The 50/50 Engagement Equation: Balancing Environment and Individual Talents for Optimal Performance

Over the last decade, I have worked with hundreds of organizations to improve employee experience and drive employee engagement. With many of these organizations, we run into a recurring problem that can be summed up as “the more we try, the more things stay the same.” If your employer is like most organizations, you take part in an annual survey where feedback is given to your organization about your work environment and culture. For most organization the annual process is measure, prioritize, act, repeat. After a certain number of years of the same process, many organizations start to see the gains from the process level off. For some, the plateau effect is a good thing. They have reached a level of employee engagement and satisfaction they are happy with, and they would like to maintain. For others, who have not quite reached the mountain top, plateaus can be very frustrating. Repeated, annual focus on improving work environment is half of what we call a 50/50 engagement equation. The other half addresses the individual talents, preferences, choices, and inborn traits of individual employees.  

The Work Environment: Setting the Stage for Engagement 

The work environment plays a crucial role in the 50/50 Engagement Equation, accounting for half of the factors that drive employee engagement. A supportive and engaging workplace is essential for employees to feel valued and motivated. One key aspect of the work environment is enablement, which refers to providing employees with the tools, resources, and support they need to perform their jobs effectively.  

When enablement factors are present and well managed, employees rarely think about them. When they are not present, they become enormous distractions. For example, if you need a computer to do your job, and every day you show up and have a working computer, you are unlikely to view the fact that the company gave you a working computer as a huge motivator. If your computer is always broken, with a battery that lasts 20 minutes, with apps that freeze up before you have a chance to save your progress, and a screen that cuts out every 25 seconds, it becomes a huge distraction. Left unaddressed over the long term, your crappy computer could be the reason you leave your job, or at minimum it could be the reason you detach yourself emotionally from your work. Enablement factors commonly measured on an employee survey are: 

• Tools and Resources 
• Job training 
• Supportive leadership 
• Clear communication 
• Pay and benefits 
• Perks 
• Workload and stress 
• Safety 

Engagement Factors: Purpose, Path, and Place 

Enablement factors are critical for organizations to get right. When they are in place, employees achieve a base level of satisfaction in their jobs. To take employees beyond satisfaction to encourage them to bring more of themselves to work every day, there are several other environmental factors to consider. These are called engagement factors, and they can be categorized into three main areas: purpose, path, and place. 

Purpose: Employees need to find a deeper sense of meaning in their work beyond the tasks they perform everyday. When employees have a clear sense of purpose, they are more likely to feel motivated and committed to their work. 

Path: This refers to the career and personal development opportunities available within the organization. Employees who see a clear path for growth and advancement are more likely to stay engaged and invested in their roles. 

Place: Having a sense of place in an organization means employees feel they belong there. They are aligned with the organization’s mission and goals, and believe their success is tied to the organization’s success. This sense of belonging is influenced by how much employees feel cared for by their organization and colleagues, and whether they can be their authentic selves at work.  

The Shortcomings of the Traditional Approach 

The traditional approach to improving employee engagement has its limitations. It primarily addresses the question of how employees experience their work environment and what can be done to improve it. However, it often overlooks the importance of aligning individual talents and preferences with job roles. 

Organizations that focus solely on environmental factors may see initial improvements in engagement scores, but they often reach a plateau after several years. This stagnation occurs because tools that focus primarily on environmental factors are missing half of the engagement equation. To achieve sustained engagement, organizations must also address the intrinsic factors that influence individual employees’ decisions to engage. 

The Other Half of the 50/50 Equation: The Talent Management Approach 

A complete talent management approach to organizational performance involves not only creating the right environment for employees to engage but also focusing on the preferences, talents, and potential of individual employees. This approach includes measuring and understanding an individual’s talents, preferences, potential, competencies, skills, contribution, challenges, accomplishments, and performance. 

By addressing both sides of the 50/50 equation, organizations can create a more holistic and effective engagement strategy. This involves ensuring that employees are properly situated and developed to thrive within the organization. 

Think about a job you have had in your life that you hated. The day-to-day tasks were mundane or even demeaning. You watched the clock all day wondering when it would all be over. The work was somehow both boring and exhausting at the same time. You were working out of preference in a job where you were not able to use your natural strengths and talents. It would not have mattered you were working in paradise. You were not a fit for your role. You were never going to like that job, no matter how much the organization changed the work environment around you.  

Intrinsic Factors: Talents, Preferences, and Behaviors 

To effectively manage the other half of the 50/50 equation, organizations must see employees as individuals with unique strengths, preferences, and talents. Individual strengths, preferences, and talents can be determined using a simple talent assessment. Using an understanding of employee strengths, organizations can evaluate individual fit for a position or task through three distinct lenses: expected behavior, displayed behavior, and preferred behavior.  

• Expected behavior refers to the capabilities and competencies defined by the organization as critical to a role.  

• Displayed behavior encompasses the observable skills, abilities, and activities shown by employees on a daily basis.  

• Preferred behavior includes natural talents, abilities, inborn strengths, and behavioral preferences. 

When employees are placed in positions where the expected behaviors required to be successful in a job align with skills and abilities they have developed, which align with areas of natural talent and strength, they are in a terrific position to contribute and engage. The combination of these lenses in the context of an environment, which supports employees with the right combination of enabling and engaging factors, will result in a highly engaged and performing workforce. This doesn’t usually mean we switch employees from one role to another, although it should adjust the way we place employees in jobs to begin with. Better aligning employees to their areas of strength can happen within their existing roles and in their existing teams. We are not prescribing a complete reorganization of every part of your company, but we are prescribing awareness. Without a baseline understanding of the three lenses, you are back in a place where you are relying completely on environmental factors to retain and engage employees, and those efforts are important, but they are not sufficient.  

The Path Forward 

The path forward from here depends on where you are beginning. If your organization has not yet begun measuring and improving environmental factors, now is a good time to begin. If you are part of one of the many organizations where you have cycled through measuring and improving engagement for years, and you are looking for a path beyond your current plateau, it’s time to consider the other half of the equation. Begin with awareness. Use assessments designed to understand inborn preferences, talents, and strengths, and create individual profiles for your employees. Better define expectations around specific roles in your organization, including expected behaviors, and an ideal talent profile for each position. The combination of a well-tuned environment and well-aligned employees will foster a highly engaged and motivated workforce, leading to sustained organizational success.