The Puzzle of Employee Engagement-September 2018

Samin Saadat at CPHR BC & Yukon , Vancouver, BC, The Puzzle of Employee Engagement

“The easy way out usually leads back in” -Peter Senge

We all find comfort applying familiar solutions to problems, sticking to what we know best. After all, if solutions were obvious, they would probably already have been done. Pushing harder and harder on familiar solutions, while fundamental problems persist or worsen, is a reliable indicator of non-systematic thinking.

This is what Peter Senge calls the “we need a bigger hammer” syndrome. CPHR BC & Yukon invited Samin Saadat, Principal — Jalapeno Employee Engagement to be September’s roundtable facilitator. Samin helps companies reach their full potential with the right mindset & environment.

In the Roundtable, Samin shared research on employee engagement; employee engagement trumps employee satisfaction in terms of return on investment! We can encourage personal engagement with our employees by increasing their self-confidence and self-motivation.

The most prevalent strategies for increasing confidence and motivation:

1. Encourage employees to make their own decisions with the right amount of direction

2. Give the employees the autonomy to own their role and have them decide how they spend their time, execute on their tasks and interact with the team

3. Being a transparent leader.

We also briefly discussed the cultural differences in employee engagement, and how a leader needs to apply flexibility in how much direction versus supporting the employee needs.

The human brain, behaviour and interactions with their environment never fail to intrigue Samin Saadat . After spending long hours in psychology labs at UBC and completing her Masters at the Sauder School of Business, she entered the workforce and observed a gap between what research suggests and what companies actually do to increase productivity and profitability. Now, Samin is on a mission to bridge this gap through Jalapeño Employee Engagement — leveraging technology and professional human services to bring research findings to life to help companies save invaluable dollars and to help individuals enhance their quality of life.