where
employees can review progress with managers
employees can review progress with managers
2. Make Strategic Management a Team Activity
Employ a catchball process to engage teams in the planning process. Catchball refers to a collaborative technique where ideas and plans are passed back and forth between team members at different levels of the organization. This iterative dialogue helps to refine strategies, ensure alignment, and foster a sense of ownership among all levels. Additionally, ensure that the strategy incorporates opportunities for teamwork and cross-functional projects to maximize engagement and innovation.
Tips:
+ Promote teamwork and ensure teams are aware that their
projects are helping support the vision of the organization
and is aligned with the strategic objectives
+ Create opportunities for cross-functional teams and
projects by focussing on impacting the focus areas of your
strategy rather than individual departments.
projects by focussing on impacting the focus areas of your
strategy rather than individual departments.
+ Celebrate success and communicate it across the
organization. Consider allowing teams to present their
successes to top management.
organization. Consider allowing teams to present their
successes to top management.
3. Create transparent management processes
Effective communication is a critical factor in employee engagement and the success of a strategy. Organizations must adopt a regular cadence of strategy review at all levels. Designing communication systems to support strategy deployment is key to its success. Ensure that each level regularly meets to discuss progress and address any failures. Failures are inevitable; addressing them as a team and creating psychologically safe environments where employees can freely share feedback is essential.
Tips:
+ Regularly review the strategic objectives, projects, and key
performance indicators with team members.
performance indicators with team members.
+ Implement "one-on-ones" where leaders and team
members can discuss progress and define next steps.
members can discuss progress and define next steps.
+ Openly discuss moments of failure – they are bound to
happen, whether it's a missed deadline, going over budget,
or missing targets. The right approach is to gather the team
and define ways to correct the situation.
happen, whether it's a missed deadline, going over budget,
or missing targets. The right approach is to gather the team
and define ways to correct the situation.
+ Create psychologically safe environments where
employees can openly share ideas, questions, concerns,
and mistakes without fear of punishment or reprimand.
employees can openly share ideas, questions, concerns,
and mistakes without fear of punishment or reprimand.
4. Measure Employee Engagement
It is very important to continuously measure employee engagement. There are several ways to do this. One effective method is to design annual employee engagement surveys. Spend time thoughtfully crafting questions and categorizing them under cultural pillars such as leadership, communication, career growth, and teamwork. This approach will help you establish a baseline for employee engagement and allow the organization to identify areas for improvement.
Additionally, you can implement the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) into your surveys. This metric measures employee engagement by asking employees to rank on a scale from 1-10 how likely they are to recommend working at your organization to others. The eNPS provides valuable insights into overall employee satisfaction.
Tips:
+ Implement annual employee engagement surveys,
incorporating the eNPS metric to assess satisfaction and
loyalty.
incorporating the eNPS metric to assess satisfaction and
loyalty.
+ Meet with leadership to pinpoint areas needing
improvement and introduce initiatives aimed at enhancing
the eNPS score each year.
improvement and introduce initiatives aimed at enhancing
the eNPS score each year.
+ Utilize the eNPS as a high-level metric to establish a
baseline, encouraging organizational accountability for
creating better work environments
baseline, encouraging organizational accountability for
creating better work environments
Conclusion
The level of employee engagement can significantly influence a strategy's success rate. It's important organizations take time during the strategic planning process to think through this critical factor and develop ideas and tactics to strengthen employee engagement throughout the strategy deployment process.
We want to invite you to check out our free Framework Guide. By downloading our free Framework Guide you will get access to a comprehensive guide exploring our 5 step approach to designing and implementing successful strategies. Kickstart your strategic journey and start applying essential principles and techniques today!