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    WebinarAlignment of Values 2008 60 min

    Leading for Employee Engagement

    Employee Engagement is quickly shifting from being a top HR issue to one of bottom-line importance to senior line managers. However, as the shift takes place, executives are saying that they don’t want employees who are “aimlessly engaged”; they want a workforce that is fully engaged in and aligned with the organization’s critical business priorities. Low turnover and hard working employees may be good enough for many businesses, but leading companies are raising the bar and embracing “aligned engagement”. The current research is definitive – an engaged workforce produces higher employee discretionary effort but when the workforce is engaged and aligned, that discretionary effort drops right to the bottom-line with higher gross margins and higher operating profits. Join Bruce Fern, President and Chief Engagement Solutions Architect at Performance Connections as he broadens your perspective about why conventional wisdom about employee engagement is not good enough and does not fulfill the demands of today’s business environment. Engagement-for-engagement’s-sake is often “aimless,” running the risk that you will join 80% of organizations who fail to make the business shifts required to stay competitive.

    Presenter

    BF

    Bruce Fern

    •What’s on the minds of CEOs regarding employee engagement •The key drivers of engagement •Steps for decreasing the time it takes to leverage market opportunities and other initiatives requiring employee support •The business payoff of aligned engagement •The organizational requirements to support employee engagement •How to prevent AIMLESS engagement and the five ways to get started building an aligned engaged workforce

    Key Takeaways

    • 1.Conventional employee engagement often proves “aimless,” failing to meet the demands of the modern business environment.
    • 2.“Aligned engagement” focuses on connecting the workforce directly to the organization’s critical business priorities.
    • 3.An aligned and engaged workforce translates discretionary effort into higher gross margins and operating profits.
    • 4.Failing to align engagement can result in missing the necessary shifts to remain competitive.
    • 5.Leading companies strategically elevate employee engagement to achieve superior financial outcomes.
    • 6.Leaders must intertwine personal employee values with company goals to unlock greater discretionary effort.

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    The Problem with "Aimless" Engagement

    Employee engagement has become a critical issue for senior leaders, but a lack of strategic focus can render it ineffective. When engagement is pursued for its own sake, it becomes "aimless," meaning employees may be motivated but their efforts are not necessarily directed toward the organization's key business priorities. This disconnect poses a significant risk, with the webinar suggesting that it can cause companies to fall behind their competition.

    The Solution: Strategic "Aligned Engagement"

    Leading organizations are raising the bar by shifting from general engagement to "aligned engagement." This strategic approach ensures that the entire workforce is fully engaged in and aligned with the organization’s most critical business goals. By connecting individual roles, values, and discretionary effort to these priorities, companies can ensure that all employee contributions serve a larger strategic purpose.

    The Business Case for Aligned Engagement

    The research is clear: while a traditionally engaged workforce produces higher discretionary effort, an aligned and engaged workforce delivers a more significant impact. When employee effort is strategically directed, it translates directly into tangible financial gains, including:

    • Higher gross margins
    • Increased operating profits

    This makes aligned engagement not just an HR initiative but a core driver of business success.

    How Leaders Can Apply This Framework

    Leaders and managers can apply these principles to move from aimless to aligned engagement.

    1. Assess Current Strategy: Evaluate whether your existing engagement initiatives genuinely connect employee activities to core business objectives.
    2. Foster Dialogue: Encourage open conversations to understand team members' individual aspirations and link them to broader organizational values.
    3. Implement Feedback Loops: Create systems that clearly show employees how their specific contributions directly impact strategic priorities.
    4. Build a Culture of Alignment: Work to develop a culture where personal values and company goals are visibly intertwined, unlocking greater discretionary effort and building a high-performing, aligned workforce. '''

    This session delves into the critical shift from simply engaging employees to fostering "aligned engagement," where individual effort directly connects to organizational priorities. Recorded in 2008, the principles discussed by Bruce Fern remain highly relevant today as organizations continue to seek ways to maximize workforce potential and ensure employee contributions translate to tangible business results.

    What you'll learn

    • The distinction between general employee engagement and strategic "aligned engagement."
    • Why traditional engagement metrics might not fully address current business demands.
    • How connecting employee values and effort to critical business priorities can drive higher gross margins and operating profits.
    • The risks associated with "engagement-for-engagement's-sake" and how it can lead to missed competitive advantages.
    • Insights into how leading companies elevate employee engagement to achieve superior financial outcomes.

    Who this webinar is for

    • Senior HR Leaders and Managers
    • Line Managers focused on team performance and productivity
    • Executives seeking to connect workforce strategy with business outcomes
    • OD and L&D professionals designing engagement initiatives
    • Anyone interested in driving greater discretionary effort and alignment within their organization.

    Why it matters now

    Even over a decade since its recording, the concept of aligning employee engagement with organizational values and strategic goals is more critical than ever. In today's dynamic business environment, companies cannot afford "aimless engagement"; they need their entire workforce rowing in the same direction. Economic shifts and increased global competition underscore the need for every ounce of employee discretionary effort to contribute directly to the bottom line, making the insights shared in this session timeless.

    How leaders can apply this

    Leaders can use the principles discussed to assess and refine their current employee engagement strategies. Start by evaluating if your engagement initiatives genuinely link employee activities to core business objectives. Encourage open dialogues within teams to understand individual aspirations and connect them to larger organizational values. Implement feedback loops that ensure employees understand how their work contributes to strategic priorities. Focus on developing a culture where personal values and company goals are visibly intertwined, thereby unlocking greater discretionary effort and fostering a truly aligned and high-performing workforce.

    About this session

    Key takeaways

    Watching this webinar gives you grounded, practical perspective on Values. Expect ideas you can use in leadership conversations, not abstract theory, drawn from Bruce Fern's direct experience.

    Who this is for

    CHROs, HR business partners, talent leaders, executive coaches, organizational development practitioners, and senior leaders who are responsible for alignment of values inside their organization.

    Why it matters now

    Workforce expectations, hybrid work patterns, and AI-driven change keep raising the bar on culture and leadership. Sessions like this help leaders make smarter, more evidence-informed decisions about Values.

    How to apply it

    Use the ideas here to challenge a current assumption on your team, design a single concrete experiment in the next 30 days, and bring one finding back to your leadership group for discussion.

    Frequently asked questions

    Topics

    Values

    Best Practice Institute

    Best Practice Institute is the research organization behind Most Loved Workplace® certification, the SPARK Model, the Love of Workplace Index™ (LOWI™), and The Workplace Report.

    The Workplace Report

    The Workplace Report is BPI's original workplace culture research and editorial briefing series for CEOs, CHROs, people leaders, talent leaders, and employer-brand teams. It turns BPI's 25 years of research, Most Loved Workplace® certification data, SPARK findings, and current workforce signals into practical analysis leaders can use.

    The report format includes executive summaries, research-backed articles, company examples, methodology notes, and practical implications for retention, hiring, culture, leadership, and employee experience. New research and analysis is published on an ongoing editorial cadence at /workplace-report.