Employee engagement through leadership development

Kristen Craig

Interim Dean at Saskatchewan Polytechnic

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of EAB.

Employee engagement is crucial for successful organizations and teams. In the current landscape of higher education, challenges such as an impending wave of retirements coupled with financial constraints pose significant obstacles to recruitment and retention. Non-financial incentives become paramount, emphasizing the need for a strategic approach to foster employee engagement among existing employees. In my current role as Dean (interim) at Saskatchewan Polytechnic (Sask Polytech), I’m keenly aware of the importance of employee engagement and the existing disconnect revealed by our 2022-2023 Employee Engagement results.

In higher education, various key drivers of employee engagement exist; however, three common drivers among institutions include trust in leadership, connectedness with leadership, and personal growth. The Sask Polytech employee engagement drivers align with those other institutions. These drivers underscore the unique role that leadership plays in unlocking powers that increase employee engagement. Despite holding the special key, many leaders fail to utilize it effectively. They do not build trust with their teams and are not intentional about cultivating relationships with them.

From my experience in higher education, it is evident that many leaders find themselves in positions for which they are not adequately prepared. While they may have excelled in previous roles, such as faculty, this does not necessarily equip them with the requisite leadership skills, nor have they had a mentor. Consequently, they struggle to lead their new teams.

To address the root causes of employee disengagement, I propose a non-traditional leadership development program. Recognizing the time constraints faced by leaders, the proposed leadership development program is structured around microcredentials—small, digestible learning units. The microcredentials cover three areas: 1) providing continuous feedback, 2) employee recognition, and 3) relationship-building. The microcredentials can be pursued in any order, providing flexibility for busy leaders. Additionally, a virtual Community of Practice (CoP) is proposed, offering a collaborative space for leaders to discuss their experiences and insights related to the leadership micro-credentials.

The three microcredentials include the following.

1. Providing Continuous Feedback: Empowering leaders to engage in goal-setting conversations, offer frequent feedback, conduct crucial conversations, and facilitate touchpoint meetings
2. Providing Employee Recognition: Focusing on celebrating achievements, empowering employees, and expressing gratitude, recognizing the pivotal role appreciation plays in fostering engagement
3. Building Employee Relationships: Guiding leaders in establishing connections, assuming positive intent, embracing vulnerability, and holding themselves accountable to strengthen relationships with their teams

The success of this leadership development program hinges on resource allocation, including the development of the microcredentials and the creation and maintenance of the virtual CoP. The commitment of leaders to actively participate and integrate the acquired skills into their daily practices is also crucial.

In conclusion, the proposed leadership development program offers a pioneering approach to tackling the employee engagement crisis in higher education. By focusing on the crucial drivers of engagement and leveraging microcredentials, this program seeks to equip leaders at Sask Polytech with the skills necessary to foster a culture of continuous improvement, ultimately transforming our workplace into an engaged community.

I extend my gratitude to my capstone partners, Laina Bay-Cheng and Toby S. Jenkins, for their valuable insights as I navigated this project and the EAB Fellowship program. Additionally, thank you to the EAB team for their support.